Very good show. Seemed to lose a little steam about three quarters through but finished strong. Dave was much more like Dave than the last show I saw(Greeensboro the second show of the tour). More personality, more larger than life. Ed played very well. At the end of his solo he collapsed and it didn't look entirely intentional as he took the mike stand with him. He popped up and gave Dave a thumbs up and finished the show. After the show my wife couldn't stop talking about how hot Ed looked. Most popular songs on the night: I'll Wait, Dance the Night Away, Jamie's Cryin, Panama.
The show seemed louder than the last time I saw them. I was on the floor about three rows from the walkway and my ears are still ringing. Dave's vocals were not buried in the mix.
Incidentally, to the four twentysomethings standing next to me who took turns walking past us to get beer every fucking song--fuck you.
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2008-09 VH Links Fantasy Basketball Champion
did anyone else notice Ed chucking his guitar and then knocking down the stack of amps on wolfie's sad as he walked off stage? What was up with that?!
The band was on fire all night long.
Roth was in great form, as was Ed, Wolfie, ad Al...
Until the end of the night:
Ed's solo was (IMO) kind of boring and a little messy, not just improvised, compared to last Tuesday's Ft. Lauderdale show - I thought his solo was amazing that night.
I was 5th row center and I did see Ed fall on his mike stand, then get up and mouth the words to the crowd "I'm not fucked up." I'm not really sure what happened there. Dave gave him a thumbs up after he got up.
I also saw him throw his guitar down the stairs at the end of Jump - it did not look like anyone was there to catch it. Ed did not look happy.
The amps: On his way off of the stage, Eddie punched the head of the last stack of amps (which fell backward and off the stack of amps). Then the middle amp fell forward. Ed looked angry.
I am not going to speculate whether or not Ed was “fucked up,” nor will I judge him one way or another. I sincerely hope, however, he was not – for his own good. All I can say is that Eddie has been an idol of mine since I was a kid, and the end of tonight’s nearly perfect show was very difficult for me to watch.
The band was on fire all night long.
Roth was in great form, as was Ed, Wolfie, ad Al...
Until the end of the night:
Ed's solo was (IMO) kind of boring and a little messy, not just improvised, compared to last Tuesday's Ft. Lauderdale show - I thought his solo was amazing that night.
I was 5th row center and I did see Ed fall on his mike stand, then get up and mouth the words to the crowd "I'm not fucked up." I'm not really sure what happened there. Dave gave him a thumbs up after he got up.
I also saw him throw his guitar down the stairs at the end of Jump - it did not look like anyone was there to catch it. Ed did not look happy.
The amps: On his way off of the stage, Eddie punched the head of the last stack of amps (which fell backward and off the stack of amps). Then the middle amp fell forward. Ed looked angry.
I am not going to speculate whether or not Ed was “fucked up,” nor will I judge him one way or another. I sincerely hope, however, he was not – for his own good. All I can say is that Eddie has been an idol of mine since I was a kid, and the end of tonight’s nearly perfect show was very difficult for me to watch.
I have to emphasize, and really do not want to focus on the negative here, by saying that the rest of the show was nothing short of spectacular.
The band did an impromptu performance of "Mississippi Queen" in the middle of “Somebody Get Me a Doctor.” It sounded great!
There was much more energy between everyone on stage tonight compared to last Tuesday's performance.
Dave was really in top form, and really had the crowd in his pocket.
Ed’s playing awesome (except for his solo).
Wolfie has really come into his own, and his stage presence has grown considerably.
And Al remains one of the best drummers I’ve seen – just incredible to watch.
Regardless of the mike stand /guitar /amp scenes at the end of the night, I have to be fair by saying they were really unbelievable – definitely one of the best show’s I’ve seen.
Yes - on the way out Eddie knocked over the far left stack of amps. didn't look angry or anything guess he thought it would be fun.
Good show, they are kinda cruising along on autopilot now. A couple things I hadn't seen - the Mississipi Queen bit was new to me. The shoo bops in I'm The One are back. The same ole Ice Cream Man story, though Dave spent some time rapping about his time in FL as a kid.
Ed's solo has degenerated a bit from the start of the tour - seems like he's bailed on 316, and too bad he isn't doing Women in Love anymore. Was fucking around with his cord a bit.
