Van Halen Reunion Nothing Special -- Courant.com

The whether and when of a Van Halen reunion with original lead singer David Lee Roth have been subjects of frequent speculation ever since Roth quit the enterprise in April 1985, a rabbit that would not come ...

[Bette]

The reviewer was ill, doesnt like rock n roll, or is 12 years old. This was one of THE hottest rock shows to hit this state in the last 20 years. And the crowds adulation more than backs up my opinion. INCREDIBLE!!!

[Don]

The show was AWESOME! Dave's voice was at its best, Wolfgang nicely filled the shoes of Michael Anthony and the Van Halen brothers ROCKED the house! David Lee Roth is the ultimate showman and made sure everyone was having a good time! All were in great shape both physically and musically!

[Dona Lynette Stewart]

The van Halen concert series is very special. Sounds like, the Grunge that stole Christmas, or sour grapes, because he canot attain to their style and classiness, mature humor, or talent. Van Halen and David Lee Roth are great. Making comments about thier age is infantile. Maturity is good. They are loved becuase they are making commentairies on society, mores, and hypocracy, our sublimated sexual feelngs, and the humor associated with our solution to love.

[mogwai73]

The Van Halen tour is definately special !!!

Reasons:
1) the band reunites with original vocalist for a live performance for the first time in 22 years... that's surely special;
2) the bass player is some 35 years younger than any other member of the band and plays flawlessly in his very first tour... that's definately special;
3) the guitarist is playing a prototype of his new guitar (made by Fender) and also a replica of his original striped guitar, a model which had a limited production of 300 units that were sold for $25000 on the day they were made available... that's unique... and special;
4) the band has sold over 100 million albums worldwide and will be one of the top 3 concert tours (in gross and public)... I cannot say that this is nothing special;
5) the band is playing loud and awesome... and the reperoire covers the fans favourite timespan (1978~1984) making it a special travel in time !!!

Again, who said what ?!
Shut up and go see a concert !!!

http://www.olho.nu/van-halen/

[Memyselfandi]

I gotta feeling this Kitner guy wasn't even born when VH last played live with DLR. Him and Eric Danton are always so busy pretending they are the stars of "Almost Famous" to know what a good rock show is. They are so concerned with finding the next REM circa 1983 that they forget they write for a daily newspaper. These guys spend more of their time writing about the Northampton music scene than CT's.
This is par for the course however, Roger Catlin in 1984 (I believe, Im going by memory) used words to the effect of "The Van Halen concert showed just how low entertainment can sink."
This guy obviously needs prozac because if he wasn't having fun in that room, something is wrong with him. Read Rolling Stones review for something a little more accurate:
http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.p...

[Jim Sendrak]

I was there. I enjoyed it. My expectations were exceeded.

I saw The Police two months ago and that seemed like a show that was phoned-in.

So Tom, tell me, what would it have taken in your opinion to have made Van Halen more than "nothing special"??

[Janie]

Unbelievable show! They were so awesome! Everything I expected and then some! Want to see them again in Worchester! Bring it on!

[kjm in nh]

Sounds like you are the only one that didn't like the concert, What cd is in your stereo, what era are you from, stick with your boy bands

[cathy]

I went to the show and thought it was AMAZING! I thought David and Eddie and Alex are just like a fine wine they get better with age. If I had the chance I would have went the next night if they were there at Moghan Sun but they were not big mistake on the casino behalf. But I have my memorys till next time if there is any. The writer who wrote this doesn't know a good show when he see's it . PEACE

[Bob W]

I attended the show at Mohegan and your words fall short and do not capture the essence of that great show, it is easy to tell you enjoy listening to yourself with intellectual snore bore babble.. One reads your story and it is safe to say that you were probably picking your nose as you wrote this pointless slop.

I wish I could get mad at it but it is all over the place and needs a compass

[Victor]

Bon Jovi RULES!!!!1111oneone

[Link]

Bon Jovi & Metallica best American born rock bands.... best live bands by far.

Van Halen doesn't even know who they are??
Dave - Sammy - Charone??

You have to be kidding me now they kick out Michael Anthony for some 16 year old kid. Ya I'm sure Bon Jovi would kick out a bandmate when his kid turns 16 so he could be in the band. He has way too much respect for his fans and his great band!... that's why they will always be great and Van Halen under the leadership of Eddie will continue to be a joke.

I can't believe people would pay money to see these frauds. He slammed Roth for years and now their buddy's again. Now he slams Sammy and Mike and has a 16 year old on base... Eddie has some serious issues. It's all about the money folks.... your money!

