Van Halen Reunion Tour Worth 9-year Wait
NEWS & RECORD (Greensboro, NC)
June 13, 2004 Sunday GREENSBORO EDITION
BY JEFFREY HAHNE Staff Writer

It may have taken nine long years for Sammy Hagar to reunite with Van Halen for a world tour, but judging by the reactions on Friday night it was worth the wait.

For two hours at the Greensboro Coliseum, Van Halen ripped through 23 songs, including a three-song encore.

While the band Silvertide did its best to warm up the crowd of 12,107, it was the main act that had the crowd on its feet.

After a big "Hello baby!" from Hagar, the band kicked off their set with "Jump." Hagar, dressed in a Hawaiian shirt and yellow pants, ran around the circle-shaped stage as all in the band smiled and genuinely enjoyed themselves.

The backdrop of the set featured a large video screen that showed live footage of the band as well as random videos and graphics.

Hagar signed autographs throughout the night and on a few occasions asked, "Are we having fun yet?"

The set list ranged from the classics to a few new songs. "Runaround," "Up for Breakfast" and "Poundcake" highlighted the first 30 minutes of the show.

Alex Van Halen made use of his expansive drum set during a five-minute solo before the band played "Top of the World."

Hagar also had a moment in the spotlight to perform two songs on his own - the first of which, "Eagles Fly," was dedicated to Ray Charles, who died this week.

Smiles were on the faces of all band members for most of the night as they did their best to interact with the crowd and shake hands.

While the sound was a little loud and overpowering at times, the crowd sang along for most of the night.

The most emotional moment of the night came during Eddie Van Halen's guitar solo. While playing for 10 minutes, Van Halen displayed his fretboard prowess and mouthed the words, "I'm having fun."

When the solo ended, the crowd simply chanted "Eddie! Eddie!" The shirtless Van Halen was visibly moved and said, "Thank you! You made me cry!"

Hagar was next seen on a walkway high above the stage to sing "Dreams."

During the final pre-encore song, "Right Now," a large video screen on the stage showed an updated version of the band's classic video to incorporate images of Sept. 11-related messages and President Bush.

The band gathered, hugged and kissed as they walked off stage. It was visible that they were happy to be reunited, and the show was a great reminder of their accomplishments.

Hagar called the evening a "humbling experience" as the band returned for its three-song encore and added, "It can't get better than this."

The band tore through a version of "Panama" that Hagar has truly made his own. After telling the audience, "And we ain't done yet!" the band played "When It's Love."

After Michael Anthony said, "It's great to be back," a still emotional Eddie Van Halen walked back to the mike and said, "Thank you for the best day of my life," before the band left for the night.

For all in attendance, it was a memorable experience that showed Van Halen still has what it takes to entertain.

George M. at VHLinks Forums writes:

Ok, I understand some people on here are very interested about the 5-star stuff, so I'll put the 5-star program in this message so it gets up quickly and then talk about the main show later.

Today we had some trouble getting everyone to the will-call window, and several of us ended up at the advance ticket office, before roaming around the Coliseum complex until someone directed us to the correct location. A fairly humorous beginning, but that was about the only thing about the day that went wrong.

At 4, our guide, Kim, came out and said "Sorry to keep you waiting, but we are going to give you your 5-star laminates DESIGNED PERSONALLY BY ALEX VAN HALEN!". The design isn't incredible, but its cool to get a souvenir designed by Alex.

However...the laminate was very functional, the 5-star package is not bunk at all (I expected it to be over-hyped and a excuse to pay $400 for a good seat).

When we were finally brought in, they brought us directly to sound check. Eddie came out first and said hi (his hair still down), and then realized that we were actually seated in the stands a good distance from a band. A stunned Irving Azoff (who looked about to have a heart attack about it) was aghast when Eddie motioned for us to come up to the first few rows for the sound check!! We ended up actually seeing sound check in our real rows. They all came out, including Sammy, and played Jump, followed by Learning to See and Its About Time without Sammy (to save his voice).

But the sound check component is awesome! The party was actually pretty fun, there was pretty decent snack food (chips and party salsa mix which was really good), vegetables with ranch dip, chicken strips (this may vary by venue anyway.

5-star activities

The backstage tour wasn't that cool, but it was pretty interesting. The highlight ended up being having the lead singer of Silvertide personally ask myself and my friend if we had a light as we walked past their dressing room. By the time we made it around the tour back into the arena they were onstage! It was pretty funny.

