SHOW REVIEWS » May 29th - Blossom Music Center (Cuyahoga Falls, OH) - Reviews ONLY!

Brett · 05.29.02, 10:54 AM

If you went to the May 29th show, please feel free to add a reply with your review here.

Let's try to keep this thread for REVIEWS ONLY, and not for discussion. That way, it will be easy for people to read them.

If you want to discuss this particular show, just make a new thread for that.

Thanks!

Don Kirschner Fan · 05.29.02, 09:44 PM

'Sorry, Brett - 'didn't see the thread created for this...

As for those who're wondering about Dave doing solo material ? He did Yankee Rose, 'that's it. All else VH.....No butless leather pants, just "combat spandex"......

Brett · 05.29.02, 09:51 PM

I will cut and paste it in here. No problem man. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Brett · 05.29.02, 09:54 PM

Don Kirschner Fan's Review
---------------------------

Well look at all the people here tonight.........

'Just got back from the opening show to kick off the Sam & Dave tour. No voice, 'still hot & sweaty, so here goes:

First off, 'great meeting you Twonabomber & friend ! We met at Hooters as the sky opened up.
Thunderstorms rolled through the area right up to showtime, in the muggy, high dew-point atmosphere.

The waitress at Hooters comes to our table & when we informed her where we're goin', she's like "Who's that ?"

Sam(my) ? David Lee Roth ? LMFAO !!

Anywho, off to the show...'Didn't buy any merchandise, as each performer had their own set of shirts, but nothing with the Sam & Dave stuff together

, not even a program. Sammy has his own program for the Waboritas, but that's it.

Sam opened with "Red" from his solo days, which a good chunk of his set consisted of. "I forgot my pencil", so I'll just run down the tunes. Twonabomber I think will have them in order - 'saw him with paper & pencil.

Red, 3 Lock Box, '55, for which someone threw a Cleveland Indians home white jersey up, with "Sammy Hagar & 55" in the circle with the line thru it on the back - Cool enough; Theme from Heavy Metal, Right Now (with an acapela-type percussionist near the front), Runaround,
Poundcake, One Way to Rock, Mas Tequila, Cabo Wabo, Dreams, Red Leather (?? I know the tune, it's older from pre-VH, 'not the name lol), and closed with Why Can't This Be Cheese ?. I've probably left out a few [img]graemlins/drunk.gif[/img] .....

A couple of surprise from Sam as well. First of all, the Cabo Wabo bar set-up for his stage had two sets of what I'll assume were contest winners, one set on each side of the stage, sitting in small bleachers. On the right side, where Ed used to be, was.....ready for this ....?? a cardboard cut-out of the man himself, with short hair from the Balance days. This did not bode well, and sure enough, one of the guys next to the cut-out kept bending/folding the head down, with some occasional encouragement from Sam, until the Ed cut-out just was no more

.

The other "surprise" ? As they started Poundcake, the drill intro was produced on the video screen, with footage of a drill going thru the neck and all thru the body of Ed's blck & white striped Frankenstrat [img]graemlins/scared.gif[/img] . Yup, this actually happened - 'gave me a weird kinda' chill.....
Sam made several references verbally re. Ed, but didn't name him directly.

Dave opened with Hot for Teacher, then went right into Panama. Other Dave/Van Halen tunes performed this night: I'm The One, 'Cradle, 'Runnin with The Devil, Beautiful Girls, Atomic Punk, You Really Got Me, Ice Cream Man, Pretty Woman, Dance The Night Away (and we did), Somebody Get Me A Doctor, So This Is Love ?, Mean Street, Everybody Wants Some, Little Dreamer, and for the encore, Jump.
Dave hit the high note on more than several occasions, 'forgot the words once or twice [img]smile.gif[/img] , and was clearly having a blast. His band is quite tight, indeed & the guitarist shredded note-for-note...'only thing missing was Ed's tone. I was impressed ! No references from Dave re. Van Halen, which after Sammy's, showed a different side. All those who think Sammy may get back with Van Halen....well, umm.....it would take some MAJOR grovelling or apologizing on both sides, me thinks after witnessing this.....

Enough for now........

Don Kirschner Fan · 05.29.02, 10:10 PM

.....And not only were both bands tight on this night; the backing vocals in Dave's band, for which is part of the signature Van Halen sound, were pretty damn good [img]graemlins/thumb.gif[/img] .

