Van Halen

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Pandemonium
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Van Halen

#1 Post by Pandemonium » Mon Jan 02, 2012 9:21 pm

The band is finally about to release their first album in February with David Lee Roth fronting them since the year and album "1984." They spent much of December rehearsing at The Roxy in Hollywood during the day. The last few days have seen a major ramp-up in activity which includes tour dates being announced tomorrow and a live club show in NYC at Cafe Wha? on Thursday. Remains to be seen if this will be a Guns n' Roses-style Chinese Democracy flop or not, but it appears at least David Lee Roth is even wackier than ever:




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Matz
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Re: Van Halen

#2 Post by Matz » Tue Jan 03, 2012 7:52 am

I heard about this, it will be interesting to hear some of the new music.

Love your new avatar by the way. Was there ever a cooler cartoon character than Lobo? Nope

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Re: Van Halen

#3 Post by Pandemonium » Tue Jan 03, 2012 10:36 am

Matz wrote:I heard about this, it will be interesting to hear some of the new music.

Love your new avatar by the way. Was there ever a cooler cartoon character than Lobo? Nope
That's actually my old pre-2009 avatar when my screen name was Partyslammer. I figure new year, everything old is new again, blah, blah, blah, change out the tongue-waggin' Dracula for Lobo again.

I always thought Lobo was visually inspired by Lemmy of Motorhead and if they ever did a Lobo movie, Lemmy would be a perfect fit for the role.

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Matz
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Re: Van Halen

#4 Post by Matz » Tue Jan 03, 2012 11:13 am

or if Lemmy is busy try Chuck Zito. If you put a wig on that guy he's definitely got a Lobo vibe too. His real life is like a scaled down version of what Lobo does all day long, just heard him interviewed on Howard Stern :lol:

MYXYLPLYX
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Re: Van Halen

#5 Post by MYXYLPLYX » Tue Jan 03, 2012 2:33 pm

Having recently met this guy, I'd have to say he'd be a decent fill-in as well:

Image


:rockon:

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Re: Van Halen

#6 Post by wally » Thu Jan 05, 2012 1:53 pm

guy fieri? :lol:

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Pandemonium
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Re: Van Halen

#7 Post by Pandemonium » Thu Jan 05, 2012 2:49 pm

wally wrote:guy fieri? :lol:
HA! I'm pretty sure that's the singer for the Anti-Nowhere League. I forget his real name but he (used to) go by the nickname "Animal."

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Re: Van Halen

#8 Post by blackcoffee » Thu Jan 05, 2012 4:52 pm

How's Dave doing in the hair dept? Does he have a weave or what?

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Re: Van Halen

#9 Post by Pandemonium » Thu Jan 05, 2012 8:22 pm

Van Halen played their pre-tour show at Cafe Wha tonight. From all accounts the band was rock solid. The major VH-related fan sites all suffered server crashes with upwards of 3,000+ viewers trying to access the sites leaving a few dedicated twitter posters to provide blow-by-blow updates. They debuted one "new' song which was a reworked song from their pre-1st album demos (back in '77) called "She's The Woman." The band played tight and according to one Tweet, David Lee Roth was like "Jim Morrison singing Led Zeppelin."

Image

Dunno what Roth's got going on with the Euro-hillbilly look. And Eddie's been puttin' on the pounds, Gary Moore style.

Image

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Re: Van Halen

#10 Post by blackcoffee » Thu Jan 05, 2012 8:47 pm

I missed the VH thing likely because of my age, but I saw a lot of their stuff on MTV and actually felt nostalgic with your post. Dave's schtick is actually pretty cool. I hope they pull this off whatever their motivation.

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Re: Van Halen

#11 Post by Matz » Fri Jan 06, 2012 5:29 am



sounds pretty cool

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Re: Van Halen

#12 Post by lollapaloser » Fri Jan 06, 2012 5:32 am

I like the setlist. Hope Eddie's doing better than when he was Samurai Eddie, maybe those lbs mean he's laying off the powdered goods?

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Re: Van Halen

#13 Post by chaos » Fri Jan 06, 2012 1:38 pm

http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2012/01/ ... h-village/
To stoke the fire for the band’s new album “A Different Kind of Truth” and forthcoming tour, tonight Van Halen played for about 250 music-industry insiders and journalists packed elbow-to-elbow at the tiny Café Wha? in New York City’s Greenwich Village.

Featuring three original members – brother Eddie Van Halen and Alex Van Halen on guitar and drums, respectively; and vocalist David Lee Roth – and Wolfgang Van Halen, Eddie’s son, on bass, the quartet ran through an 11-song set heavy on familiar hits and guitar pyrotechnics by Eddie Van Halen, who, at age 56, was at his dazzling best, blending flawless technique, off-the-moment invention and exploitation of raw volume.

