Van Halen concert in New Jersey/Meadowlands last night

[Unfaithfully Metalhead]

I finally got to see them 3/4's together after 22 years last night... was a great show and Diamond Dave was the star of the show... the Van Halen's seem more like a backup band... Dave definetly stole the show... as for Wolfgang... hate to say it but he had no star quality... he could play no doubt because Eddie taught him well but he seemed so out of place... a pudgy little high school kid and it showed in how he dressed and such... you can find clips on youtube to see what I mean... the crowd received him well out of respect for Eddie imo... as for Dave.. what can i say... he was the ringmaster and knew how to entertain... his voice is still top notch and he's still doing them kicks... below are some of the songs that i can remember from the set list in no particular order:

You Really Got Me (i missed this song because i was on line to get beer which was a rip off at between $7.25 to $7.75 per beer)

I'm the One

Pretty Woman

Jamie's Crying

Little Dreamer

Hot for Teacher

Panama

Atomic Punk

Dancing the Night Away

Running with the Devil

Aint Talkin Bout Love

Jump (the encore)

Ice Cream Man

Beautiful Girls

And the Cradle will Rock!

Everybody Wants Some

 

[zeppelin]

I'm green!
Could you take any photos?

 

[ElectricWiz]

I was wondering if any members here would catch this tour. After seeing the rather high quality of the show via Youtube I considered it. The high prices scared me off though, but mostly because there are other shows I've yet to see this year, and I just couldn't rationalize so much money for something I just kinda cared about. Still, in the Youtube clips Dave does sound GREAT! I will say, the reunion is somewhat sullied by the odd behavior and choices of this band the last few years, but all bets are off when you hit the stage actually playing and sounding good. Glad you went, and if I was to go, that's just the kind of setlist I'd be wowed by!

 

[poundingmetal74]

I've yet to see them live - doubt I will. I'd love to, but for those prices....

From the videos I've seen on youtube Dave sounds AWESOME. For a 50-something year old, he's on fire vocally.

 

[sixxswine]

I've yet to see them live - doubt I will. I'd love to, but for those prices....

I agree... I will wait for the DVD....

 

[Priest of Evil]

wow, what a setlist! Completely classic, I would definitely give serious consideration into going if they made it to Australia. BTW how much were the ticket prices?

 

[Platinum Maze]

I was there too, and the show was pretty awesome. Worth the $150 ticket? Maybe not, but it was the best "arena" show I've seen in years, probably since seeing Maiden at MSG in 2000. The crowd was on their feet all night. I was happy I went, for sure.

One or two things bothered me. The fact that Eddie was using like a 50 foot guitar cable, as opposed to a WIRELESS (Hello?!?, Eddie!?!), just baffles me...especially when he was trying to untangle it, get it out of the way, get the slack out of it, etc, for the ENTIRE show. Very annoying to watch him preoccupied by the stupid thing. I understand some people may prefer the cable over a wireless, but if it's that much of a hassle....and you're that fucking rich, I'm sure today's technology can accomodate you. It also kept him within 20-30 feet of his pedal board all night. They had this huge semi-circle runway that went through the first 20 rows of the crowd, and Eddie couldn't even go out on it. Dave used it twice, and Wolf went out there 2 or 3 times. That's it.

Eddie also came off like a little kid throwing a temper tantrum when he had some problems with the monitor on the drum riser. The problems started during Little Dreamer or Little Guitars when he was yelling at the tech at the side of the stage trying to get him to adjust something. It continued for the next song or so with him stomping his feet, pointing at the ground, and dragging the monitor off the riser and onto the stage. He was visibly pissed off and frustrated and looked more immature than his 16 year old son. It ended I think during Jamie's Cryin' when he unplugged the cable from the monitor, dragged it over to the side of the stage, and fucking hurled it down the staircase. Real good move, Ed. Way to show some patience.

Playing wise, I was impressed by Alex and Wolf more than anything else. They were tight as hell and it's obvious they've been jamming for a while. One of the tightest rhythm sections I've heard in a while. The kid is a damn good player. As mentioned above, he needs some stage presence. People forget I think sometimes how good Alex Van Halen is. I thought his drum solo was phenomenal. Much more impressive than Eddie's guitar solo...