Yeah, Dave's out of breath a bit, but tonight anywho, 'seemed like it was from his own passion/excitement. Otherwise, the man's voice was there. The kicks aren't as high anymore, the swordsmanship saved for a brief period later in the show, but you can tell he loves performing these tunes. Ahh, the future of Van Halen.....

Pabs · 05.29.02, 10:14 PM

So overall, who was better?????

Don Kirschner Fan · 05.29.02, 10:22 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Pabs:
So overall, who was better?????

No one was "better" than the other, IMO. "Better" could be defined many different ways, 'different variables in the show, production, etc.

Cool lights for both, simple stage set-ups, even for the Cantina. But I just can't get those constant images of the guy on one side of "Ed", slappin' his head back -n -forth, etc. He'd also turn to face "Ed", & mockingly gesture, raising his arms up like "C'mon Ed, get into it !"

Pabs · 05.29.02, 10:25 PM

Dude, obviously, either Sam or Dave was preferred after seeing this show. It's supposed to be some competition, so who do you think came out on top in round 1?

I'll be at round 3 anyway, but I figure I can get a preview.

Don Kirschner Fan · 05.29.02, 10:30 PM

[img]graemlins/drunk.gif[/img] This thread is only for reviews - I'll answer q's in the thread I started.

Yes, there was clearly on display enthusiasm from both sets, but again, the sets were very distinctively different. Anyone who's seen both these eras live could attest to that, especially with Sam's setlist. He didn't perform any Dave era VH like he had in the past. Just stuff from his own era & solo.

WhoHalen · 05.29.02, 10:38 PM

Ah crap Brett, I wasn't even paying attention to this thread. Sorry. Can you post my review in here too?

Brett · 05.29.02, 10:49 PM

WhoHalen's Review
-------------------------------------

Wow. That's all I've gotta say. Blossom Music Center was absolutely packed to the brim to see this show. Sammy came out and played some great stuff. He really did a lot with the crowd, wearing a Browns hardhat and an Indians jersey. How bout them waitresses, my fellow NE Ohio VH fans? Sammy's chops were great and the Waboritas really sounded good and tight. I like Mona's backup vocals (they kinda reminded me of Mikey's). Speaking of which, where the hell was Mikey anyway? I thought he was supposed to be there tonight. I can't remember the setlist right off hand, but it was pretty consistent with his previous shows. Played Runaround, WCTBL, Poundcake (without even attempting Eddie's drill intro), FWYS and a kinda weak version of Right Now. He also busted out Heavy Metal which sounded great. On the negative side, it really looked like he was trying to up Dave, showing clips from "Girls Gone Wild" during Poundcake, talking about getting both high and wasted just a little too much, plus a short infomercial for Cabo Wabo Tequila. All in all though Sammy sounded great, played great and looked great. One of his best performances in recent memory.
If Sammy got the crowd to DefCon 4, Dave sent them into DefCon 1 in about 15 seconds. He absolutely blew the lid off the joint. He also sounded pretty darn good, much better than his festival stint last summer. Dave was into it from the get go, with amazing energy and stamina throughout the whole set. He took what, a 30 second break during the guitar solo before You Really Got Me? Dave also played So This Is Love? and Everybody Wants Some!! (I'd never heard those live before) which were really great. Dave's only solo song was Yankee Rose. I love all the Van Halen, but would throwing in a little bit of ALAE or Just Like Paradise hurt? Dave's band was phenominal. His new guitarist really shredded it up, but it just wasn't Eddie. He cloned Eddie pretty well except on the opening to Mean Street Dave's voice was in pretty good shape. He hit some high notes, didn't forget too many lyrics [img]smile.gif[/img] and looked like he was on cloud nine from the start. I loved all the spinning kicks and splits off the drum riser too. He's still in great shape. Also, some of those weird videos from his website/DVD made it onto the big screen during the show, but I really was too busy enjoying myself to care about them.
From the VH front, Sammy made some brief jabs (literally) when he slapped/punched the 1995 Peavey cut out of Ed that was up in the bleacher section during his set. Dave said nothing bad about VH at all. Where was Mikey? I have no clue.
All in all, it was a fabulous show from both performers. I'm a fan of both the Sammy and Dave eras of VH, but personally, I would give Dave the edge after round one. The crowd defintely liked Sammy, but everyone in the whole place was on their feet, dancing, singing and just rocking out the second Dave hit the stage. So, that's it, if I left out any important detail or if anybody has any important questions, let me know. It was definitely a religious experience.

