Mike R. - I saw VH last night in Philadelphia and will sum it up in one word....AWESOME!!! We were not disappointed one bit. I was only able to see Van Halen during the 5150 tour with Sammy Hagar, so never got the Diamond Dave experience. Some 25 years later, I feel like I've finally completed the circle.
Dave's vocals, Eddie's guitar and Alex's drums just rocked the house from beginning to end. Full of energy, they never stopped for over 2 hours. The whole venue was on their feet and singing along for every old school, classic Van Halen song.
The S-stage was cool, but they didn't use it much, preferring to stay front and center most of the time. I'd have preferred to see Eddie more on my side of the stage, but we had club box seats, so I can't complain too much.
Midway through Alex gave a tremendous, thundering drum solo and literally felt like it was going to topple the building down. Eddie's solo was saved to near the end of the show, but it didn't disappoint. Instead of favoring what many guitarists would consider a solo (fast playing) Eddie did stuff with his guitar that makes you just sit with your jaw dropped open. The sounds that came from his axe were surreal and you can really see his musical genius when he plays. While I would have liked to have seen Michael Anthony as well, Wolfie was more than adequate on bass, though lacking stage presence (can you blame him, he's only 16!) Highly recommended.
Lisa H. - Just want to let you know saw the show in Phila 10/3.. VH rocked the house..I felt like I was back in school again...Dave did'nt let anyone down he is still the KING.
Beth - I never got to see The Mighty VanHalen the first time around, so when tix went on sale with David back where he belongs, I was all over it! Took my 16 year old son to opening night in Philly 10/1/07! I can't believe HE's 16 and not me, lovin the same band! Went into it expecting to see a bunch of 50 year old men, NOT the VH of 84 with swivelly hips and knee slides. What we got was a better musical performance than anything I've seen on all the old YouTube videos - all the lyrics were right on and their minds were 100% in the game. Thank you for getting sober! Every one of the members of the band seemed to be lovin every minute of it. I believe they were truly grateful that we all still care. If you were dissappointed with the show - you don't know how to have fun!!!
Joe M. - Worth the wait! 25 years. Let that sink in a bit.These guys are in their 50's (except Wolfie of course) and they sound better than ever, look to be in great shape and still sound like a steamroller on steroids!
Dave can still hit the (notes?) and juice up the audience, Eddie is only getting better with age (if that's even possible) and Alex is like a blown Chevy 350. Wolfie did a better job than I expected on backup vocals and even though he didn't get a chance to solo, he was definitely keeping up. The band literally played the songs note for note the way we expect to hear them, and put all the energy into each and every song - the way it should be.
My only negative observation, is that the sound board and/or speakers were horribly whacked. There was feedback, and at the creciendo points in the songs, the system sounded like crap. Obviously there was little the band-mates could do except keep rocking harder, and that they did! Specifically the mid & treble turned into white noise mixed with feedback and that's a shame. I'm sure they were a bit disappointed too.
Other than that, these guys are chiseled out of marble, and ready to rock you butt off!!! I brought my 8 year old son to the show and he loved it, and he was begging me (lost his voice) for the ticket to take to school to show his "Hot Teacher". Rock that cradle little man, ROCK ON!!!
Jeff P. - I saw the Oct. 1 show in Phila. I have a simple message for all of you: DO NOT MISS THIS TOUR. I was very pleasantly surprised by the musicianship and pure authenticity of this tour. The vocals were spectacular [maintaining good fidelity with the original recording]. guitar work spectacular [duh!), and general experience was all of the positive things that I remembered (and I saw them on the very first US tour in 1977). All the positive reviews are understating the obvious. They are back, as good as ever. Enjoy!
Mike - Great show last night in Philadelphia. Worth the 3 hour drive from New York. The only negative was that the sound was off on a few songs and was too loud. The song selection and performances were amazing and worthy of VH being crowned clearly the best rock band in the world. If they scratched the solos and replaced them with Hear About it Later and Girl Gone Bad, the show would be off the charts.
Lisa - Saw VH last night in Philly. Amazing!! They played for 2 hours straight. They were awesome and Wofgang did not disappoint. They looked great too - pretty buff for 50somethings! We took our 15 year old daughter and she loved them too. Definitely worth the $.
