Video: Van Halen reunites
posted at 8:37 pm on October 1, 2007 by Allahpundit
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Would it kill you to rehearse a little, Dave? Geez.
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wow, those harmonies are… tight. Yeah. Tight.
marc@hubsandspokes on October 1, 2007 at 8:40 PM
Ack…
I’m going next month to see VH! But yikes…David Lee sounds a little off there…Van Hagar anyone?
And what’s he doin’ walking around? Let’s see that DLR JUMP!
JetBoy on October 1, 2007 at 8:41 PM
Van who?
Limerick on October 1, 2007 at 8:41 PM
Ouch…
Must.
Smoke.
More.
Weed.
That’s better! Wow they sound awesome!
JEFF_IN_NC on October 1, 2007 at 8:45 PM
Never trust the acoustics on what appears to be a camera phone.
Dude.
SouthernDem on October 1, 2007 at 8:46 PM
Hagar is an unflattering moslem term.
Van Hagar would of course be from the region of Hagar.
Sammy Halen may have something to say about this.
pc on October 1, 2007 at 8:47 PM
Well thanks for ruining all my memories AP……..And for god’s sake what Eddie doesn’t need to practice any more either????
doriangrey on October 1, 2007 at 8:48 PM
Let me get this right. Hagar was Sarah’s maid. Anyway the interesting thing is while Opus got it’s content censored you can read Hagar the Horrible any time in any paper.
Back to you regularly scheduled pathetic attempt to grab a few sheckles by some guys who figure why not.
pc on October 1, 2007 at 8:51 PM
Actually, they did rehearse… and DLH did sound better in these six clips.
Karl on October 1, 2007 at 8:54 PM
DLR, sorry.
Karl on October 1, 2007 at 8:55 PM
I don’t think practice would help. Saw em live in 84. DR was so drunk you couldn’t understand a word he was saying. Actually sounds better here, although I reluctantly use the word better.
Hammerhead on October 1, 2007 at 8:59 PM
Van Hasbeens.
Michael Anthony should be feeling very relieved that he wasn’t invited to join this slow-motion trainwreck.
phile on October 1, 2007 at 9:04 PM
Van Halen w/DLR always sounded crappy. That was half the point. Like the Stones, you’re there for the party. Van Hagar was an abomination. This is rock and roll! DIAMOND DAVE RULES!
Metro on October 1, 2007 at 9:11 PM
Well while Jamies crying,we might as well jump and celebrate.He He.
canopfor on October 1, 2007 at 9:15 PM
It wouldn’t be Van Hagar Halen Grand Funk Railroad
Kini on October 1, 2007 at 9:17 PM
I was just going over some old yearbooks and it reminded me that I’m Hot for Teacher!
Didn’t know AP was old enough to remember Van H.
jaime on October 1, 2007 at 9:18 PM
This made me feel old!
Pam on October 1, 2007 at 9:31 PM
Hagar was the mother of Ishmael, from whom muslims believe descend the Arabs, so maybe “Hagar” isn’t so bad a term.
Except, of course, when Hagar is a “Horrible” viking.
Bigfoot on October 1, 2007 at 9:34 PM
There went 3 minutes I will never get back.
realVerse on October 1, 2007 at 9:36 PM
Why? He’s a rocker, and he rocks. not good vid or aud. He still does it. I’m a Van Hagar fan myself, but so what.
“It’s a Sammy thing, you wouldn’t understand”
taterblade on October 1, 2007 at 9:37 PM
MAS TEQUILA
taterblade on October 1, 2007 at 9:38 PM
I’m looking forward to going to this. I’ll let you know how it is.
The recent AC/DC concert at the House of Blues in Chicago was AWESOME!
I’m hoping this will be the same…
p.s. I was not an on-fire-for Jesus born-again Christian when I first became a fan. When I sing along with these band’s songs, I leave out the ‘bad’ words. Some old habits die hard…
PoliticallyIncorrectSandy on October 1, 2007 at 9:42 PM
YES!!
I love Van Halen.
aclark on October 1, 2007 at 9:45 PM
Old VH is my number 1 band of all time, but I saw Dave last year and he sucked. I hope he gets his act together.
Tony737 on October 1, 2007 at 10:05 PM
i saw van halen in 1984 in Richmond VA they rocked :)
trailortrash on October 1, 2007 at 10:07 PM
Ummm, no he didnt…
doriangrey on October 1, 2007 at 10:09 PM
Sounded okay. Would be a fun show to check out. At least it is not that Beyonce crapola!
nottakingsides on October 1, 2007 at 10:12 PM
If there is no God then there is no devil
mjkazee on October 1, 2007 at 10:15 PM
If I was in a bar and they showed up as the Van Halen tribute band, sounding like that, I’d have to leave.
