Van Halen reunion tour news, and much more

"Despite a trip to rehab and health problems ... he proved exactly why he’s one of the greatest guitar players of all time. At times it appeared like he had three hands, the meedlee-meedlee riffs and siren noises he unleashed were so lightning-fast; at other times, he conjured mournful blues melodies, channeled Hendrix’s elaborate solos and even coaxed out virtuoso-caliber symphonies."

It looks like the boys are back!  See the full story here: http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/atoz/2008/04/show_review_van_halen_at_the_s.php

Here is a link to some photos from the 4/17 Reno show.

There has not been a lot of news recently - the band has not released any further details of the reason for the postponements, but, the GOOD NEWS is that the tour will be restarting in just a few days!  We are working on pulling together some updates and will post them here soon.  Thanks for your support!

VAN HALEN ANNOUNCES RESCHEDULED TOUR DATES

LOS ANGELES, CA March 17, 2008 Van Halen announced today that it has rescheduled all of the previously postponed dates on its North American Tour. The new dates kick off with the band’s performance at Tiger Wood’s charity event, Tiger Jam XI, in Las Vegas, NV on April 19th and run through Monday, June 2nd when the band plays Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids Michigan. Tickets for the band’s previously scheduled dates will be honored. Refunds are also available at the point of purchase.

VAN HALEN TOUR DATES
DATE           CITY           VENUE
Sat-Apr 19 Las Vegas Mandalay Bay Events Center
Tue-Apr 22 Cincinnati U.S. Bank Arena
Thu-Apr 24 Dallas American Airlines Center
Sat-Apr 26 St Louis Scottrade Center
Mon-Apr 28 Milwaukee Bradley Center
Wed-Apr 30 Pittsburgh Mellon Arena
Fri-May 02 Charlottesville John Paul Jones Arena
Mon-May 05 Raleigh RBC Center
Wed-May 07 Columbus Schottenstein Center
Fri-May 09 Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall
Sun-May 11 Duluth Gwinnett Arena
Tue-May 13 East Rutherford Izod Center
Thu-May 15 Baltimore 1st Mariner Arena
Sun-May 18 Hershey Giant Center
Tue-May 20 Uncasville Mohegan Sun Arena
Fri-May 23 New York Madison Square Garden
Sun-May 25 Providence Dunkin Donuts Center
Wed-May 28 Manchester Verizon Wireless Arena
Fri-May 30 Chicago Allstate Arena
Mon-June 2 Grand Rapids Van Andel Arena

From FemaleFirst: : Eddie Van Halen's ex-wife Valerie Bertinelli has reassured Van Halen fans the guitarist "sounds terrific" despite his current medical concerns. Actress Bertinelli contacted her former husband immediately after rumours the one-time alcoholic had returned to rehab began to circulate earlier this week (03Mar08).

And now she's stepped forward to let fans know the 53-year-old virtuoso is in much better shape than she thought he'd be in, although she sheds no light on the exact nature of Van Halen's medical issue. Bertinelli tells Canadian newspaper the Edmonton Sun, "I just talked to him a couple of days ago. I understand the curiosity - I was curious until I talked to him. He sounds terrific.  "He's just being very pro-active. It's not as awful as people think it is. I'm so proud of him right now. He sounded terrific".

The actress is hopeful the stalled Van Halen reunion tour - with her and Eddie's son Wolfgang on bass - will "start back up again on the 11th (March, in Charlottesville, Virginia)".

FROM PR-INSIDE.COM: Rockers VAN HALEN cancelled a string of comeback gigs so guitarist EDDIE VAN HALEN could return to rehab to be treated for alcoholism, according to reports. The band rescheduled two concerts in Virginia and Georgia at the end of last month (Feb08) and another this week (beg03Mar08), prompting internet reports claiming all tour dates had been pulled indefinitely.

Representatives for the rockers insist the tour is still on, despite announcing Van Halen "is undergoing a battery of comprehensive medical tests to determine a defined diagnosis and recommended medical procedures." Now sources tell the National Enquirer the 53-year-old guitarist checked himself into a clinic near San Antonio, Texas, so he could detox for a week after a furious backstage bust-up in Florida with his 17-year-old son and bandmate Wolfgang.

An insider says, "It was the big what-if of the tour - whether Eddie could stay sober. "Wolf hates it when his dad drinks. He knew Eddie was drunk onstage that night, and was acting cold to him, which set Eddie off. Eddie went beserk and started yanking guitar cables from the pedal boards and throwing cigarettes around onstage.

"At the end of the concert, Eddie was so mad at Wolf, he punched the amp speaker, knocking it over." Van Halen enjoyed a stint in rehab last year (07), which delayed plans for the comeback tour.