After the tour we went back to the room with the party (by which time most of the 5-star fans got pretty much trashed). However, it turned into a real party once they had a raffle and gave away a ton of free merch (the tour shirts are really cool btw. There is the "sun" logo one like on the website, there is one with Frankenstein-logo Eddie shoes on the front, there is one with Alex's new eagle logo design, and there is one with the band on the front). Anyway, one of the prizes in the raffle was golden rings tickets! I thought this was pretty cool, even though I actually bought some myself a few days ago on the auction (more on that in a minute).

Verdict: Five star highly worth it. The seats were all in the first FIVE rows, not 10, and the package was not bunk at all. The food we got was good, and they had PLENTY of beverages for us at the party, plus the raffle for free stuff and the cool laminate and backstage tour. The SOUNDCHECK IS INCREDIBLE. If you have the 5-star, you are in for a treat, as you pretty much get a private mini-set with 100 other people (we were counting and noticed there appeared WELL over 75 people with us). Totally worth the money as a big fan. The staff was also very nice and helpful.

The actual show from the rings....

Alright, as I said, my friend and I had the problem (if you can call it
that) of having to decide between sitting in the rings or our five-star seats (which ended up being on the first row).

I convinced my friend to go in the rings with me, and we did, BUT, and this is very important...The first 5 rows are FREAKING close, and as I said earlier....we stood there during sound check and it was nuts. As Brett cautioned before, the 5-star seats were really good and I had to actually think before I decided to even go and pick up the golden ring tickets I had spent several hundred dollars on separately.

Once we decided to go in the rings, I had to actually leave the venue to go get the ring tix. Of course, for those who somehow don't know, the ILAA stuff does not include any rings tickets, and the rings tickets don't get you any of the ILAA perks. Having both, we decided to go on the tour and all the ILAA stuff and then go back out and come back to sit in the rings instead of our package seats.

It ended up being a good decision, since my friend and I were right up to the wall on Mikey's side. We were literally right next to Mike the whole show, and he even winked at my friend one time. He talked to us in the ring the whole show, allowing people to even tap his bass at one point. In the ring, we also got to shake hands with both Mike and even Eddie (who came over a couple times), in addition to catching no less than 3 picks from Mike.

Oh, and let's not forget, there is a small barrier in the front of the stage (although there is no "50 feet gap" as rumored or anything), so if you want to be close to the band, go bid on rings tix. My friend and I got allot out of getting in the ring early and being up front (there were only the approx. 12 people as claimed in the ring though).

The sound in there was good, although it was probably a bit better in the first few rows ONLY because you get the better mix of sound between Eddie and Mike (they both have stacks of their own amps on their respective side of the stage). We got to be right up by Mikey, but naturally our side was very bass heavy (although we could hear everyone else just fine and it sounded great).

On to a couple observations on the actual show:

Ok, on to a couple observations about the show, though the set list and basic stuff will be well covered by others if not already.

On the camera thing.... I had to actually leave the arena, get in the "Band will call" line to get my ring tickets, and then go all the way back in. The search I got was very light, but this was at about 7:00 after the five-star party ended.

>From then on, I was in the ring, right at the front corner of the "left
ring", for the whole show (after a brief merchandise stop on the way in).

The lighting was nuts, even for an arena show. The stage setup has otherwise been sufficiently covered.

Eddie had his hair less in a "bun" and a little looser, even though it was up. Mike looked in great shape, and Al was Mr. automatic as usual.

As for the set, it was no longer than the rehearsal, almost exactly 2 hours. The set for this show started at 8:30 and ended at almost exactly 10:30.

All of it sounded great, and I am getting tired of typing lol.

There was no Wolfie, but we got THE DRILL on Poundcake and a couple other cool things I will try to remember for tomorrow.

If anyone has any questions about the rings or the 5-star stuff in particular, I will be more than happy to answer.