The boys ROCKED the house tonite!!! What a dramatic improvement from last tuesday night!! The energy and crowd interaction was WAY up ..... Dave was in full form ........ and the sound system was much improved. One of the best shows I have seen in a long time! Weak point ................ Eds solo. Bordering on embarassing actually. My heart went out to him on that one. Judging by all the reviews I have read from past shows, it appears that he has a good solo maybe one out of four shows. I dont think those are good odds. Drop the solo!!
I have been a longtime VH fan since the 1st album came out. I 1st saw VH at Convention Hall Asbury Park NJ on August 13, 1979 and been a fanatic VH fan since. I have seen all tours expect for WCF tour since. I would say I am more of a classic VH Fan than anything but love all era’s including VH III.
I went to the show with my girlfriend who is not really a fan but knows the songs. We hung in the parking lot, drank some JD and had classic VH (Demo Daze) blasting. Many different types of fans I met, older and many younger and lots of people from NJ and NY. Everyone was pumped up for a great show…
The Show
I sat in section 103 row 2, great view of the stage. VH hit the stage (you all know the song and the set list) and it was a non stop assault through jump.
Comparing this show to the many others I have seen, my opinion is that VH has never sounded tighter playing the songs. From an Eddie Van Halen showcase guitar wizardry it was not like shows in the past. What I mean is that Ed played the songs, riffs and licks and everything within the context of the songs and sounded great. VH improvised, magic bus, miss queen, a small sample of smoke on the water and the motor cycle effects. It was all cool and great. Dave talked a lot and mentioned on more than 1 occasion his conception roots go back to South Beach and connected with the Florida fans. Everyone stood the entire show and hardly anyone left their seats for a beer or pee break. There is no comparision at any level between this tour and 2004. This tour blows the doors off of the 2004 tour plain and simple. My girlfriend said it was the best concert she has seen in years, it was a blast.
Band Members
Eddie - My take on Eddie is this; he rocked, he played his heart out and he delivered everything and more. No Eddie is not the same player I saw from 79’ to 98’, he is different which is not a bad thing. As Ed learned from his College teacher, if it sounds good, it is good and he sounded great on all the songs. If you look at Eddies fingers and wrist they are inflammated. Ed’s playing has always been in his fingers, his sound comes from his fingers touching the strings. His physical problem makes it tougher with parts such as Women in Love, 316, Cathedral and others. He really did not do any humming bird tremlo picking which adds much more speed to his playing. I think back around 2004 when he was using the sustainer on a lot of songs, he was hiding the fact that he has lost dexterity in his playing. This is a physical problem Ed has, there were no signs of him being drunk. What I Loved about Ed’s playing was that his abilities as a guitar player we all knew him to be has changed and he has been able to adjust his style and play with so much emotion. He does not have to play with the speed he once had, yet is able to squeeze out a sound that is different yet still effective and sounding great. He may not be the shredder he once was, but is more on the line of squeezing a note instead a long run. I think his riffs and rhythm playing is as good or if not better, his soloing has slowed and changed.. Again not a bad thing at all
Ed had some problems with his cord mostly during RWTD. He did fall, he went to use the mike stand for support and it just fell along with him. He laid there for a few seconds, got up and went on. I missed the guitar throwing and the amp punch.. I did notice that when walking off the stage Ed touched Dave to come off but Dave stayed a bit longer and walked off.
Ed needs to drop the solo, he cannot consistiently night after night play it anymore. It was short and not at the level from his past. Before I could even say it, my girlfriend said he would be better of playing melodies of other VH songs. I think Ed should play GGB, HOP, Pleasure Dome, Outta Love, Light Up the Sky more riffing with tasty fills instead of the noodling
Dave
Dave was great, yes had cheesy moments, his voice was strong, but he did scream lot of the lyrics instead of singing them, but hey that is what Dave does. I enjoyed his singing and showmanship 10 times more than Sammy on the 2004 tour.
Alex – just non stop, his solo was great.
Wolf – impressed the hell out me (and my girlfriend who made the comment “the kid is pretty good”). His playing was great and he is playing… Also his stage presence has improved from what I have seen on Youtube.
Sound was good, bass parts as mentioned above was bit muddy, really no complaints.
I hope they release a DVD from this tour. I really think we will get new music from VH in the near future. Go to the show, it was worth more than the $160 ticket price I paid.