[Sandoz]

The Coors Light of Pop Rock. Wowwee.

[Link]

Ha the biggest rock FRAUD band in history with a 16 year old pork chop on base.

[Memyselfandi]

Link wrote:

Bon Jovi & Metallica best American born rock bands.... best live bands by far.
Van Halen doesn't even know who they are??
Dave - Sammy - Charone??
You have to be kidding me now they kick out Michael Anthony for some 16 year old kid. Ya I'm sure Bon Jovi would kick out a bandmate when his kid turns 16 so he could be in the band. He has way too much respect for his fans and his great band!... that's why they will always be great and Van Halen under the leadership of Eddie will continue to be a joke.
I can't believe people would pay money to see these frauds. He slammed Roth for years and now their buddy's again. Now he slams Sammy and Mike and has a 16 year old on base... Eddie has some serious issues. It's all about the money folks.... your money!

Lets get another country album from Bon Jovi. Talk about not knowing who they are??

[Link]

Or how bout another bluegrass album from DLR. Hypocrit.

It's a Nashville influenced album not country.
"1 album in 9 countries.

At least they still put out new material... that's what songwriters do.
When's the last time VH even put out an album of new material. The GARY CHERONE era.... LMAO

[mogwai73]

Link, get a life and then open your ears !...

By the time Mr Bongiovi (who had to change his name for commercial reasons) was on the "slippery yet wet" road, Van Halen was already at full speed... and they didn't have to come up with tons of rock ballads to keep their audience (which is not mainly teenage girls, in the Bon Jovi case). And comparing Mr Sambo to EVH is like comparing your mini van to a F1 car.'Nuff said.

If you happened to watch Bon Jovi in the early nineties, you may have heard Van Halen opening for them... yes, that did happen.

And anyone who witnessed those shows could clearly see that even the most mellow VH rocked the hell out of Bon Jovi... who were too busy exchanging guitars (althought they always sound the same) and taking care of their hair in "beds of roses"...(the "aaahhhh... I feel so pretty and sexy tonight!" atitude).

Regarding Metallica... yes, a great band in the studio and live (watched them 3~4 times so far)... but they have done little since "Load" was out. The new bassist brings life to them and they really kick ass live... but tell me, what interesting stuff do they play after "the black album" ?!...

[Link]

1st off don't get me wrong I was a huge Van Halen fan. My point was that Eddie has turned them into a debacle. He's kicked everyone out of the band (some more than once)except for his tag-along bro. Now he boots Mike for his 16 year old son. Put a tent over their circus. Great guitar player, but a complete ego driven moron when it comes to leading a band. What has he done in the last 10 years, I don't know maybe he could of written a song or 2 at least. Jovi/Sambora have written about 6 albums since the Cherone/Ed era.

I really don't care if you don't like Jovi, but your way off on the shows that VH opened for them, even Sammy said they were practically booed off the stage. I have the live from London dvd and they rocked... especially Sambora who is one of the great guitar players of all-time. Jovi works his ass off and has his shit together and VH never has because of Ed..., just ask Sammy that's what he said in his unpublished book.

I think you all should go to u-tube and watch DLR and his bluegrass Jump performance, it might be the most embarrasing thing I have ever seen, and you talk about JBJ and Bed of roses.

I tend to agree with you on Metallica, but their live show is as good as it gets. Peace"

[Jay]

While the reviewer hits the overall play by play of the event accurately, I think he misses the greater context of what happened there. For many of us, the past 22 years has been lived with one casual eye toward the latest issue of Rolling Stone hoping that some news of a reunion of Roth and Van Halen would happen.

So while the show was certainly missing some of the manic intensity of the 1980s (as we remember it), what I saw from the second balcony was an ernest, hard working, fully integrated rock band reclaiming their collective spirit and playing better that most current bands. When in the 1980s did Roth ever sing a VH song and recall the words, much less put his finger to his ear so he could hit the notes? There's a reason pre-Hagar VH never put out a live album.

What I am looking toward is what comes next. Will it be a quick trip to the bank or will they pick up where they left off, more wrinkled but wiser. Expecting them to do all they did at Mohegan and project the mania of their music videos would be like expecting a Prince concert to have the drama and triumph of the last 10 minutes of Purple Rain.

Courant, give them a brake! We never expected to see 25 year old guys on stage, but we certainly did see some magic.

[Michael]

Having spent a fair amount of time with Ed, I give it about a month to six weeks before the whole thing implodes.