Van Halen tour postponed!

[That 70s Guy]

rollingstone.com

By Steve Knopper
May 17, 2012 4:45 PM ET

Van Halen have abruptly postponed all tour dates after their June 26th show in New Orleans with no explanation.

The band yanked more than 30 long-planned dates, including shows in Milwaukee, Detroit, Cleveland, Salt Lake City and El Paso. Local promoters United Concerts and AEG issued statements regarding some postponed shows to local media, including the Salt Lake Tribune and Las Cruces Sun-News, but no details have been offered yet about rescheduled dates or refunds.

Most of the tour is promoted by Live Nation, whose reps wouldn't comment. The band's rep also had no comment. A source with knowledge of the tour tells Rolling Stone that Van Halen's members "hate each other." Adds the source, "The band is arguing like mad. They are fighting."

News of the postponed tour dates surprised several arena reps, who are featuring upcoming Van Halen shows prominently on their websites. "You want to know the absolute ****in' truth? I have no ****in' idea," another concert-business source with knowledge of the tour tells Rolling Stone.

"It's selling pretty good – I don't know why they would say it's being canceled," says a source at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, where the band was supposed to perform on July 7th.

Several of the non-canceled dates have nearly sold out, including this Saturday's show in Minneapolis and June 20th in Dallas. "We're selling really well," says Jack Larson, vice president and general manager of the Xcel Energy Center. "We're looking forward to it."

After decades of touring with Sammy Hagar (and, for a brief period in the late 1990s, Gary Cherone), Van Halen reunited with David Lee Roth for a 2007 tour and hit the road again with him in February. The band released its first new album with Roth, "A Different Kind of Truth," earlier that month. It sold 187,000 copies in its debut week and hit Number Two.

 

[That 70s Guy]

Somewhere this man is laughing.....

 

[runtfan]

I'm going to the 6/20 show in Dallas...barely made the cut.

 

[Lavender10]

Better to postpone than outright cancel.

 

[LG]

Sigh...I was afraid something like this would happen...but hoped at least they would finish this One last tour and then beat the snot out of each other. I read this as Eddie fighting with Dave which is par for the course.

 

[Vehicle]

Well, maybe they'd keep touring if the venues had a big enough door for David Lee Roth to get his ego through.

 

[billyporter]

maybe they did it because they suddenly realized they weren't any good anymore. maybe realized that they were still doing the same old music all these years later.

 

[Big Ears]

What happened to Gary Cherone?

 

[That 70s Guy]

vhndcom

Just when we all were beginning to think we were going to get a killer Van Halen album and an entire tour without any drama whatsoever, look what happens!

Yesterday, Van Halen POSTPONED (not canceled!) most of their Summer tour dates with no reason given. Immediately, speculation ran wild. Fans wondered if there were health issues. Rolling Stone quotes a mysterious “source with knowledge of the tour” who supposedly said the band members “hate each other” and are “arguing like mad.”

The Van Halen News Desk now has some answers form our trusted and proven sources. Other than those Summer dates having to be moved, it’s actually good news.

First off, no one in the band is sick. No health problems.

Second, we knew right away that Rolling Stone’s “source” is completely wrong, and can not possibly be a person with actual inside knowledge of the tour, because all four band members have been getting along splendidly throughout the entire tour. Roth and the Van Halen’s talk every day, and they are all smiles on stage. Everyone who’s seen the tour or even youtube videos can confirm that.

In fact, the band is on such a high from playing together this year and they were really taken aback by the Rolling Stone quote. They’re older and wiser and haven’t had any issues with one another.

Why were these dates postponed? The band has been working tirelessly for the last 18 months – writing and recording “A Different Kind Of Truth”, filming the “Tattoo” video, rehearsing, putting together the show themselves (lighting, the videos, the stage, routing the tour, and lots of behind the scenes stuff that most people don’t even know about). The band wants the second leg to be as awesome as the first. And for that to happen they want to put more time into the planning of it. Not just continue on with the same show.

Van Halen is very enthusiastic about the rest of the tour and wants be on the road for a long time. Just how long remains to be seen, but we’ll say that the tour will probably continue into next year. They are now considering touring Australia and Japan in the near future.

As it stands now, the 31 postponed US shows are due to be rescheduled. There should be some sort of official announcement forthcoming.

Stay tuned to VHND.com for further updates!

 

[LG]

^^........I will believe it when I see it. This is either damage control 101, or in fact VH is reworking their set-up.

I'll have to check the date here, but I think they have postponed the gig.