First things first. Great Show!
Set list was the same as reported on VHND, but with the addition of Panama added in to the encore.
Set List:Killer guitar riff....the classic Hello Baby!
Jump (huge reaction when Ed hit first guitar solo)
Runaround
Humans Being
Up for breakfast
bass solo
Somebody get me Dr
Poundcake=20
It's about time
drum solo
Top of the world ( with Sam up on a platform in front of the big vide screen)
Unchained
Why can't this be love
Sammy solo Eagles fly, Deeper kind of love
Learning to see (great song)
Best of both worlds
guitar solo ( Ed was being Ed. What else needs to be said)
Dreams ( with Sam on a platform in the rafters)
Aint talkin bout love
Right now
You really got me
Panama
When its love

The Greensboro Coliseum holds about 18,500 for a concert. Do not know the total attendance for the VH show. It was close to full. Maybe 2,000 short. Hey its been nine years. Great show. The crowd stood for the entire 2 hour show. VH hit the stage at 8:34 pm and walked off at 10:34 pm. The guys looked great, sounded great. The lights were terrific. The only draw back is the new stage with the "golden ring seats" for some very lucky fans. Great for them. Bad for everyone else. Ed was unable to move around allot. Mike did because he was playing a wireless rig. Ed was playing the same rig as the "3" tour. Not a lot of movement. With Ed and Mike having their vocal mikes so close, the stage seemed crowded when they both were singing background vocals. Even more so if Sam walked between them. However, great show. Sam's vocal still as strong as ever at 56. Still belting in the high vocal range with ease. Once again, a cant miss show for any VH fan.

Thanks,
Hal Moss

Encore:
22. You Really Got Me
23. Panama
24. When It's Love

Photo by: Dwyer and Michaels show Davenport-Quad Cities www.2dorks.com

He says the band sounds great, all of them sound like they haven't missed a beat. The band has been very animated and tons of interaction with the crowd. Ed has even been slapping some of the fans' hands.

Sammy has been signing autographs as he's singing. He's also been filling up cups of beer and giving it to the audience.

Ed's got the same samurai hair going, shirtless with cargo pants. Mike's in a vintage VH t-shirt and jeans. FH says Sammy "should be in Cabo," so I guess we know what he's wearing. Al is wearing a white headband and is shirtless as well.

Tons of banners being thrown up on stage, reminds him of the LWAN video, for a good analogy.

That's where he is so far, I'll update the set list in this post as the night goes on.

Ed was very moved by reaction to his solo, really thanked the crowd.

There's about 75 or so people in the ring, and about 10,000 in the audience. It's very packed FH said, especially for Greensboro, the way upper levels are covered with black tarp.

A great light show during "Right Now." Also during that song, updated the video for it with stuff about Bush and the Iraqi War, combined with the old footage.

There's one main middle screen that FH says looks like a planet, then two smaller side screens.

Ed is moving around well, he's not running around. But he's jumping here and there.

FH says Sam is very energized and animated. His voice sounds great.

Sam has been running around on the ring all night, Mike has been up there from time to time. Eddie not very much at all.

Sam thanked the fans before they started the encore, really appreciated everyone sticking around all these years. Has kept his sunglasses on most of the show.

Ed has played that orange sunburst Wolfie the entire show except for the 5150 Kramer on "Breakfast."

Eddie just said it's the "best day of his life."

Courtesy of Fan Halen

Van Halen makes triumphant return in Greensboro
By Brian Rose, Times-News

GREENSBORO - The rock 'n roll world felt a jolt Friday night, and it's been a long time coming.

Van Halen is back, and like lead singer Sammy Hagar sings in the song "Poundcake," the band still is "cooking it like an old-time, long-lost recipe."

Perhaps the gigantic time-bomb replica above the stage should have been an early indication of things to come, because Van Halen simply exploded on the 11,000-plus fans at the Greensboro Coliseum.

In opening with its 1984 smash "Jump," Van Halen answered two questions right off the bat: 1) Hagar would be singing the songs made famous by former lead singer David Lee Roth (who left in 1985 and has had strained relations with the band), and 2) at age 50 and after beating cancer, guitarist Eddie Van Halen still leaps across the stage and plays with fury and tenacity.

Friday night's concert was great for all the right reasons.

Not only did Van Halen play the songs that have helped sell more than 50 million albums worldwide ("Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love," "Panama," "When It's Love," "Right Now," and more), the band simply looked and felt like they were back in its element - playing in front of a raucous live audience, especially after eight years apart.

Bassist Michael Anthony continually pumped his fists in the air after each song, seemingly telling everyone "Oh, yeah: we're back," while Hagar kept a wide-faced grin the entire night.

