Did anyone ever see Gary with VH?

[Edeble Ed]

The reason i ask is because i was just reading all the reviews of gary with vh over at vhnd and most sound very positive. most people said the album was bad but that they were impressed by gary's performance on stage. so i just wanted to know if he was all that good on stage

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Only adventures that I regret are the ones I missed - DLR

[AJW]

I saw them twice. I saw them at Madison Square Garden in May of 98 when Creed opened up for them and then I saw them in August of 98 a the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, NJ. I liked the Garden show a lot better. Gary's voice was a lot better at that show.


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He's a great guitar player, but I'm more impressed by his recent songwriting and keyboard work. I think he's going to be remembered. He could be the next Cole Porter. - Ritchie Blackmore, Deep Purple

Eddie Van Halen is a good guitar player. He's entitled to all the adulation he can acquire. - Frank Zappa

Al and I are the real Van Halen. There could always be Van Halen as long as it's me and Al. But if there was no Dave, this place would be pretty empty tonight. - EVH during a 1984 pre-concert interview before that night's sold out show

"But you can try me at home, if it feels all right
But I ain't home, at night! Wow!" Hear About It Later

[MikeL]

It was an exciting show! Gary did a great job. I saw them at Deer Creek in Indy. It's a great outdoor venue. There was a thunderstorm in the background for most of the show, which made it unique.

It was just awsome to see the old tunes done. Much of the crowd wasn't expecting it, and I think they may have thought the tunes were new... Seriously, when Ed Started Mean streats I went absolutely nuts, and the people near me didn't seem to know what to think, either about the song or me.

Gary did a fine job. Everyone left the show happy.

[Dusie]

I thought he did a good job.Hearing Ed do Eruption was worth the price of admission.

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[Markymark]

I saw them with Gary in Park City, Utah at The Canyons, an outdoor venue. I thought it was one of the best shows I have ever seen. I took a friend who is not a Van Halen fan. He responded that the show was the best concert he had ever attended. I thought the show was very good in that the band made the audience feel like an equal participant in the show.

[POJO_Risin]

I saw them in Cleveland, OH in May of 1998 with KWS opening up for them. The ONLY highlights to that show were Eddie's playing, and hearing the oldies again. I couldn't get past the gyrating and the brown leisure suit from Cherone, and I can't tell me how many times I saw people standing around me giving each other looks after Cherone would screach something out, or grind with the microphone. Maybe he's a good performer for whatever it is he does, but certainly not for VH. Another lowlight was that the show barely scratched an hour and a half, and Cherone's only statements during the show was, "Hello Cleveland!!!," and, "Thank You Cleveland!!!" Now, go to a Dave show...or even a Sam show...and watch the interaction. Cherone just didn't know how to work a crowd. I was a bit surprised at this after watching him work the Wembley crowd into a frenzy during the Mercury tribute. Maybe he should front a revamped Queen...

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Eat Us and Smile!!!!!
Co-Founder

"I'm the One, the one you love. C'mon baby show your Love!!!! WWWoooooWWWW...Give it to me!!!"

[Foamfoot]

Saw them in Chicago and Grand Rapids, MI..

Personally.. I HATED how he sang the Sammy stuff.. just didn't fit his style.

The Dave stuff was o.k... it was definately good to hear it again.. but when Gary started singing.. oof. I felt (at times) like I was watching a VH tribute band.

As for Gary's performance.. I was impressed. He tried like HELL to put on a good show.. moved like a rubber-band.. and did his very best at singing all 3 eras. Impressive for a guy who had the weight of the world on his shoulders.

I certainly wasn't overwhelmed.. but NOT disappointed.

[tribb]

I saw them in 98 at the Molson Ampatheater in Toronto. I thought Gary's voice was pretty good, except there wasn't much interaction with the audience. The focus seemed to be on Ed for the night, cause Gary just didn't have the stage presence. As I've said before, I think VH needs a very strong frontman, someone who really works the crowd.
Gary spent a lot of time rolling around on stage, and staying almost in the background. Maybe he felt intimidated, but he never seemed to take control of the show. I've got a bootleg VHS tape someone shot at the show, and have watched it a few times to see if it was just the way I perceived it, but it wasn't. Van Halen sounded great, and so did Gary, but just not together, if that makes any sense.

[hammered65]

I saw them in Columbus, Ohio. Cherone definitely looked out of place on stage with Eddie, Al, and Mike. Those three were wearing t-shirts and shorts, while Cherone was wearing a suit. It was great to see Eddie and the boys live, but Cherone was obviously the wrong man to be fronting this band. I also couldn't believe the sparse crowd either. I was in the back, on the lawn where I could see the whole place, and I couldn't believe how small the crowd was. I'm sure that won't be a problem when they tour next with Dave!

[Texas]

The first time I saw Gary with VH was a concert on TV. My girlfriend walked in while I was watching and said, "who is that sex kitten trying to sing Van halen, he looks so stupid" She didn't know anything about him or what was going on with the band, so I thought it was funny. Then I started thinking about it, yep he sure does look stupid. I think when he rolled down the stairs like a retard, it capped it for me. This guy just doesn't fit in. So now I always affectionately refer to Gary as "Sex Kitten."

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"common sense ain't common"

[tap1966]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by hammered65:
I saw them in Columbus, Ohio. Cherone definitely looked out of place on stage with Eddie, Al, and Mike. Those three were wearing t-shirts and shorts, while Cherone was wearing a suit. It was great to see Eddie and the boys live, but Cherone was obviously the wrong man to be fronting this band. I also couldn't believe the sparse crowd either. I was in the back, on the lawn where I could see the whole place, and I couldn't believe how small the crowd was. I'm sure that won't be a problem when they tour next with Dave!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I was there too, and I agree with everything you said. Strange thing though, VH must have got a good reaction from us because they played an extra encore that night. I was following the vh.com setlist/reviews.

[POJO_Risin]

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

SEX KITTEN!!!!!!

BWAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

That shit cracks me up. You summed it up in two words.

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Eat Us and Smile!!!!!
Co-Founder

"I'm the One, the one you love. C'mon baby show your Love!!!! WWWoooooWWWW...Give it to me!!!"

[POJO_Risin]

Yeah...I was definately disappointed at the crowd. I was shocked and dismayed that I got good tickets the day before the show...and more dissappointed when I saw the crowd at the Gund. I don't know how many were there...but 10,000 was probably pushing it. I remember seeing something in the Plain Dealer at the end of the concert season that said something about their show drawing less than a Culture Club retro show at Blossom.

SEX KITTEN...hehehehe

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Eat Us and Smile!!!!!
Co-Founder

"I'm the One, the one you love. C'mon baby show your Love!!!! WWWoooooWWWW...Give it to me!!!"

[hammered65]

Hey Jonathon,

You're right about the encore. After reading their set list from other shows on that tour, they normally just did one encore, not two like they did for us. If I remember right, I think they closed with "Feel Your Love Tonight." A kick-ass song!