Comparing this show to the many others I have seen, my opinion is that VH has never sounded tighter playing the songs. From an Eddie Van Halen showcase guitar wizardry it was not like shows in the past. What I mean is that Ed played the songs, riffs and licks and everything within the context of the songs and sounded great. VH improvised, magic bus, miss queen, a small sample of smoke on the water and the motor cycle effects. It was all cool and great. Dave talked a lot and mentioned on more than 1 occasion his conception roots go back to South Beach and connected with the Florida fans. Everyone stood the entire show and hardly anyone left their seats for a beer or pee break. There is no comparision at any level between this tour and 2004. This tour blows the doors off of the 2004 tour plain and simple. My girlfriend said it was the best concert she has seen in years, it was a blast.
I should add that my wife, not a real big Van Halen fan said basically the same thing. She was on her feet the whole time, pumping her arm, loving every minute of it.
Also, I saw a woman who had bought a purse that was a replica of the WACF album cover, front on one side, back on the other. She bought it in the parking lot before the show and my wife really wanted to go find another one. VH made a new fan last night.
BTW, nice to have somebody else from Coral Springs on the board.
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2008-09 VH Links Fantasy Basketball Champion
This is my third show of the tour. I also think it is important to note that I had never seen VH before this tour and wished I had seen them with DLR before 85. I never wanted to see them with Sammy.
Here are the shows and the rating:
1. Charlotte opening night = A+ (unreal excitement, energy, happiness and great music)
2. Feb 12 in Sunrise Fl = B- (Good first half, Eddie and Dave seemed tired after drum solo, overall low energy show, poor audience participation too)
3. Feb 20 in Sunrise Fl = A
Last night's show was so much better than the 2/12 show at the same location. I think David wasnt feeling well last week and he commented on it.
Some key highlights of the show last night for me:
You really got me kicked the show off with amazing energy
During Somebody get me a doc...they played Mississippi Queen...how freakin cool is that? I dont think they did that all tour...did they?
Hot for teacher freakin smoked the place
So did Romeo's delight, atomic punk and everybody wants some
End of Ed's solo was great with eruption...he really seemed to get some energy back during that part from the audience.
Dave did the intro to Ice Cream Man and he did his talk before. He didnt do it last week which makes me feel he was sick or having an off night.
Low lights of the show:
Beginning of Ed's solo....he can't play the little guitars intro anymore...his picking hand was not on at all for the high string trem picking...he also can't play catherdral well anymore.
After Ed's solo...he fell down and was trying to keep himself with the stand (as mentioned before) and he went down...he seemed okay but I was surprised nobody went over to help him. I think that is why he was mad after that. He handed his guitar to his tech and said something to him and the guy stood there for a second...that looked like to me...thinking..."shit, I fucked up and Ed's mad again!"
Overall this was the VH I had hoped to see in Fl last week. I'm glad I gave them a chance to redeem themselves as last week as a mediocre show. This show kicked my ass!
I should add that my wife, not a real big Van Halen fan said basically the same thing. She was on her feet the whole time, pumping her arm, loving every minute of it.
Also, I saw a woman who had bought a purse that was a replica of the WACF album cover, front on one side, back on the other. She bought it in the parking lot before the show and my wife really wanted to go find another one. VH made a new fan last night.
BTW, nice to have somebody else from Coral Springs on the board.
The other cool thing i saw was 5 or 6 women at the show with no guys. I think it is cool that women are fans without any guys influencing them. Also the girl behind me was singing all the VH song and her boyfriend was just hanging.. She was the VH fan for sure...
As i told my girlfriend before the show "there's a little bit of VH in everyone and tonight VH is going bring it out in you" (thats a Dave quote).. She is a fan now and does not want to ever miss a show...
I moved to coral springs from the jersey shore.. Love it here!! If VH comes back we need to coordinate before ths show...
The other cool thing i saw was 5 or 6 women at the show with no guys. I think it is cool that women are fans without any guys influencing them. Also the girl behind me was singing all the VH song and her boyfriend was just hanging.. She was the VH fan for sure...
As i told my girlfriend before the show "there's a little bit of VH in everyone and tonight VH is going bring it out in you" (thats a Dave quote).. She is a fan now and does not want to ever miss a show...
I moved to coral springs from the jersey shore.. Love it here!! If VH comes back we need to coordinate before ths show...
I saw a few women by themselves as well. As a matter of fact, the woman with the WACF purse was alone.
Next time around we should all meet up for a beer.
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2008-09 VH Links Fantasy Basketball Champion
*** Ft. Lauderdale Reviews ***
BEST CONCERT EVER
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