"This is such a humbling experience," Hagar told the crowd between songs. "What a way to start a tour, Greensboro. It doesn't get any better than this."

Greensboro marked the first stop on a nationwide, summer-long tour. Band members and stage crew actually made it into town a week ahead of time to construct the stage and fine-tune the set list through dress rehearsals.

Drummer Alex Van Halen said before the tour that the entire show would be "over the top," and it was. The stage resembled a sideways figure eight, with fans in between the two loops.

Hagar romped around the stage throughout the night and climbed a staircase to perform "Top of the World" in front of the time bomb, which actually housed a giant video screen. He even ascended to a catwalk that extended out above the audience to perform "Dreams."

The crowd spent a good portion of the night chanting, "Eddie, Eddie," and the guitarist didn't disappoint. His two-hand fretwork on "Eruption" sent everyone into a frenzy.

"Thanks so much for sticking with us for all these years," Hagar told the crowd. "We've had our ups and downs, but this ... " - he paused to acknowledge the fans - "this is really special."

The tour continues through the end of September all across the United States, and on July 20, Van Halen will release "The Best of Both Worlds," a two-disc greatest hits collection with three new tracks.

I was at Greensboro in the Golden Ring on Eddie's side. Had a great time and managed to slap hands with Eddie (several times), Sammy once or twice, and Mike once. After Eddie's solo, I wrote "thanks!" on my hand in black marker, maybe five minutes later he came over and read it, and seemd really touched- he reached out and shook my hand while still playing, so if you heard him miss a chord during "Dreams" that was my fault. I missed Alex's hand when he came over, though my buddy Mick managed to slap his too. During the show Eddie tossed us lots of picks-I ended up with about 10 picks in my pocket, and my buddy probably had 5 or so. There were two different types of picks. One, a fairly thick pick, yellow with Eddie's signature on one side, and "Bring on the Donkey" on the other side.

Trivia Question: Any idea what "Bring on the Donkey" means?? Email

The other pick was thin and green, again with Eddie's signature on it, but blank on the other side. My guitar playing buddies suggest that the yellow pick is probably what Eddie uses to play (based on the thickness/stiffness of it) and the thin green ones were likely just for tossing to the crowd.

I really enjoyed the show, though I thought the sound quality really sucked. I just assumed I was a victim of our great seats and that we couldn't hear everything (most notably the vocals) because of our position right in front of Eddie's amps. My friends sitting in section 111 later confirmed that the sound quality actually did suck. Whatever though, I really enjoyed the show, and my buddy Mick and myself were there mostly to see Eddie play, so we couldn't have had better seats. I'd highly recommend getting the golden ring seats (they're not seats though, standing only). One caution about them though is you don't get to choose which side of the stage you are on, it is luck of the draw, and since we were there to see Eddie, we got very lucky. Had we gotten seats on the right side of the stage we probably wouldn't have been able to hear Eddie, or see much of him as I think he only ventured over there once during the show.

Ron from Cary, NC

Greensboro show exceeded my expectations! I had the 5 star experience and I would have paid more for this ticket. I won't spend time being critical of individual songs and the crew because a true Van Halen fan was just happy to see them kicking ass again...besides, there was nothing to be critical of....they jammed and it was perfect! The band seemed very happy and genuinely humble at the encore with their opening night. I don't think they expected this type of turnout and support. 4 decades and going.....let's make it a half century gents!

Rob from Fuquay-Varina, NC

I was also at the VH Show in Greensboro on a 5-Star Pass. I thought it was awesome except we DID NOT get to meet the band. Basically everything the others said is the same. The only thing I would add is Eddie's hair is long and he had it down during sound check. Someone mentioned on the radio in Greensboro that Eddie whimped out and cut his hair off. It is long for sure. He played Jump during soundcheck with his hair down and at the end stopped and told a man with a VIP pass and the 5-Star people that he couldn't see with all his hair in his eyes and pulled it up samurai style. He is working his own pedals and I suspect that makes it hard to see. Eddie, Mike and Sammy were very personable and very "into" the sound check dancing around as if 20,000 people were watching. They were talking to everyone and having a ball. Luckily they let the 5-Star people down to the stage. They tried to keep us in the seats about 150' from the stage but when Eddie came out we all yelled, "Come on Ed let us come down front and Eddie gladly agreed and waved for us to come up to the stage. I think the I LOVE ACCESS people freaked but try to get the band to wave you down front else soundcheck will suck! What made it great was we all had our elbows on the stage.

