Xontar

Oh my god, this show was just beyond words. First time I've ever seen VH - I had incredibly high expectations from the rehearsal videos and the reviews, and EVERY ONE OF THEM was exceeded. It was just unbelievable, when Running With the Devil came on I wanted to weep for joy (but was too busy rocking out). Saw the show from section 234, above the stage on Eddie's side and about even with Alex, and it was perfect. I could see absolutely everything, and I was right in front of a huge block of speakers so sound was PERFECT and the echoes were completely drowned out. If anyone's worried about second-level or side-stage seats being bad, don't worry, they're excellent.

The crowd gave the biggest responses to Panama, Jump, and especially Jamie's Cryin'. My personal favorites were RWTD, Dance the Night Away, and ...And the Cradle Will Rock, but they were all insane, every one.

Wolfgang moved around a lot more than I expected from reviews. He's a born and raised rock star, no question about it. Even told Dave to leave someone alone at one point (I couldn't tell if that was scripted or not). They needed to turn him up in the mix, but I could hear him well enough.

It doesn't need to be said again, so I won't reiterate that everyone should see this tour. Sadly, I doubt Greensboro's footage will be released, as there was rather a lot of video feedback due to the big screen being on-camera - 10 side-by-side copies of Eddie looks cool on the screen but not so hot on DVD. I do hope an audience cam gets out. I'll never forget this show, it was the high point of my life. Those who weren't there should all go back to yesterday and see it.

P.S. Megan, from section 234, if you're reading this PM me willya?

Zack

Here are my observations:

Eddie: Awesome as ever. He is the master and hasn't lost a thing. He looked like he was enjoying himself the whole show.

DLR: He did a great show and sounded great. The only thing is that his forehead is frozen from botox so his expression is a little strange. When he smiles so big and his eyes don't move up he looks like a clown.

Alex: He was great, but he looked so tired.

Wolfgang: He looked like he was concentrating on playing so much he forgot to smile alot of times. Eddie would come over to him and be like "can you believe this" and he would smile, but then he would go back to business. I did see DLR give him a hug and a high five behind the ramp after the first few songs.

Section 107 was the best seat I have ever had for VH.

Prages

Simply amazing show. I don't know what else to add that hasn't already been repeated several times.

Ed was in top form. Alex was a monster. Dave sang better than I've ever heard him sing. Wolfgang did an EXCELLENT job. Honestly, I didn't miss Michael in the least. Eddie and Dave were the stars of the show and they could have had anybody up there and it wouldn't have mattered.

The show is LOUD though. It was loud for the first 2 hours, but after Ed's guitar solo, it just got louder. It was almost to the point of being painful for the last 4 or 5 songs.

Still sounded phenomenal though.

I took a bunch of pics with a disposable camera. They aren't the greatest quality, but they can be found here.

http://thewindtunnel.com/VH/

tour2004

Man, I haven't logged in or posted in a while...

Anyways, I had to post how lucky we were in Greensboro. While our 5-star Group A was taking our backstage tour....

DLR happened to be walking through the hall and actually took the time to walk over to our group and shake nearly every one's hand!!! That was a super treat considering you don't get chances like that very often.

Helped Justify the $550 for the tickets!

Anyway, the show was solid and one constant string of songs!! I think everyone has said the right things so far.

Eddie was on for most of it; but I still think he is imitating himself sometimes, meaning not playing exactly like the song was when it was written, but more like someone would sound if they were playing these songs. Hard to explain, but something hasn't sounded right since the late 90's.

Dave was respectful to be there and made it an awsome show.

Wolfie was good, but needs to be acting like he's a 16 year old on tour with van-halen instead of acting like he was grounded...

Alex - drums - hard to screw up.


They should tighten up a bit over the next few shows, and I hope to catch them one more time if they play anywhere near here.

We stayed at the Greensboro Hotel (Knights Inn) incase anyone else did.

__________________
"I feel like a 6-year-old who just watched his dog get hit by a car," - An unhappy Yankees fan quoted in the NY Post after ALCS game 7...

jonsey36

I was at Charlotte and posted a review there...