Eddie looks good though. Hope he stays sober.
Diamond Dave was wandering around the stage as clueless and lackluster as Britney Spears at the VMA’s. Not expecting karate kicks from the geezer, but could he at least feign interest.
dedalus on October 1, 2007 at 10:16 PM
Make up the mind.
mjkazee on October 1, 2007 at 10:16 PM
I don’t feel so bad about missing out on tickets.
I’d rather rent an old VanvHalen concert DVD and get toasted at home.
It’s nice to see Eddie and David bury the hatchet for some $$$ though.
omnipotent on October 1, 2007 at 10:16 PM
Yep, “Live without a net is cool”…this no so much so…
doriangrey on October 1, 2007 at 10:22 PM
Maybe they should just lip sink to an new mix of one of their original tracks?
Lawrence on October 1, 2007 at 10:25 PM
OMG!
I saw Van Halen in Austin, TX 1981 and while DLR’s voice wasn’t quite so coarse, he forgot most of the words to the songs because he was PLASTERED!
Someone sober him up and he forgot how to sing?
If he tried jumping now, he would probably throw a disc or something.
I officially feel old.
MITX on October 1, 2007 at 10:26 PM
Good God. I swear that if I dug up that old discarded guitar I had back in college, a cheap amp and a mic, I would sound better than them.
Xrlq on October 1, 2007 at 10:29 PM
I suddenly realized I don’t remember much about the 80’s.
Kini on October 1, 2007 at 10:44 PM
I saw him in 80 and the performance was not bad but a little too polished. My brother saw them a second time the next month and said it was exactly the same as the first one, down to where he drank a bottle of JD.
Springsteen was the best I ever saw in concert. It was the river tour and lasted almost three hours. Words can’t describe!
Bradky on October 1, 2007 at 10:45 PM
I remember the 80’s but the first couple of years of that decade were spent trying to put together the last few years of the seventies!!
Bradky on October 1, 2007 at 10:46 PM
Thanx Bro….I’ll throw it in my Netflix queue.
omnipotent on October 1, 2007 at 10:54 PM
*cough* if you remember the 80’s, you probably didn’t live through them *cough*… :p
doriangrey on October 1, 2007 at 10:57 PM
Yikes! That’s not the Van Halen I remember. Where’s the energy? And what’s with the red hat? Looks like something from Dr. Seuss or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!
synycalwon on October 1, 2007 at 11:06 PM
Hmmm, lets see, their old and DLR has to have some thing to cover up his Q ball noggin…He is mostly bald these days you know…
doriangrey on October 1, 2007 at 11:11 PM
Eddie needs practice bad!I saw them at the Monsters of Rock tour and just as my brother and I were leaving I said”what next Alex’s drum riser lifts of the ground?”Yep sure enough it DID! we left laughing all the way to the liquor store,
Bob
Bobnormal on October 1, 2007 at 11:18 PM
BTW as a musician 28 years I have ABSOLUTE MORAL AUTHORITY!(LOL)
Bob
Bobnormal on October 1, 2007 at 11:19 PM
Heh heh heh been there done that……….
doriangrey on October 1, 2007 at 11:21 PM
LOL, only if you follow it up with shots of Cabo Wabo.
infidel4life on October 1, 2007 at 11:22 PM
Rookie.
;-)
infidel4life on October 1, 2007 at 11:24 PM
I like Sammy-era Van Halen better. I saw Van Hagar on the Monsters of Rock tour in the late 80s and it blew my mind. But that was because I had an aperitif of Metallica (supporting And Just for All), and shameless Zeppelin wannabes “Kingdom Come.” Nonetheless, Sammy puts on one of the best shows ever.
Screw Eddie VH. He’s a prima donna.
Mindcrime on October 1, 2007 at 11:25 PM
Meh…Wish I could claim I had only been playing that long… 32+???
doriangrey on October 1, 2007 at 11:26 PM
They sure need halp and I wouldn’t spend a dime to go see them, rather see “Drop Kick Murphy” from bean town
bones47 on October 1, 2007 at 11:28 PM
Diamond Dave is sort of “walkin’ with the Devil” here. Mend your ways Dave. Regarding the vocals, at least it’s not canned music.
I believe my two degrees in music entitle ME to absolute moral authority. ;-)
Mojave Mark on October 1, 2007 at 11:37 PM
I went to the Mosters tour also, Dokken was great, Scorps were awesome and Van Halen was outfreakinstanding. Eddie rules. Or at least he did back then.
