07.26.24 - Mansfield, MA - Xfinity Center

[Brett]

I wonder why he puts all those songs together at the end like that? I mean, it’s a run of like four or five songs.

I wish the songs were all VH stuff too. The solo stuff he does do are songs that I like except for Mas Tequila, which is fucking terrible. Eagles Fly is OK, but it was much better with Van Halen.

[CaboChris]

Well, I had mixed feelings. Mostly positive.

A++++ for the VH content including the two songs Sam frequently did with VH.

But just being honest - the Sammy solo tunes late in the show kinda sucked my energy down. They just don’t hold up to the songs he wrote with Ed.

My thoughts going in were that this is probably the last time I’ll see the VH songs done this well. I’d have preferred more of them. I’ve seen Sammy solo and likely will again. Didn’t need that in this show.

Ben - sorry I missed you. Hope things are good in your world.

What do you think about When It's Love as the closer? To me, that's an energy sucker.

[Brett]

Yeah it’s a weird closer.

Top Of The World would have been better. Or maybe even BOBW.

[It's Mike]

What do you think about When It's Love as the closer? To me, that's an energy sucker.

It's a good crowd sing-along, so it kind of works. But top of the world was built to close.

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[It's Mike]

I wonder why he puts all those songs together at the end like that? I mean, it’s a run of like four or five songs.

I wish the songs were all VH stuff too. The solo stuff he does do are songs that I like except for Mas Tequila, which is fucking terrible. Eagles Fly is OK, but it was much better with Van Halen.

Allows VH fans to have a long bathroom break. Pretty damn considerate of Sam.

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[edwardv]

Yeah we can all go and change our Depends.

[Al Van Bundy]

Firstly, apologies for my tardiness.

Between the trip from Haverhill to Mansfield and back on Friday and visiting my mother-in-law in Hull yesterday, I've driven nearly 300 miles in the last 2 days, and, to quote Lili Von Shtupp - "Goddamnit, I'm exhausted".

The show on Friday exceeded nearly every expectation I had.

Sammy sounded GREAT.
Joe did the songs justice while adding his own bits of flair.
Mikey is still the best damn background singer ever.

One thing that was absolutely refreshing - the crowd.
EVERYONE was awesome.
There was no bickering anywhere, nobody was a drunken mess, nobody was an asshole.
Everyone was having a good time and feeling it.
A far cry from the Judas Priest show I went to a few months ago where it felt like "I remember my first beer" night.

Overall, an exceptional 9 out of 10.
Minus half a point because they haven't switched any songs in the set yet, and I doubt they're going to at this point.
And minus half a point for a shitty choice of venue - the acoustics at Xfinity aren't great.
Ultimately wished they played at Meadowbrook in Gilford, NH.
But, it is what it is & overall, a fan-fucking-tastic evening.

And I somehow made it out of the parking lot in less than 10 minutes, which is a minor miracle on its own.

Next up on the Van Bundy concert schedule....
Mastodon & Lamb of God next Sunday at the SNHU Arena in Manchester, NH & Queensryche at the Tupelo Music Hall in Derry, NH on August 30.

[Brett]

They actually have switched one of of the songs. They’re not doing Oh Yeah anymore as part of that medley, they’re doing Big Foot instead.

I know it’s not much and it’s not Van Halen, but they have switched one thing.

[fudd]

I applaud you guys that go to
Shows all the time.

I just don’t have the patience to deal with inconsiderate people at shows. That’s why when I do go, I get the vip shit. I don’t really care about meeting the band or the food, it’s the fast track and the better parking I want.


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[Al Van Bundy]

I applaud you guys that go to
Shows all the time.

I just don’t have the patience to deal with inconsiderate people at shows. That’s why when I do go, I get the vip shit. I don’t really care about meeting the band or the food, it’s the fast track and the better parking I want.


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I rarely deal with big shows anymore for those reasons. I only dealt with this one because it was a set that I'm probably never going to get to see again & I'm dealing with the one next week because Mrs. Van Bundy loves Lamb of God. I like Mastodon myself, but I doubt I'd go if we weren't together.

Nearly everything else on my "going to" list is at the Tupelo Music Hall in Derry, NH. 700 capacity venue, fantastic acoustics, free parking, great staff & the best in-house kitchen of any concert venue I've ever been to. Plus, it being only 30 minutes from the house is a huge plus.

The only other arena show on my schedule is Iron Maiden in November out in Worcester. After that one, I think I'm pretty much done with them for good. I've seen everyone I want to see that can still play those size venues.

[VH1986]

Firstly, apologies for my tardiness.

Between the trip from Haverhill to Mansfield and back on Friday and visiting my mother-in-law in Hull yesterday, I've driven nearly 300 miles in the last 2 days, and, to quote Lili Von Shtupp - "Goddamnit, I'm exhausted".

The show on Friday exceeded nearly every expectation I had.

Sammy sounded GREAT.
Joe did the songs justice while adding his own bits of flair.
Mikey is still the best damn background singer ever.

One thing that was absolutely refreshing - the crowd.
EVERYONE was awesome.
There was no bickering anywhere, nobody was a drunken mess, nobody was an asshole.
Everyone was having a good time and feeling it.
A far cry from the Judas Priest show I went to a few months ago where it felt like "I remember my first beer" night.

Overall, an exceptional 9 out of 10.
Minus half a point because they haven't switched any songs in the set yet, and I doubt they're going to at this point.
And minus half a point for a shitty choice of venue - the acoustics at Xfinity aren't great.
Ultimately wished they played at Meadowbrook in Gilford, NH.
But, it is what it is & overall, a fan-fucking-tastic evening.