During the concert, the sad part is the people sitting next to me and rows 2 through 5 almost all bought their tickets online and paid only $87.50 for them. Most of the 4-Star people were in rows 10 to 20. I thought that sucked for them! For $175 for the 4-Star, I wouldn't waste my money. You get a pass, badge, a ticket and a screwing! If you can, try to bribe the 5-Star people into trading spots before they enter WILL CALL. The sound check, backstage tour including the dressing rooms of Eddie & Alex and Sammy & Michael are worth it. Also, the food prior to the show was great and they served unlimited booze to the 5-Star party mongers. They also gave away hats and T-shirts to everyone and drew for about 20 to 30 prizes including some very expensive jersey's and Golden Circle Passes. Basically, all the 5-Star people were happy except for not getting at least a high five from the band we all love. The 4-Star people all looked pretty pissed off.

As for the show, it was awesome! Of course, it was opening night but I have never seen a band more pumped up and excited. After Eddie's solo when the crowd roared "Eddie, Eddie" for about 5 minutes....I think everyone including Eddie was about in tears. The only negative I heard was when people saw Eddie light up a cigarette...I think the "stoner" next to me said it best, "Dude, he had tongue cancer and he's still smoking! No way!?!?" Outside of the cigarette, Eddie looked like a ripped athlete with zero body fat. Alex and Eddie are in the best shape ever. Eddie is a legend and Van Halen is the best band ever!

Lee

So here's what I can tell you so far.

He says the band sounds great, all of them sound like they haven't missed a beat. The band has been very animated and tons of interaction with the crowd. Ed has even been slapping some of the fans' hands.

Sammy has been signing autographs as he's singing. He's also been filling up cups of beer and giving it to the audience.

Ed's got the same samurai hair going, shirtless with cargo pants. Mike's in a vintage VH t-shirt and jeans. FH says Sammy "should be in Cabo," so I guess we know what he's wearing. Al is wearing a white headband and is shirtless as well.

Tons of banners being thrown up on stage, reminds him of the LWAN video, for a good analogy.

That's where he is so far, I'll update the set list in this post as the night goes on.

Ed was very moved by reaction to his solo, really thanked the crowd.

There's about 75 or so people in the ring, and about 10,000 in the audience. It's very packed FH said, especially for Greensboro, the way upper levels are covered with black tarp.

A great light show during "Right Now." Also during that song, updated the video for it with stuff about Bush and the Iraqi War, combined with the old footage.

There's one main middle screen that FH says looks like a planet, then two smaller side screens.

Ed is moving around well, he's not running around. But he's jumping here and there.

FH says Sam is very energized and animated. His voice sounds great.

Sam has been running around on the ring all night, Mike has been up there from time to time. Eddie not very much at all.

Sam thanked the fans before they started the encore, really appreciated everyone sticking around all these years. Has kept his sunglasses on most of the show.

Ed has played that orange sunburst Wolfie the entire show except for the 5150 Kramer on "Breakfast."

Eddie just said it's the "best day of his life."

That's the basics so far.

The show in Greensboro was outstanding!!!
I have waited too damn long to see these guys on stage again, but the show was definitely worth the wait!

Some observations:

My seats were terrible!! Considering the fact that I completed my online transaction with Stickitmaster about 30 minutes after they went on sale, I thought "best available" would mean a lot better seats than I got. After entering the coliseum and showing our tix to the usher, we were informed that we would have to be re-seated. So, we exchanged our tix and found that we were in Y section on Eddie's side of the stage. I was stunned!! The reverb was terrible. Acoustically, the GBO Coliseum leaves much to be desired, but the problem is magnified by having crappy seats.

The crowd was fantastic! I've seen many shows in Greensboro and have been embarrassed many times by poor attendance and docile crowds. The crowd involvement was absolutely the best I've ever seen in Greensboro, and as good or better than any show I've ever seen. Everybody got on their feet as VH took the stage and almost everybody stood through the whole show, dancing, singing, and cheering wildly. Definitely a *magical* experience for a VH diehard like me.