Saturday night I had the 5 star all access pass for the show. We missed the preparty, but got our tickets and gifts thanks to Kaitlin (Sp) she was great came to our seats and gave us everything. I bought the 5 star as soon as they went on sale. I was front row Eddie's side right in front of him. I had my date with me who is a fashion model, so, Dave kept coming over to us and looking right at her while he serenaded her... she was on the Van Halen screen during "Dance the Night away"...

Anyway, I love Eddie. The guy gets a bad wrap but I love him. I brought to the show with me my three picks from the 2004 tour where Eddie slapped the picks into my hand during his guitar solo. I did I love all access there too for Anaheim, Los Angeles and Vegas. So I had a frankenstrat pick in red, white and gold. Being the idiot I am and clown, as soon as they hit the stage, I put the picks on my forehead and looked at Eddie while pointing. Eddie caught a glimpse of me when the lights came up and laughed. He then pointed me to Dave who looked more interested in the girl I was with than me, but he smiled too. The best look I got was Wolfie. He came over and smiled and tried to throw me a pick, but it went off into the crowd. More on that later.

This is why I love 5 star. The band knows that people doing 4 and 5 star are diehards like the rest of the crowd who couldn't afford to do them. So, the night began with Eddie interaction. We both got thumbs up, smiles and laughs. Eddie tried to throw me pick number one (he is using a gold herco medium gripper pick with no personalization) but the gentleman next to me stuck his hand out and claimed it. Now, here is why I love EVH. Seeing that the pick didn't go to it's intended target, he waited until "Jamie's Cryin" was over and right before the lights got killed, he walked in front of me and gently tossed the treasure my way. It hit me and fell into the security walk. The guard picked it up and handed it to me. Claiming my prize, I stuck it to my forehead to the smile of Eddie. He looked right at me, gave me a thumbs up.

When the opening notes for "I'm the One" hit, the sensitive and true moment was watching Dave look at the crowd during the "Bop suap" part, he had large tears in his eyes. The place was packed and going nuts. He went over to Eddie, mouthed "I love you" and Eddie teared up. Here are two men, seven feet away from us with tears in their eyes and appreciative of the crowd and the volume. Eddie had to wipe his tears and Dave just took it in. I was taken by that and it wasn't an act, you could feel the empathy as both of these rockers looked and saw that regardless of what bad history the band had, the people were in support of them to the roof. A very touching moment.

ALex.... steady and another great performance. He doesn't look past his kit and messes with his nephew a lot, but man, Alex just chugs away. Eddie is so in tune with his kit, if he gets lost, he looks to Alex and bang he is on again...

Wolfie... First show nerves, this show, he laughed, ran around, jammed and interacted with his dad. Now, we saw a photog that EVH must of hired because he would take pics with Eddie and Wolf together. Great poses too..Eddie mocks it up for the camera as I witnessed. He was loose and genuinely having a great time. Wolfie was great too. The lady next to me threw him a halmark card (I am dead serious) Wolf picked it up during "Jump" and put it in his pocket. Now, I had Eddie's gold herco pick on my head, so I smiled at Wolf and made a "W" with my two hands. He immediately cracked a huge smile and then Eddie gave me another thumbs up...He just wants the chance to be accepted for what he is doing. Again, I love Michael Anthony and I miss him dearly and it isn't the same, but DLR brought his "A" game to Greensboro.

Dave was on... Great vocals, hair raising on "Little Dreamer", there are pre recorded backing vocals on some songs, but who cares... there is so much to watch and do that it isn't a negative at all. Dave's "Ice Cream Man" was the show stopper. It's so good to see him fronting the band and singing out. He also stopped the waving he did so much in Charlotte and spent more time doing a few spin kicks and poses. He looks fantastic and sounds fantastic. Sure he screws up the words, but hey, He's DLR...and damn can he hit those notes!

Best part of the night. "Jump" was being performed and Eddie's guitar was feeding back and he couldn't get it to stop... so he turned the volume down and was trying to ear tune with harmonics in front of his EVH stack, problem was the harmonics were glitching the sound and song. He turns to us in the front row, walks over the catwalk and says with a big grin "I don't know what the fuck I am doing", makes a goofy face and turns away. He then turns around and looks at us again and does that face he does with the look of "what the hell is going on here". It was hilarious. As he goes to turn away again, he comes over and tosses Dawn a pick. Now I have one and she has one and EVH grins at Dawn... she was in heaven!

