Dairenn
Recording Artist
I couldn't make it to the June 2nd show but when they added the 9th, my wife decided to buy me tickets for my birthday. 
And why not? I'm a life-long fan... It all started for me when my dad had "Cheers" on mute and played "Runnin' with the Devil" on 95.5 KLOS and could not believe how incredible the bass and drums on that song sounded. Then, he bought 5150 and we sat and listened to the whole album together. Then "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge" came out and I, along with the whole country, became addicted to "Right Now." I was so in love with that record that I was given that album on cassette for my 16th birthday!
Once the HDCD remasters came out, I purchased every EVH album through "Balance" (thanks to KLOS playing Baluchitherium as background music) and I made it my mission to learn as many of EVH's licks and chord forms as possible, forming the basis of the majority of music I ended up writing recording in the early part of the 2000s. So whenever I have an opportunity to see them live, it's a must-go situation without question.
So what happened last night? They sounded good but I was cognizant of backing tracks. The "drum solo" by Alex Van Halen was pretty surreal--more backing audio and video tricks than him doing his thing, but they're in their late 50s so it's kind of a remarkable he's beating out songs like Chinatown and Hot for Teacher still.
His brother Eddie sounded much better last night than he did the first time I saw him back to DLR In Los Angeles or even the time before in San Jose in 2004 with Sammy Hagar. He has hit timing, Hot for Teacher wasn't a hot, sloppy mess like it was when I saw him try to play it with DLR in '08... Wolfgang also sounded pretty good, especially on backing vocals. In fact, him and his dad were doing MOST of the singing. David Lee Roth was just screaming and talking most of the time, and the while looping the same corny 23 Skidoo dance routine. It was good to see the jumps and high kicks have yet to be retired, even at their age.
They played all the hits, but also included some highly pleasurable deep cuts like "Women in Love" so "true" Van Halen fans could feel special that the band shows they still care about them. The new tracks are actually really good though, too. "Chinatown" is killer, "The Trouble with Never" is very melodic and has a great classic VH sound but I personally wished they had have played "Big River" instead of "Tattoo." Much, much better song.
The crowd was largely what I expected. Life long 95.5 KLOS listeners; the motorcycle jacket 'n bandanna, tattooed goatee wearing Anglo Saxons that normally show up for a Van Halen or Motley Crue gig. There were several younger people there, too (including kids; theirs, I'm assuming). It's great to new a whole new generation of rock fans are going to learn about and appreciate great electric guitar players like Eddie. There were a few killjoys, though. Some arrests, even a couple of ambulances showed up outside. A grand ole time was had by all. ;-)
For the first concert I've had the pleasure of attending in far, far too long (probably four years at least), I sure am glad this was it. The crammed quarters where my wife and I sat notwithstanding, I had a crazy good time. It's just so good to listen to Eddie play live while he's still doing it. He really is one of the most inspiring guitarists ever to pick up the instrument, in my opinion.
And why not? I'm a life-long fan... It all started for me when my dad had "Cheers" on mute and played "Runnin' with the Devil" on 95.5 KLOS and could not believe how incredible the bass and drums on that song sounded. Then, he bought 5150 and we sat and listened to the whole album together. Then "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge" came out and I, along with the whole country, became addicted to "Right Now." I was so in love with that record that I was given that album on cassette for my 16th birthday!Once the HDCD remasters came out, I purchased every EVH album through "Balance" (thanks to KLOS playing Baluchitherium as background music) and I made it my mission to learn as many of EVH's licks and chord forms as possible, forming the basis of the majority of music I ended up writing recording in the early part of the 2000s. So whenever I have an opportunity to see them live, it's a must-go situation without question.
So what happened last night? They sounded good but I was cognizant of backing tracks. The "drum solo" by Alex Van Halen was pretty surreal--more backing audio and video tricks than him doing his thing, but they're in their late 50s so it's kind of a remarkable he's beating out songs like Chinatown and Hot for Teacher still.
His brother Eddie sounded much better last night than he did the first time I saw him back to DLR In Los Angeles or even the time before in San Jose in 2004 with Sammy Hagar. He has hit timing, Hot for Teacher wasn't a hot, sloppy mess like it was when I saw him try to play it with DLR in '08... Wolfgang also sounded pretty good, especially on backing vocals. In fact, him and his dad were doing MOST of the singing. David Lee Roth was just screaming and talking most of the time, and the while looping the same corny 23 Skidoo dance routine. It was good to see the jumps and high kicks have yet to be retired, even at their age.
They played all the hits, but also included some highly pleasurable deep cuts like "Women in Love" so "true" Van Halen fans could feel special that the band shows they still care about them. The new tracks are actually really good though, too. "Chinatown" is killer, "The Trouble with Never" is very melodic and has a great classic VH sound but I personally wished they had have played "Big River" instead of "Tattoo." Much, much better song.
The crowd was largely what I expected. Life long 95.5 KLOS listeners; the motorcycle jacket 'n bandanna, tattooed goatee wearing Anglo Saxons that normally show up for a Van Halen or Motley Crue gig. There were several younger people there, too (including kids; theirs, I'm assuming). It's great to new a whole new generation of rock fans are going to learn about and appreciate great electric guitar players like Eddie. There were a few killjoys, though. Some arrests, even a couple of ambulances showed up outside. A grand ole time was had by all. ;-)
For the first concert I've had the pleasure of attending in far, far too long (probably four years at least), I sure am glad this was it. The crammed quarters where my wife and I sat notwithstanding, I had a crazy good time. It's just so good to listen to Eddie play live while he's still doing it. He really is one of the most inspiring guitarists ever to pick up the instrument, in my opinion.