Scott R. - I saw the show in Philly last night. I was really excited to see VH with Roth since I grew up on thier music. Unfortunetly this had to be the worst sounding concert I have ever been to. The sound so so bad you could not make out any music or lyrics. It sounded like a distorted radio with blow speakers. The band seemed like they were playing well and having a great time but you just couldn't hear. My original seats were pretty high up but I changed my location 3 times to see if the sound improved but it did not. I hope they address this problem for future shows. It is a shame because it sounded like the set list was superb. To bad I could just barely make out what song they were playing. They should fire their sound manager.
T. G. - hey went to the show in Philly on monday night. the show was outstanding. Edward was brilliant as was the rest of the band.
Joe - I remember being in the 5th grade in 1984 and my friend asking me if I had the new Van Halen tape. I said "no", and that "I never heard of them". I watched them on MTV that summer and went from break dancing to a rocker. The following year the broke up. Over the years I was convinced Dave & Eddie would never patch things up. I can't believe I just saw them together on stage in Philly last nite. It was amazing hearing all the songs that I've been jamming to over the past 23 years. It was like stepping back in time. Dave sang all the songs perfectly and Eddie was jamming like it was the 1984. Great show!
Mike T. - I don't think the reviews for this show, the previous shows, or the upcoming shows are gonna come in any different throughout the Tour...BOTTOM LINE...these are KICKING SERIOUS ASS! Eddie, Alex, and David never sounded so good together...and I've been to the "Women and Children First", "Fair Warning", "Diver Down", "1984" tours years ago. Wolfie was GREAT! The kid is cutting it...and those are big shoes to fill! He needs to loosen up and come out of his shell a bit yet, but...I mean come on, 16 years old, 18,000 people, the kids under alot of pressure, but he's doing just great!
This show is a 2 plus Hours, non-stop, brutal beating of all the great VH classics. No jibber-jabber between songs...one song right after another...relentless!
My biggest "thumbs up" of the show gotta be DAVID LEE ROTH...Like I said...no jibber-jabbering, no nonsense, TOTAL business! DLR was on it!!!! I seen 4 tours in the old days...and this ain't the "too messed up to remember words", "not singing half the words", "never shuts up", DLR...DLR WAS ON IT!!! And of course...being a Drummer myself....ALEX F**KIN VAN HALEN !!!!!!!! AVH is a MACHINE! AWESOME!!!!
There it is...I could go on and on here...all the shows reviews are gonna be the same as this one...Do yourself a favor...whether you're an old Classic VH/DLR fan, or somebody that should just go to see how "the big boys used to do it"...don't miss this show. I NEVER would've thought the last night would have come...and it did...and I was all over it! and in return...VH made it way worth the 23 year wait... they DESTROYED the place!!!!
Jimi B. - I was one of the lucky fans to be at the first Philly concert (Oct. 1) and it was truly awesome. The band sounded incredible and it was great seeing Edward, Alex and David together again...Wolfgand surprised a lot of people with his solid bass playing and great vocal work. There were many highlights during this night, starting with Edward and David hugging during the second song...Ed said it's about time and Dave was all smiles. This generated a standing ovation, as we fans have waited too many years for this special night. The music selection was unbelievable, as they played some songs that I never heard them perform back in the day. David looked fit and savored every moment, Edward looked strong and happy to be back, Alex was his usual awesome self and Wolfgang can play, and was kind of shy at times. The night belonged to Edward, as he had his band back, better than ever with his son at his side, his older brother behind him and his old friend back too. I brought my 15 year old son with me, as Van Halen was his first concert back in August of 1998. As a parent I enjoyed seeing how happy Edward was with Wolfgang on stage with him, especially when Edward took Wolfgang's hand and kissed it during the show. Family first...always! My advice is simple: GO SEE THIS SHOW!
Regards, Jimi B.
Matthew F. - FROM PHILIDELPHIA OCT. 1, 2007 I have seen the band 3 TIMES (DAVE, SAM AND NOW DAVE)...THIS IS A MUST SEE SHOW.....NEED I SAY MORE? yes! DAVE, ED, WOLFGANG, AND ALEX....IT WAS INSANE....I HAVE SEEN THE STONES 10 TIMES, AND THIS WAS THE BEST SHOW I HAVE SEEN IN MY LIFE...STONES,METALLICA,JOVI, AND ALL THE REST HAVE NOTHING ON THIS BAND....