So at the beginning of the night Eddie had "six" picks on his microphone. He threw four into the crowd. Dawn and I got two, the gentleman who stole the first one got another and another gentlemen in the crowd got the other. I also got a Wolfie pick which is like his dad's frankenstrater with 316 and Wolfie's sig on the back.

After bowing to the crowd, Eddie decided to exit stage left with Wolfie. As he did, he motioned to the crowd pointing to his son and everyone went crazy on stage left.

I left feeling the 5 star was worth the money, interaction and great time I had in Greensboro. Again, I miss Mikey and will always miss him, but Van Halen kicked ass. Now there were some miss timing and cues, but that's rock n' roll...

Don't miss this tour....

__________________
1978 New Haven Coliseum w / Black Sabbath
1979 New Haven Coliseum VH II
1980 Hartford Civic Center Women and Children first
1981 New Haven Coliseum Fair Warning
1982 New Haven Coliseum Diver Down
1984 Hartford Civic Center 1984
1984 New Haven Coliseum 1984
1986 New Haven Coliseum "Live without a Net night 1"
1986 New Haven Coliseum "Live without a Net night 2"
1988 Hartford Civic Center ou812
1988 Providence Civic Center, 1988 San Diego ou812
1991 Irvine, CA, F.U.C.K
1991 San Bernadino, CA, F.U.C.K
1993 San Berandino CA, Right here, right now
1995 Irvine, CA, Balance
2004 Anaheim, CA, reunion tour 5 Star
2004 Los Angeles, CA, reunion tour night 1 5 Star
2004 Los Angeles, CA, reunion tour night 2 5 Star
2004 Las Vegas, CA, reunion tour 5 Star
2007 Charlotte, NC VH REUNION! 5 Star
2007 Greensboro, NC VH Reunion! 5 Star
2007 Los Angeles, CA, VH REUNION! 5 Star
2007 Anaheim, CA, VH REUNION! night 1 5 Star
2007 Anaheim, CA, VH REUNION! night 2 5 Star

Menlow

I have to admit, when I heard Dave during the press conference, I thought he was overdoing the hype a bit. Talking about raising the bar and the expectations, I thought he was selling tickets. Well, having had nearly a full day now to digest everything, I must say that they delivered everything Dave promised and more. The chemistry between Ed and Dave was remarkable after all this time. I don't know if things will stay this way or if there'll be meltdowns to come, but for one night they kicked the shit out of 18,000 people and left them feeling exhilirated.

__________________
2008-09 VH Links Fantasy Basketball Champion

Down the Drain

I hope they can maintain this level of excellence and excitement throughout the rest of the tour!

__________________
You knew the boat was goin' to Shanghai when you bought the ticket.
- DLR

ax2grind

The boys are back!!! What can I say that has not already been said it was awesome! I lost my voice from singing and screaming all night long. I must say one of the highlights for me was when Eddie slid accross the stage on his knee's to Wolfie.I thought they were tight and enjoying each other and the crowd. It looked to me that all egos were checked at the door. This was a team effort and I am damn glad I was there to witness it!

jimmyw

Went to Charlotte, went to Gbro. Same results: A big fat "WOW!"

To add to some of these reviews, Seemed like they had some sophomore jinx technical problems on their 2nd night, but they made up for it by being a bit more loose onstage. Dave sang great again. He joked around w/ Ed a good bit more. "Quit fucking with me, I'm trying to sing!" was one ad-lib he threw out directed at Ed. I laughed. Wolfie even loosened up a little and jumped around some. He even reached in and did some tapping on Ed's guitar at one point. Since I had seen them two nights before, I looked around at the crowd more....everyone was going nuts. Both shows were beyond great but I'm gonna say I liked Charlotte a little better just because of the opening night sentiment. Made it just a little more special to me. The sound where I was on the floor in G-bro wasn't quite as good, but fuck the little shit. It was .0005% less than fantastic which ain't too fucking bad. As for myself, I'm a happy guy, but I'm beat. Van Halen just kicked my little white ass. Wow, It's been one great week. Look out Philly....here they come.