Tony737 on October 1, 2007 at 11:38 PM
Well damn it that trumps my B.F.A in Classical theory… :(
doriangrey on October 1, 2007 at 11:42 PM
I thought they sounded pretty good for a bunch of old guys who haven’t played together in like a quarter of a century. And Eddie’s playing has sounded a lot worse. I saw a clip of him from a few years ago, when they toured with Hagar again, and Eddie was so wasted he couldn’t play his solos.
Jim Treacher on October 1, 2007 at 11:53 PM
Yeah, I thought Eddie sounded fine.
Allahpundit on October 1, 2007 at 11:57 PM
Crowd sounds like they enjoyed it. I saw the Police this summer, and it was a heck of a lot tighter than this. That being said, lots of people will go just to see the Halen Bros. + Eddie together again.
Vincenzo on October 1, 2007 at 11:57 PM
I meant Halen Bros + David Lee, sorry
Vincenzo on October 1, 2007 at 11:58 PM
Being a kid who picked up his first guitar in 1973 Van Halen was pretty damn important part of my learning experience. Seeing them like this is, well painful.
doriangrey on October 1, 2007 at 11:58 PM
I guess I have just become to much of a critical old curmudgeon in my old age……Because it didn’t sound very good to me at all. To many missed notes, to many places where he was off in his timming and way too much trying to prove that he still got’s it by add libbing…
doriangrey on October 2, 2007 at 12:02 AM
These guys played at a friend of mine’s prom in Pasadena in 1977.
Man, I’m old.
wordwarp on October 2, 2007 at 12:14 AM
Yah, not bad with the qualifiers that they’re older and the recording quality of this clip probably doesn’t do justice. But, the whole thing came across as low energy, which is the opposite of what Van Halen shows where always about.
Dave really sounded like he couldn’t hit those high notes and looked lost wandered around the stage. It did seems like Eddie was trying to hard.
That being said, they look pretty good for old guys! Although it was hard to get much of a look at Alex behind the drum kit. Gotta admire Wolfgang though for stepping into some big shoes. Very impressive for such a youngin. But, hey, his dad is Eddie fricking Van Halen! :P
synycalwon on October 2, 2007 at 12:17 AM
Please give me hagar/anthony.
Of course the sound quality is different from the OU812 days…
(it is also different from my first LP Fair Warning).
F15Mech on October 2, 2007 at 12:28 AM
You ain’t old wordwarp……Sonny and Cher, HS Sadie Hawkins dance band…….(grabbing my cane, beating on the keyboard).
Limerick on October 2, 2007 at 12:29 AM
I have at one time had everything of their up to Balance, never could stand the Gary Cherone stuff either.
doriangrey on October 2, 2007 at 12:37 AM
dave hitting high notes ever again? now that’s just craaaazy.
Vincenzo on October 2, 2007 at 12:46 AM
Heh heh heh certainly not without blowing a major gasket…
doriangrey on October 2, 2007 at 12:47 AM
I’m shocked, shocked at the amount of Hagar bias here. You people are dead to me.
SouthernDem on October 2, 2007 at 12:50 AM
Hurumph……..How many times can we be dead to you………. :p
doriangrey on October 2, 2007 at 12:52 AM
Heh. Could see that happen on one of those high kicks, but do the vocal cords really take a hit too (in aging)?
synycalwon on October 2, 2007 at 12:56 AM
Big time……..DLR could give himself a fatal aneurysm trying to pull off some of his old VH stuff…..
doriangrey on October 2, 2007 at 12:58 AM
Call me cynical, but that sounds extreme. Are you serious? From singing?
synycalwon on October 2, 2007 at 1:05 AM
Well, this is the first time. Keep count for me.
SouthernDem on October 2, 2007 at 1:11 AM
You ever try to sing his early stuff?
doriangrey on October 2, 2007 at 1:11 AM
Only the first? Hmmm could have sworn it was..ahem more than that… :p
doriangrey on October 2, 2007 at 1:13 AM
Opps, did I say sing? There is a reason they call it screaming your brains out…..
doriangrey on October 2, 2007 at 1:14 AM
[emphasis mine]
I was good right until there. Now I’m feeling right creaky.
::gets teeth from glass::
X_LA_Native on October 2, 2007 at 1:33 AM
Ha! Can’t sing or dance to save my life, although I can drum (go figure). Now that you mention the screaming part, I see your point. Thanks.
synycalwon on October 2, 2007 at 1:37 AM
Treacher and Allah are right: Eddie’s playing fine in this clip. Roth and the kid’s vocals are off in this clip. I agree with Karl that Roth sounds better in the rehearsal shows on YouTube, but the reality is that his vocals won’t be the same as he was when he was 25 years old.
I’m sayin’ it could be worse. At least Roth isn’t pathetic like Robert Plant is now. Heard any of Plant’s recent stuff?