And I somehow made it out of the parking lot in less than 10 minutes, which is a minor miracle on its own.

Next up on the Van Bundy concert schedule....
Mastodon & Lamb of God next Sunday at the SNHU Arena in Manchester, NH & Queensryche at the Tupelo Music Hall in Derry, NH on August 30.

Awesome review. Can't wait for the show in Cincinnati. I've got 3 shows in 6 days in August: Green Day, The Avett Brothers, and Sammy.

[CaboChris]

I applaud you guys that go to
Shows all the time.

I just don’t have the patience to deal with inconsiderate people at shows. That’s why when I do go, I get the vip shit. I don’t really care about meeting the band or the food, it’s the fast track and the better parking I want.


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Reminds me how I've always wanted to fly first class somewhere. Making multiple back and forth trips to the UK in economy, blew. I just can't spend 7,0000 for that shit.

They had room. I could have swore they were lying down like in a bed.

[Dont disturb my Paradise]

Gary is not currently on tour. Could see him and Nuno making an appearance in Mansfield. Also Wolf plays the night before in Cincinnati but doesn't play again until August 2nd at Gillette opening for Metallica. Maybe be an opening there for him to appear.

I doubt Wolfie will appear, but never say never I guess.

[jrk5150]

I'd go see this show again. And again. The VH content was that good.

And I'm not necessarily ragging on the non-VH content - I like Sam. I've seen him on every tour that's come through this area whether it's solo or Chickenfoot or the Circle or whatever. And I probably will in the future. But this was different - this is likely it for these tunes done the "right way". If I was advising Sam, I'd have told him to nix the solo/Montrose stuff. He does that with the Circle, and that's good enough (no pun intended). I'd have stuck to VH, plus There's Only One Way and Eagle's Fly, and let Satch do his thing for his "solo", but that's it.

I'm not disappointed per se, but I do think it could have been better and, as is the norm with everything VH, there are opportunities being missed. But don't get me wrong - for what it was, it was a GREAT show. I would go again. And that's saying something, as I have dramatically cut back on my concert attendance since Ed passed. I am a huge Styx and Foreigner fan, and my son had to drag me to go see them this Friday. I don't know why - it's all just kind of muted when I don't have Van Halen to look forward to in the future.

[Mariner]

Some thoughts as I was there as well.

Sammy, for age 76, did a hell of a job. They are tuned down a whole step, with for someone with perfect pitch, drives me crazy. But hey, if I wanted the original keys, i could just listen to the radio or CDs.

That said, he had to throw it to Michael Anthony for whole verses at a time. Mike actually did some lead vocals on more than just ATBL. Sammy also altered lines here and there to sing lower (the opposite of DLR, LOL) pitches. He did struggle with pitch at times, but it was rare. All in all, for his age (compare him to Mike Reno, for example), he was more than solid and did the songs justice.

Joe crushed it. Nice combo of Eddie's important licks and leads with Satch flourishes (which seemed so similar - how many times does he do the pick tapping???). His sound was solid, his feel was right on the money and nothing that he played sounded out of place. I'd much rather this than the Atomic Punks that Dave took out on the road.

Michael Anthony... what is there to say? The pipes are still there. His playing was fantastic. MVP of the show.

Jason Bonham - playing a kit built like Alex's (3 bass drums, the Octobans, etc.) with his father's face on each bass drum head - was brilliant. He is a FAR better drummer than I ever gave him credit. He didn't copy AVH's style per se, but he had the drums to fill in where needed. Agree with the above comment about hearing 5150 songs on acoustic drums made it sound so powerful.

Rai Thistlethwaite - sang most of Eddie's parts and played solid keyboards. He plays rhythm guitar on a couple of songs, too. His keyboard playing on Right Now was not correct, however (I play it. He was close but the feel was wrong.) But he is a solid musician and fills out the line up nicely.

Highlights: 5150, Judgement Day, One Way to Rock, Right Now (despite the comment above), Top of the World, Best of Booth Worlds, Summer Nights.

Disappointments: Nothing from OU812 besides When It's Love; nothing from Balance besides Seventh Seal; Sammy only ending to show (and why does Satch play the Frankenstein during those songs? Weird); No Chickenfoot guitars during the Chickenfoot 2 minutes (MA plays the 'Foot bass); no JD bass for MA; uninspired DLR-era songs; medley could have been SO much more; When It's Love was a weird ending.

Overall, 8.5 out of 10.

Given the fan response, would not be surprised if we got Round 2 next year with a re-tooled set list. Could see them adding Don't Tell Me What Love Can Do (apparently getting added for Japan); Mine All Mine (you have the keyboard player - take advantage!); Big Fat Money (it is SAMMY (TM) after all); AFU (if he can sing it); Black and Blue. Give us Rock Candy or Bad Motor Scooter. Don't scrimp on Chickenfoot - give us Soap on a Rope or Sexy Little Thing or My Kinda Girl or all of Big Foot. And please, for the love of God, deep six Mas Tequila - that song sucks.

I know I am leaning more on the complaining - just keeping it real. I was in tears multiple times, from the opening "Hello, babe", to the chords of 5150, to the opening of Right Now, to BOBW with the walk across the stage (yes, they recreated LWAN). It rocked, and it is well worth going.

We got 15 VH songs from one of the originals and 12 from another. Gosh did I miss hearing these songs live.