Opening with two songs from its 1978 debut disk, the band found its footing early and by the fourth number, “Everybody Wants Some,” Alex and his nephew locked in, providing a supple platform for the guitarist to wail and squeal, hammering a blizzard of notes, though seemingly never to excess. Soon, old tunes, including “Hot for Teacher,” a hit some 28 years ago, roared in the small venue. (“Perfect,” said Roth to drummer Van Halen at its end.) The lone new song in the set, the rave-up “She’s the Woman” featured knotty unison playing by Eddie Van Halen and his son. The new album is due for release on February 7.

The evening was a homecoming of sorts for Roth, whose uncle, Manny Roth, ran the Café Wha? from the early ‘60s well into the ‘80s. (Now 92 years old, Manny Roth was in the audience.) Roth said he first entered the club when he was seven years old; now 57, he said, “It took me 50 years to get this gig.” Kicking off “Ice Cream Man,” he added, “I’m more nervous about this gig than I’ve been at the Garden,” referencing the arena some three miles north of the Village.

In brown overalls and a newsboy cap, Roth was in a chatty mood – at one point, Eddie Van Halen looked at his wristwatch during one of his lengthy tales. His good cheer carried over into the songs: During “Panama,” he mimicked Jim Morrison singing a rendition of “Stairway to Heaven.”

The venue, which is no more than 20 yards wide from the front of the stage to the back wall, sparked memories for the band, which formed 40 years ago in Pasadena. “We used to do gigs like this five nights a week for five years,” Roth said. Alex Van Halen played the opening percussion riff to “Dance the Night Away” on an overhead water pipe. Known for his hurdling about stage, Roth sang with the ceiling about a foot above his head – no room for leaps, not even during “Jump,” the show’s finale.

Beginning February 18 in Louisville, Kentucky, Van Halen will return to arenas in the U.S. and Canada for a lengthy tour, its first since 2008, that runs through June. Tickets go on sale beginning January 14. Kool & the Gang, who, like Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix and others played Café Wha? at the start of the start of their careers, will open for Van Halen on some dates.

“Tattoo,” the first single from the new album, will be released January 10.

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Re: Van Halen

#14 Post by Pandemonium » Fri Jan 06, 2012 7:42 pm

A sample of the first single:



The songs basic riff is from a pre-1st album 1977 demo called "Down In Flames which was musically a much more interesting tune. Production sounds like shit. Probably the worst guitar tone I've heard from Eddie although the song has a decent if generic groove. Nice to see Roth's lyrics are as off the wall as ever, though.

The album's track list has leaked and I'm blown away they (as in EVH) have snaked so much off the '77 demos for this new album. I know it's been no secret they went back to the demos for *some* music/inspiration, but there's clearly two 1977 era songs (She's The Woman" and "Bullethead") on the new album plus at least with "Tattoo," another old song reworked from old 35+ year old demos. Ironic considering Eddie has long claimed he's spent the last decade recording new music in his home studio amounting to "dozens of albums worth of new songs."

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Re: Van Halen

#15 Post by Artemis » Fri Jan 06, 2012 10:35 pm

I'm thinking to get tickets for this tour because I have never seen VH.
The t.o. show is on a Saturday night too. :thumb:

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Re: Van Halen

#16 Post by Pandemonium » Fri Jan 06, 2012 10:54 pm

Artemis wrote:I'm thinking to get tickets for this tour because I have never seen VH.
The t.o. show is on a Saturday night too. :thumb:
I've never seen a "bad" Van Halen show, even with the obnoxious Sammy Hagar or Gary Cherone fronting them. As far as a pure, old school "rawk" show these days, AC/DC is probably the only big arena/stadium band that's better or more consistant.

But I'll say straight up, Van Halen circa 2012 even with David Lee Roth is not the Van Halen of their late 70's/early 80's glory days any more than Janes Addiction (even with EA) 2009 - 2012 was anything close to JA 1988 - 1991. Still, they're definitely worth checking out.

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Re: Van Halen

#17 Post by Artemis » Sat Jan 07, 2012 9:13 am

Pandemonium wrote:
Artemis wrote:I'm thinking to get tickets for this tour because I have never seen VH.
The t.o. show is on a Saturday night too. :thumb:
I've never seen a "bad" Van Halen show, even with the obnoxious Sammy Hagar or Gary Cherone fronting them. As far as a pure, old school "rawk" show these days, AC/DC is probably the only big arena/stadium band that's better or more consistant.

But I'll say straight up, Van Halen circa 2012 even with David Lee Roth is not the Van Halen of their late 70's/early 80's glory days any more than Janes Addiction (even with EA) 2009 - 2012 was anything close to JA 1988 - 1991. Still, they're definitely worth checking out.
I know it's not going to be like the old days, but I am still curious to see them. I think David Lee Roth will be very entertaining. In this case, I would be happy with a hit heavy set list.