Da-a-a-a-a-a-amn!
ScottMcC on October 2, 2007 at 1:41 AM
No worries I am creaking right along with you.
F15Mech on October 2, 2007 at 1:42 AM
As I rather subtly implied to Treacher and Allah, you need to go back and pay a little more attention to eddies playing, there is definitely something off and wrong with it.
doriangrey on October 2, 2007 at 1:45 AM
When Eddies son is the bass player…
I remember a People mag article/picture where Valarie was in a bathtub with bubbles and a plastic electric guitar. (so I may have been hot for Valarie back in the day).
F15Mech on October 2, 2007 at 1:54 AM
Yup, nothing makes you feel old like seeing the grown adult son of a girl you once had the major hots for… :(
doriangrey on October 2, 2007 at 1:58 AM
The only consolation to that fact was that I roughly 13 when I was hot for Val. It is not much but helps.
F15Mech on October 2, 2007 at 2:06 AM
Appears to have affected Def Leppard’s Joe Elliot too!
synycalwon on October 2, 2007 at 3:30 AM
Wow….reminds me of an old joke….what does a Deadhead say when he runs outta drugs? “Man this music sucks.”
PatrickS on October 2, 2007 at 4:42 AM
Both our kids hockey teams come out at home games with “Unchained” blasting on the rink’s sound system.
Van H, Van Hagar and AC/DC is great hockey music.
All in all, these guys really look like zombies, and Dave should leave the hat on. The wife wanted to go see these guys and when the tickets sold out in a flash here we went to a scalper just to look…two in the first 10 rows was $1000. Sorry.
LtE126 on October 2, 2007 at 6:05 AM
Sammy, where the heck are you when we need you?!!!!
Dave, hang it up buddy
Viper1 on October 2, 2007 at 6:49 AM
Sammy in the lineup is/was much, much better. He can actually sing (a departure from DLR), he adds another guitar. DLR can….er…used to be able to do the splits…
The problem with Gary Cherone is the VH boys told him to try to sing like Sammy. That’s not Gary and the album bombed. Didn’t it do some incredibly terrible numbers?
Darksean on October 2, 2007 at 7:45 AM
Maybe I’m just nostalgic, but I thought it was awesome. Live recordings almost always sound wonky when they aren’t done with professional equipment.
Tanya on October 2, 2007 at 7:52 AM
Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry once said they have never been asked for their high school diplomas before playing a gig. I would wager they haven’t been asked for their college transcripts either. ;)
I guess I fall into the rookie category with 25+ yrs playing here and there on just about anything with strings or sticks.
Pilgrim on October 2, 2007 at 8:26 AM
Shouldn’t the caption on the front page be, “Walking with the Devil”?
Darksean on October 2, 2007 at 8:40 AM
Van Halen was more like a jam band, not alot of songwriting just riffs (hot for teacher) then with Sammy they were able to write better stuff “love walks in” “dreams” IMHO. Both versions had high points.
LtE126 on October 2, 2007 at 8:49 AM
It sounds like someone may have gone to the “Linda McCartney School of Backup Singing.” Geez…that’s rough on the ears. Is that Wolfgang?
ConBlog_NH on October 2, 2007 at 9:11 AM
My grandparents told me about Van Halen.
Kevin M on October 2, 2007 at 9:19 AM
Best live bands = Ramones and Big Audio Dynamite. Sounded better live than on my 8-tracks…then again it’s pretty hard to mess up the same three chords used on every song.
Alden Pyle on October 2, 2007 at 10:27 AM
Oh yeah? Well, why don’t you just surf your sorry COMMIE A$$ over to dKos and hang with the kool kidz over there, you AMERICA-HATING TRAITOR.
I QUESTION YOUR VAN HALENISM!
But seriously, folks, I thought it sounded pretty good, all things considered. This isn’t about music anyway, it’s about Dave and Eddie back together. It’s for the greater good.
saint kansas on October 2, 2007 at 10:37 AM
Worcester – 11/06/07. Can’t wait!
Great boot available at JamToThis of the Charlotte show. 9/27/07
Go RED SOX!
MrC_5150 on October 2, 2007 at 11:18 AM
This is worse than the cover my little band did of this song in high school back in 1983.
One word: Rush
The new album and the new tour are the best efforts from any band still touring after all these years.
jcrue on October 2, 2007 at 11:27 AM
Dude.
Look me in the eye and tell me that you don’t cringe when you hear Geddy’s falsetto parts of “Limelight” and “Freewill” on the past three tours.
Best efforts, yeah. But… dude!
ScottMcC on October 2, 2007 at 1:39 PM
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