Here's the set list, in order:

You Really Got Me
I’m The One
Runnin’ With the Devil
Romeo Delight
Somebody Get Me a Doctor
Beautiful Girls
Dance the Night Away
Atomic Punk
Everybody Wants Some
So This is Love?
Mean Street
Pretty Woman
Drum Solo
Unchained
I’ll Wait
…And the Cradle Will Rock
Hot for Teacher
Little Dreamer
Little Guitars
Jamie’s Cryin’
Ice Cream Man
Panama
Guitar Solo
Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love
-----------------
1984/Jump

 

[delize]

I'd pay to meet Dave face to face. Will there be a DVD?

 

[ElectricWiz]

The highlights for me there are the Fair Warning songs (my first VH record, and still my fave - their heaviest), and other oddities like Little Guitars. So classy that they are doing that. A great song! Can't go wrong with stuff like Atomic Punk either, "nobody walks these streets at night...but ME!" Cool.

 

[Unfaithfully Metalhead]

wow, what a setlist! Completely classic, I would definitely give serious consideration into going if they made it to Australia. BTW how much were the ticket prices?

i paid $94 for my ticket... $35 for Tshirt and $7 + for beers inside (though i drank some outside as well)... with the exception of the beer prices the show was worth the money... have to remember we have all been waiting for this for 22 years... most likely it will not happen again...

I was there too, and the show was pretty awesome. Worth the $150 ticket? Maybe not, but it was the best "arena" show I've seen in years, probably since seeing Maiden at MSG in 2000. The crowd was on their feet all night. I was happy I went, for sure.

One or two things bothered me. The fact that Eddie was using like a 50 foot guitar cable, as opposed to a WIRELESS (Hello?!?, Eddie!?!), just baffles me...especially when he was trying to untangle it, get it out of the way, get the slack out of it, etc, for the ENTIRE show. Very annoying to watch him preoccupied by the stupid thing. I understand some people may prefer the cable over a wireless, but if it's that much of a hassle....and you're that fucking rich, I'm sure today's technology can accomodate you. It also kept him within 20-30 feet of his pedal board all night. They had this huge semi-circle runway that went through the first 20 rows of the crowd, and Eddie couldn't even go out on it. Dave used it twice, and Wolf went out there 2 or 3 times. That's it.

Eddie also came off like a little kid throwing a temper tantrum when he had some problems with the monitor on the drum riser. The problems started during Little Dreamer or Little Guitars when he was yelling at the tech at the side of the stage trying to get him to adjust something. It continued for the next song or so with him stomping his feet, pointing at the ground, and dragging the monitor off the riser and onto the stage. He was visibly pissed off and frustrated and looked more immature than his 16 year old son. It ended I think during Jamie's Cryin' when he unplugged the cable from the monitor, dragged it over to the side of the stage, and fucking hurled it down the staircase. Real good move, Ed. Way to show some patience.

Playing wise, I was impressed by Alex and Wolf more than anything else. They were tight as hell and it's obvious they've been jamming for a while. One of the tightest rhythm sections I've heard in a while. The kid is a damn good player. As mentioned above, he needs some stage presence. People forget I think sometimes how good Alex Van Halen is. I thought his drum solo was phenomenal. Much more impressive than Eddie's guitar solo...

Here's the set list, in order:

You Really Got Me
I’m The One
Runnin’ With the Devil
Romeo Delight
Somebody Get Me a Doctor
Beautiful Girls
Dance the Night Away
Atomic Punk
Everybody Wants Some
So This is Love?
Mean Street
Pretty Woman
Drum Solo
Unchained
I’ll Wait
…And the Cradle Will Rock
Hot for Teacher
Little Dreamer
Little Guitars
Jamie’s Cryin’
Ice Cream Man
Panama
Guitar Solo
Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love
-----------------
1984/Jump

Oh Dave give me a break... lol remember that during the show?... anwyays that thing with Eddie and the monitor... did not know what was going on till you just mentioned it... i did find it odd he didn't use wireless... first time i seen VH in 88 with Hagar he used wireless and yes you are right about Alex being underrated... he always does a awesome drum solo (well heard most of it while i was in the bathroom lol but seen it in full in 1988)... but like I mentioned before Dave was the real star of the show and imo stole the show from the Van Halen's... other then that I would pay the price of admission to go see them again then watching it on DVD... to me it's a once in a lifetime thing that will probably never happen again because of their personalities... VH!!!