The band overall was a little rusty at times, but considering the age and hiatus, outstanding. Eddie missed a couple of licks, with the most obvious one during "Unchained". Sammy changed the words of almost every DLR era song, although very subtle. I have to think that is his way of putting his own brand on the old songs. WIth that said, Sammy hasn't lost a thing! His range is fantastic and he is as good a front man as they could have hired to replace Diamond Dave. Not bad at all for guys in their late 40's to mid 50's. These guys fricking rocked for 2 solid hours!!

I was shocked that they opened with "Jump". I just couldn't see them opening with the most popular (commercially speaking) DLR song ever. It was probably a good choice to get everybody involved immediately, but I would have much rather seen them open with "Unchained".

The emotion felt throughout the concert was something I will NEVER forget!! Eddie and ALex were both brought to tears by the raucous ovations they received during and after their solos. After about a 10 minute solo by Eddie, everyone continued to chant "Eddie, Eddie" for several minutes and Eddie said something to the effect of "You guys are great, you made me cry". He also said something to the effect of "You guys saved my life". To see the guys hugging each other on stage was something only true VH fans, who know what this band has been through in the last 20 years, could really appreciate.

The Greensboro News & Record published the concert review in today's paper, but for some reason it isn't in the online edition. Some excerpts:

"For 2 hours at the Greensboro Coliseum, Van Halen ripped through 23 songs, including a 3 song encore"

"AFter a big "Hello Baby", the band kicked off their set with "Jump". Hagar, dressed in a Hawaiian shirt and yellow pants, ran around the circle shaped stage as all the band smiled and genuinely enjoyed themselves"

"the most emotional moment of the night came during Eddie Van Halen's guitar solo. While playing for 10 minutes, Van Halen displayed his fretboard prowess and mouthed the words "I'm having fun". WHen the solo ended, the crowd simply chanted "Eddie, Eddie!" The shirtless Van Halen was visibly moved and said, "Thank you! You made me cry!"

"the band gathered, hugged and kissed as they walked off stage. It was visible that they were happy to be reunited, and the show was a great reminder of their accomplishments. Hagar called the evening a "humbling experience" as the band returned for it's 3 song encore and added "it can't get any better than this."

"After Michael Anthony said "It's great to be back," a still emotional Eddie Van Halen walked back to the mic and said, "Thank you for the best day of my life," before the band left for the night. For all in attendance, it was a memorable experience that showed Van Halen still has what it takes to entertain."

The paper listed the attendance as 12,107, but I can't believe that is right. Sammy said something about 14,000 people during the show and I tend to think it was closer to 15 or 16,000.

All I can say is that VH is definitely back!! I would highly recommend it to that anyone who has a chance to see this tour.

Courtesy of Juniors Grades from Inside the Vault

Here's how it panned out. I was a little tipsy and I don't recall a lot of details, but here goes:

I'm sitting in Section C, Right hand side of the Floor section, Row 30, about 50 feet from the stage. The Stage *is* as cool as it looks in the pictures. The big testicle monitor doesn't really look like a big testicle in the arena, it looks kinda like a giant sea cucumber. But maybe that's just me. Ok...cut to chase...Looked like around 10-12,000 people there, you could really feel the excitement...Lights go down, the guitar and drum fanfare and lights going crazy, crowd going crazy Stage lights flare on and they open up
with:

1. Jump

Gahhhhh...Ok..."Jump" ain't my choice, but whatever... Get it the fuck out of the way, I can deal. Band looks good, Eddie looks like someone has cloned his body circa 1979 and sewed his 70-year-old Pebbles Flintstone head on it. Crowd is going fucking nuts like I haven't seen since '84. Sam looks chunky, Mike chunkier, Al looks lean and mean. The first thing I notice is that the sound where I am is *really* muddy. Unfortunately, this doesn't improve. Somone needs to fix that. It sucked. Anyway, Song was ok, Ed broke into his Jump solo, Crowd went totally berserk, Ed acknowledged, all is good.

> 2. Runaround

It went over great. They're a little stiff here, but they're still tight as a band and it works out well. I'm yelling, everyone else is yelling.

> 3. "My Generation" riff (The Who)

A cool surprise, but they should have played more of it.

> 4. Humans Being

The song flat-out rocks. Er...I gotta admit something: Cherone sang it better.