And once again, to all that read these goofy forums:

GO SEE VAN HALEN. Judge them harshly.

jimmyw

__________________
"Roth is really back. And Van Halen is really on the road with him,
and they are playing really old, kick-butt songs. People are digging
it. Critics are digging it. It seems to be working. They're adding
dates. No one thought they'd add dates." Ryan White San Diego Union Tribune

"While the set list has been pretty much established since opening night of the "Van Halen Reunion" tour, seeing it in print versus hearing it roll out in its glorious whooping, screeching, power chord glory is something like seeing one of those panoramic postcards of the Grand Canyon versus standing along the edge of it." -excerpt from a Review of the 2007 Tour

albertr

I was doing fine but since reading this YELLING POST I think my headache is coming back ;-)

Great show, best concert of my life. Great to hang with so many VH/DLR fans from all over :-) 10 hour drive, man oh man!

Sucks about Dunn getting kicked out early, but I hope the footage is worth it :-D

Great reviews say it better than I could! Well worth everything it took to see VH 2007 show #2.

I am looking forward to the 5 So Cal shows too (2 in LA, 2 in Anaheim and a 5 star in San Diego) plus whatever else I can fit in!

__________________
-- Albert R.
albertr @ albertr.com
http://vhdlr.albertr.com

ICE333

Saw the show at Greensboro with my wife...Van Halen has proved once again why they are THE premier rock band of the entire world!Dave is much better than the Dave of old,whom I liked then,but now he is the lead singer of Van Halen instead of David Lee Roth and the Van Halen Band.Eddie was great as always(as expected),and moved around quite a bit impressively given his age and other things(great job ed).Alex was a rock as always"visciously attacking" the drums just as he did 30 years earlier,and just as well.Attending the show was like stepping back into time,and was just as exciting and heart pounding to see the guys come running on stage as it was the first time I had the opportunity to see them.If you are a VH Fan,or a skeptic as to if they will do well or not,go to the show.I paid a major amount of money for us to be on Edwards side of the stage,and would pay double that again to see them again.To me it was'nt a reunion tour,I was going to see VAN HALEN.Roth hasnt missed a beat in 30 years,and fell right back into place with the brothers Van Halen,in a much more positive way.Music and the performance was awesome,and after Sept 29th the world is right again...Sammy is a good showman in his own right for his type music,but Van Halen he is'nt.


Wolfie.....I've read close to all the reviews for both shows,with only one being quite rude(wont even mention it)...Wolf,you did great.Anyone that gives you a negatory review has'nt stepped onto the stage with David Lee Roth,Edward Van Halen,and Alex Van Halen.I'm 37 years old,have played lead guitar since I was 12 years old,and I'm now married with children running about.Let me assure you,at 37 years old,even after years of watching Van Halen,reading everything possible about them,watching interviews and so on and so on,if I were onstage with those guys,I would do one of two things or either both:have a panic attack and lose control of my bowels,or die of congestive heart failure as soon as dave and ed began the midsong banter in "You really got me"....Given the circumstances,you did great,move around a bit more and interact,but Im sure I'd probably have problems just remembering to breathe if I were onstage with the legendary Van Halen band....


Kudos to all of you,awesome show...

MF5150

Great Review....Negatory???.....Try again....

__________________
EvH_316_5150 06/06/04 - 09/11/09

ICE333

ne-ga-tory-...sounded like a good word at the moment...lol...ill slap the thesaurus for you...again,awesome awesome show...they've been sorely missed!

mistere

So has anybody mentioned what those fucking doors at the end of the
ramp are all about? What is it, a Starbucks? Does Rob Halford ride out
on a Harley? If yes, how does Harley feel about it? What?

__________________
PS - I've been drinking.
http://www.myspace.com/harikaraoke
http://www.rockcity.cc

jimmyw

Ed actually opened them and went in there once during the show. I guess it's a massage parlor or something. Bunch of young Asian girls ran out before he could shut the damn thing back. Giggity!

__________________
"Roth is really back. And Van Halen is really on the road with him,
and they are playing really old, kick-butt songs. People are digging
it. Critics are digging it. It seems to be working. They're adding
dates. No one thought they'd add dates." Ryan White San Diego Union Tribune

"While the set list has been pretty much established since opening night of the "Van Halen Reunion" tour, seeing it in print versus hearing it roll out in its glorious whooping, screeching, power chord glory is something like seeing one of those panoramic postcards of the Grand Canyon versus standing along the edge of it." -excerpt from a Review of the 2007 Tour