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Re: Van Halen

#18 Post by Artemis » Sat Jan 07, 2012 9:13 am

Pandemonium wrote:
Artemis wrote:I'm thinking to get tickets for this tour because I have never seen VH.
The t.o. show is on a Saturday night too. :thumb:
I've never seen a "bad" Van Halen show, even with the obnoxious Sammy Hagar or Gary Cherone fronting them. As far as a pure, old school "rawk" show these days, AC/DC is probably the only big arena/stadium band that's better or more consistant.

But I'll say straight up, Van Halen circa 2012 even with David Lee Roth is not the Van Halen of their late 70's/early 80's glory days any more than Janes Addiction (even with EA) 2009 - 2012 was anything close to JA 1988 - 1991. Still, they're definitely worth checking out.
I know it's not going to be like the old days, but I am still curious to see them. I think David Lee Roth will be very entertaining. In this case, I would be happy with a hit heavy set list.

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Re: Van Halen

#19 Post by Tyler Durden » Tue Jan 10, 2012 7:48 am

I've never understood the appeal of VH but here ya go:


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Re: Van Halen

#20 Post by Matz » Tue Jan 10, 2012 8:35 am

far from their best but I was expecting worse than this

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Re: Van Halen

#21 Post by Pandemonium » Tue Jan 10, 2012 11:59 am

Giving the full tune a few listens, I'm warming up to it. Surprisingly, Roth's wordplay is the most appealing thing for me regarding the song. He still makes me wince whenever he falls back to that shrill yelping he does these days since he can't do those trademark screams he was capable of back in the early 80's.

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Re: Van Halen

#22 Post by Tyler Durden » Tue Jan 10, 2012 5:49 pm


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Re: Van Halen

#23 Post by esqfool » Tue Jan 10, 2012 8:54 pm

I went in 2008 when they toured and I'd seen Van Hagar. Absolutely no comparison. Van Halen was a pretty good show. I will for sure be going to a show on this tour. I remember last time, I went to a Black Rebel Motorcycle Club/Duke Spirit show one night and a Van Halen show the next. Not prisoner to musical pigeon holes.

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Re: Van Halen

#24 Post by Pandemonium » Tue Jan 10, 2012 11:54 pm

esqfool wrote:I went in 2008 when they toured and I'd seen Van Hagar. Absolutely no comparison. Van Halen was a pretty good show. I will for sure be going to a show on this tour. I remember last time, I went to a Black Rebel Motorcycle Club/Duke Spirit show one night and a Van Halen show the next. Not prisoner to musical pigeon holes.
I saw 2 shows during the '04 reunion tour with Hagar. The 1st one, I actually bought one of those expensive "All Access" packages which included a mid-day soundcheck and what turned out to be a 2nd row isle seat along with free booze and food. This was at the Anaheim Pond arena (or whatever it's called this week) and I was really surprised how cool and tight the band (minus Sammy) was for the the soundcheck. With bass player Michael Anthony handling all the vocals, they ripped through about 8 songs, mostly older deep cut Roth era tunes. I had already heard some pretty bad horror stories about Eddie this tour being drunk off his ass, playing for shit and being really nasty to the band and fans but he was pretty solid and sober during the soundcheck. The show that night was another matter.

They started off alright but as the show progressed, it was clear there was little connection between Hagar and Eddie. Sammy Hagar always bugged the fuck outta me even though I admit he has a much stronger voice than Roth. The dude just works too hard to be a people pleaser, signing autographs up front while the band is playing, shilling his Cabo Wabo booze.... By the time Eddie did his solo spot, he was pretty out of it. Some songs, it was hard to figure out what song Eddie was playing, he was that bad. It actually became kind of compelling theater, probably like what it must have been like seeing The Doors near the end of their run wondering what shit burned out Jim Morrison was gonna pull at any given time.

The whole drama of whether Eddie was going to have a full on meltdown onstage was enough to prod me into going with a group of friends to see them again the next week at one of their shows at Staples Arena in LA. That turned out to be a really solid show (probably because it was a hometown gig) and it was one of the only shows the band broke out an unplanned "Hot For Teacher" without telling Sammy who was literally standing on stage comically wondering what was going on.

When they did the Roth reunion tour, I caught the first LA area show at Staples Arena in late '07 lucking out on a 6th row floor seat right against the ego ramp on TM the day before the show. A few months into the tour, Eddie was still in very good form physically and playing ability after recently doing rehab and hadn't yet fallen off the wagon big time a month later. Set was basically a perfect Roth era best-of showcase and Dave's notoriously weak vox were really solid, probably the best I heard him sing since about 1982. The big thing missing (and still the case) is bassist Michael Anthony who's backing vox, solid playing and beaming stage presence was a huge component of classic VH. Eddie's son on bass made Chris Chaney look like Flea - the kid was a total stick-in-the-mud.

Looking forward to the new album and tour some 35 years after the first time I saw 'em.

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Re: Van Halen

#25 Post by jptm » Wed Jan 11, 2012 8:46 pm

after watching a few of the videos of last weeks NY show on youtube, it seems wolfie has gotten much better on bass.... I'm not sayin' he's MA, but he has put some practice in.

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