> 5. Up For Breakfast (with the 5150 Kramer)

Of all the songs, this is the fucking one that STUCK IN MY HEAD. Good Lord. "Butter on my Biscuit"? I suppose it's some sort of low-brow rock fan thing I have. I'm still singing this goddamned song. <shaking head> I gotta get this thing out of my brain. He played the Kramer. I wish I wouldn't have know about it beforehand, it would have been cooler.

> 6. Mikey's Solo (with the JD bass)

Sounded like shit. Thank God it was short and segued into:

> 7. Somebody Get Me A Doctor (with Mike on lead > vocals)

Fantastic. They should do more from the Roth catalog like this.

> 8. Poundcake

Not one of my favorites previously, but the planets were right last night and this one really rocked. One of the best songs they did. I like it better now.

> 9. It's About Time

The crowd cooled a little on this one, but I liked it. It has grown on me.

> 10. Al's Solo

Unbelievably, the highlight of the night to me. Maybe it was because it sounded so much better than when the whole band was mixed in. No sequenced Samba shit, no sequenced shit at all, just a great, powerful performance. Alex is a great drummer.

> 11. Top Of The World

Big crowd reaction, Eddie played it just a little differently than usual. Had a cool vibe and the big ending that I love so much.

> 12. Unchained

It's always great, Sam even sang it well(they did the condensed version, of course), but the sound was really bad here. Made a difference. I couldn't even hear the lead.

> 13. Why Can't This Be Love? (all singing)

I hate the song. Always have. 10,000 other people there love it. Sam sings, Mike sings Ed sings. BFD.

> 14. Eagles Fly
> 15. Deeper Kind Of Love (I would assume Sam solo)

Crowd killers. Got those out of the way.

> 16. Learning To See

Growing on me.

> 17. Best Of Both Worlds

Blasted. Solid. Al played the hell out of this. Fantastic.

> 18. Eddie's Solo (no Wolfie)

Kinda short. Did "Little Guitars" intro. Ed looked very happy at the end and thanked the crowd profusely. I think he was sincere. It was great to hear him and see him play again.

> 19. Dreams

They played it the way they always do live. I like it better that way.

> 20. Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love

The crowd realy got up for this one. They played it very well. Sam went up to the catwalk to sing it. I think at one point in the song Starks came by me and we did a little "WhoooHOOO!!" yell. I was fairly drunk here, so I'm not too sure it was him.

> 21. Right Now

Excellent. The video and lights were commendable here. At one point the screen printed out "Right Now, Van Halen is Kicking Ass in GREENSBORO.", which, of course, was followed by a huge roar.

> Encore:
> 22. You Really Got Me
> 23. Panama
> 24. When It's Love >>

We made a push towards the front during these tunes and we got pretty close, I'd say within 15 feet of the stage. A little bald Moby-looking security guy had me pegged as a troublemaker and he kept sending me back while my brother and rest stayed up. I kept sneaking around him and he kept sending me back until he finally got tired of it and I settled in about 20 feet out. The sound was somewhat better here and it felt like the old "festival seating" days again. The band really played hard here and the crowd was absolutley roaring. This was the capping moment. I was finally getting the pure, good old Van Halen concert feeling. During one of the bows, someone threw a t-shirt onstage and Ed actaully got a marker and signed it. Never saw him do that before. That was really cool. He said several "thank you"s in his mic around this time and even said something to the effect of "This is one of the greatest nights of my life". Sammy basically talked about how great a night it was and how they appreciated everyone being patient.

So that's about it. Sammy wasn't nearly as comfortable onstage as he was when I saw him in August 2002 nor any other Van Halen show in the past. He didn't seem to have as much banter with the crowd and didn't do a lot of talk in between songs. It still worked well. Regardless of the negatives, I still had a blast. I'd say that the signifigance of the show itself and the surrounding anticipation and excitement made up for the lack of a good overall sound. I hope they have it worked out for the subsequent shows, because it would have been a bigger issue with me if it hadn't have been opening night. Rating it with other VH shows, I'd put it around 3 or 4 behind the 82 show, the 93 show and maybe behind the VHIII tour, just because they played so many old Roth-era tunes then. I saw a bunch of people with Four-Star passes behind me, so I don't think I would recommend going that route.

I'll probably remember some other tidbits as I read other reviews. This is all I got right now. What a great night. Good to see a few list members. Hope to see you guys again.

Courtesy of jimmyw