Stez · 05.29.02, 10:50 PM

WOW, GREAT SHOWS!

Sammy threw his party and out daved Dave with his between song talk/ramblings/intros and interaction. But Dave & band unquestionably out ROCKED Sammy. Dave's performance had little if any slow down. Only little dreamer & pretty woman back to back slowed down at all, the rest was flat out pedal to the metal rock, pure Dave. DLR & band were very much into it AND tight. Seeing DLR in full mojo again is fantastic.

Sets: (not in order & not complete; if any mistakes, I apologize – long day/night)
Sammy - red, runaround, 1 way to rock, standing on tap, heavy metal, 55, where eagles fly, give 2 live, finish what you started, pound cake, dreams, why can't this be love, mas tequila, right now

Dave - running w/ devil, eruption, u really got me, aint talkin bout love, im the one, atomic punk, ice cream man, little dreamer, dance the night, beautiful girls, cradle will rock, everybody wants some, mean st., so this is love, unchained, pretty woman, hot for teacher, jump, panama, & yankee rose

Crowd was great, very much into both shows, 15 to 50 years old, far from a sellout (will be interested to see attendance numbers, 10 – 12 k).

Video screens on stage were put to good use for the most part with tapes & live footage. Sammy’s 'girls gone bad' to pound cake was a video highlight, Dave’s videos included martial arts AND ‘characters/images’ from the people that were with him at the tours press conference, the characters did not really add to his show, but he did not need them to.

It will be VERY INTERESTING to see: how it all plays out (what will Dave’s set be like in daylight, will they play together, will the setlists change, will MA show up to play with either, new dates, will sammy’s never ending promotion of cabo wabo include an 800 number to book your travel itinerary, will dave throw a hip out, etc. etc. etc.)

If you have the chance to go, please do yourself a favor and go. I guarantee that even the most casual fan would not be disappointed.

Also, if you do go, please post a review. ENJOY.

twonabomber · 05.30.02, 12:07 AM

complete setlists...

Hagar

Red
Runaround
Three Lock Box
One Way To Rock
Give To Live
Top of the World
Why Can't This Be Love
"5150"
Poundcake
Finish What Ya Started
Eagles Fly
Little White Lie
I Can't Drive 55
Heavy Metal
Mas Tequila
Dreams
Right Now

Roth

Hot For Teacher
Panama
And The Cradle Will Rock
Mean Street
Dance The Night Away
Running With The Devil
I'm The One
You Really Got Me
Beautiful Girls
So This Is Love
Atomic Punk
Little Dreamer
Pretty Woman
Yankee Rose
Ice Cream Man
Everybody Wants Some
Unchained
Ain't Talkin' Bout Love
Jump

Vic Vega_0609 · 05.30.02, 12:21 AM

All right, folks. I just got back and I am fucking tired. I'll post a longer review soon, but in short, the show ruled. Both Sammy and Dave were on fire. One last thing I want to address is that I'm reading a lot of "It was FAR from sold out, I've seen way more people there for blah blah blah." Jesus, people. It was pretty fucking packed. The pavilion was damn near full, save for a minimal and I stress minimal number of empty seats. The lawn had it's share of folks, too. Bottom line, there wasn't room for "way" more people. Granted it wasn't capacity, but there was still a shit load of people. The way some people are going on, you'd think there was hardly anybody there. Believe me, it was pretty fucking full. More tommorow.

twonabomber · 05.30.02, 12:30 AM

Vic's right. i've seen a lot less people at some Blossom shows. and they didn't have to do a "buy one, get one free" dealio, like they do at some slow-selling shows...

it was a nice night, not too hot. only rained a tiny little bit in between sets. probably had a good walk-up sale, but we'll never know, since Blossom doesn't publicize that. a guy by me said he got his tickets in my row (15th from the stage) just before showtime, which may only mean some schmuck tried to get them online and then his credit card didn't go through, so they got released back into the pool of available tickets. in the promoter's eyes, this would be rated a success. yeah, i've seen it more packed, but that's for more of an "event" show, like Ozzfest, the very random Bowie tour, etc.

[ May 30, 2002, 01:36 AM: Message edited by: twonabomber ]