This is a review submitted to us from a fan who was at the Fort Lauderdale show:

Eddie and Wolfgang were fighting all night. My friends and I are diehard fans and we were watching all night how Eddie was trying to engage his son without success. He also was unusually out of his mind and we knew it was going to be a trainwreck. We were all commenting on it after the show. Kind of bummed about it but hopefully it can be resolved. It really wasn't Dave. Dave carried the show again. It was between father and son. We think Eddie probably was out of his mind for some reason and Wolfie didn't appreciate that. Anyway, that's our speculation. It was very apparent throughout the show starting halfway and especially during Ed's solo that he was pissed and not on his game.

Van Halen Dallas, Cincinnati, Raleigh, & Baltimore Concerts Postponed

Van Halen management has issued a quick press release regarding the postponement of several shows:

"The Van Halen concerts in Dallas, Cincinnati, Raleigh, and Baltimore have been postponed. According to Eddie Van Halen's physician, he is undergoing a battery of comprehensive medical tests to determine a defined diagnosis and recommended medical procedures. Fans should retain their tickets as they will be honored at the rescheduled concerts or ticket refunds will be issued at the original point of purchase.  Please check back for information regarding the rescheduled date once confirmed it will be posted here."

Source: craigandsam.com

VanHalen.com has received breaking news that some of the tour cancellation stories were a result of reporter error.  The Craig and Sam website has learned that an earlier story in the New Jersey Star-Ledger incorrectly used a 2007 Rolling Stone Magazine Van Halen tour cancellation story as the basis for its report of a cancellation now.  Apparently, the February 2007 date in the story was overlooked.  This Star-Ledger story was then widely distributed and used as a reference for many other articles. 

Samantha Adams, a DJ from www.CraigandSam.com, has received email confirmation from Jay Lustig, the author of the original Star-Ledger story, that he had mistakenly taken a line from the earlier 2007 report and that the story has now been corrected.

Further, they report that the shows have been postponed, not cancelled - and that a press release is due out with the new dates within the next 24 hours.  Billboard Magazine is reporting also that the tour is not cancelled .

New dates (From CraigandSam.com)

March 3, Dallas - postponed, rescheduled for April 24
March 5, Cincinnati - postponed, rescheduled for April 22
March 7, Raleigh - postponed, rescheduled for April 13
March 9, Baltimore - postponed, rescheduled for April 15

It's official: the American Airlines Center website is stating that tonight's Dallas show has been postponed.  I guess that would lend some substance to the rumors.

And now for some comic relief - somone has created a video showing what might happen if David Lee Roth were to audition on American Idol. You MUST see the HILARIOUS video of David Lee Roth on American Idol here !

Great news!  The postponed shows are being rescheduled. 

• The Atlanta show at the Arena at Gwinnett is being rescheduled for Wednesday, March 19 at 7:30 p.m.  
• The Charlottesville show has been rescheduled to March 11 in the John Paul Jones arena.

 The original tickets will be honored for the new date, or refunds will be offered by the original point of purchase.

WCAV 19 News in Charlottesville, VA has investigated the reports of the rumored Charlottesville incident, and has determined it to be inaccurate.  Here's their story:

"It's all over the internet, Van Halen canceled their show because of fight between band members at a club on the Downtown Mall, but is it true? We investigated and found out that yes, Van Halen's crew was at Rapture Thursday night, the night before they were supposed to play at the John Paul Jones Arena. But the bar says there was no altercation and Rapture had nothing to do with why Van Halen canceled the show"

Full Story: http://www.charlottesvillenewsplex.tv/news/headlines/15948427.html

In last Wednesday's Fort Lauderdale show, the last show before the postponements, there were fan reports that something was not right at the end of the show.   There were problems with the performance, and even some apparent anger or frustration onstage. 

See the Fort Lauderdale video here - watch at the end of the video at about 4:48 where Eddie slams his guitar down, and then while leaving the stage knocks over two guitar amps that almost hit David Lee Roth as he is leaving.   Whatever is going on, we are hopeful that the guys can get it together and get the tour back on track. 

Early reports of a fracas in Charlottesville may be incorrect.  Some locals have claimed that an altercation occurred in a Charlottesville nightclub involving the band on 2/21, which precipitated the postponements.  However, other sources have reported that the crew was in the nightclub, but the band was not even in town that night due to the weather.  So we still don't know much yet, but we'll let you know when we do!

Chunklet Magazine has unearthed a highly amusing vocal track from the original Van Halen recording of "Running With the Devil". All you can hear in this is his voice, with no instrumentation. If you're a fan, you've really got to listen to this.

And Jason Lymangrover has written a great article on this vocal track, and the creative things that some people are already doing with it.  Check it out!

VanHalen.com EXCLUSIVE: We have received hundreds of new fan reviews, and are updating the pages to include all the shows so far.  These are REAL reviews from REAL fans!  You won't find these reviews anywhere else!  Please be patient with us - it sometimes takes several days to post them because we get so many.  Please check out the fan reviews so far here: