if you care: Van Halen Tour Rehearsal Story and Photos

[Taylor Player]

Not my story, but I thought some folks might find this interesting if for nothing more than getting a peek at the new Wolfgang. Warning, there are setlist spoilers at the end of this post.

On Saturday night a friend of mine got me in to see a Van Halen

rehearsal in Los Angeles. (I've been sworn to secrecy on certain

aspects of this story, including location. Someone else may fill in

the details, but it won't be me.)

We arrived to an empty arena (except for the VH staff) containing

VH's full stage setup. No one from the band had arrived yet.

The stage has a runway which snakes out into the audience in a giant

"S" shape, which mirrors the lighting rig above it. The "S"

continues behind and above the stage so a band member can walk to the

very top and be standing above Ed's rig. There's a giant video

screen the width of the entire stage, but neither the screen nor the

stage lights were tested tonight; only the house lights were used.

(It didn't matter in the slightest.)

We arrived about an hour before the band while the crew fine-tuned

the equipment. Drums were tested, guitars tuned, and pink noise

blasted through the P.A. The general mood of everyone seemed very

high with lots of smiles and friendly faces. Many people nodded to

us and said, "hello."

Eddie was the first to arrive, and very shortly after that, Wolfgang

and Alex. Valerie was with Wolf as were about five of his friends

from school, I'm guessing. (They all looked the same age.) Alex and

Ed spent about 15 minutes on stage noodling while Wolfie was showing

his friends the venue. The three of them then met on stage and Eddie

said into the P.A., "We're not opening with it, but let's play "I'm

The One" just to warm up. And that they did. A funny moment

occurred when Ed screwed up the bit right before they usually go

acapella. He spoke into the mic, "Did I mess that up?" Wolf

confirmed, "Yeah, you were late." Both were smiling.

After "I'm The One", there was a bit more noodling and then some

down time as people waited for Dave. I'm not sure if he was running

late or if that's just how the schedule was.

When Dave did show up, right from the start, he was all smiles. He

was dressed in tight, flared out leather pants and a black/striped

dress shirt.

The rest of the account is going to contain, for lack of a better

word, "spoilers" of the show, including the set list, all though not

in order. If you don't want to know, fair warning.

Dave addressed the crowd and treated us as if we were guests in his

arena sized house. He thanked us for coming and talked about how

excited he was to be here and what a "privilege and honor" it was to

play with his "brutha's from another mutha." (And yes, that's a

quote.) He then went on to great lengths to explain what we would be

seeing tonight: that it was a rehearsal where they would be stopping

and starting, testing things out, etc. (And he did this all very

eloquently with many one-liners, as only Dave does.) Right before

the band began, he explained, "Okay as soon as you hear the first

note, that's when the curtain comes up." He did that throughout the

show; stopping to tell us what we would be seeing if this were the

actual concert. The constant commentary and casual asides reminded

me of that story I've heard where at a concert he wanted to turn the

P.A. around so that "everyone could be backstage." That's how this

show felt. As if we were being let it on the secret.

The show started with "You Really Got Me." Dave was standing on the

high part of the "S" stage above Alex waving a giant Red flag as the

show began. Then he threw the flag down, and for the first time in

over 22 years, David Lee Roth sang on stage with Eddie Van Halen.

I'd say there were only about 40-50 guests there that night who were

lucky enough to get in. Most of us sat in the "5-star" section

inside the loop of the "S" runway, but there wasn't even enough of us

to fill it up. And there was a silly L.A.attitude amongst the crowd

of" Oh-I'm-so-hip- I-don't-need- to-sit-in- the-front- row" thing going

on, as if this event was an every day occurrence. (After the first

song, I couldn't stay away, and moved from the 5th row to right up

front, just off center towards Ed's side.) The stage setup has at

least 8 speakers just for the people in the first few rows, so you

don't have to worry about hearing only the echoey remnants of the

main P.A. You'll get the full mix nice and loud. But Holy God,

bring earplugs.

Wolfgang did a fine job, even providing decent sounding backup

vocals. I have absolutely nothing bad to say about him, but I'd be

lying if I didn't say that Michael Anthony was missed. While Wolf

competently filled the position, he doesn't have the same sound,

either in his playing or in his voice, as Michael. It's such a shame

that silly personal conflicts can't be resolved so that people can

finally see the classic lineup again. I do have to say though, it's

obvious how much Ed loves playing with Wolfgang. He would be all

smiles when he walked over to Wolfie and after one song, stepped up

to the P.A. and said, "Great job, Wolf. Great."

Over the next hour and a half or so the band played classic after

classic that VH haven't done in years. The Sammy Hagar era is dead

now, as far as I can tell. (All though when warming up, Eddie ran

the VH-stripped drill across his guitar as if he was was starting

"Poundcake", but no more than that.) I was surprised by some of the

gems they brought out. I'll post the songs I remember at the end of

the article, but the order will be completely wrong except for the

first song and the encore.

The great thrill of the show was seeing Dave and Ed interact. If

there's any animosity between them, it didn't show at all. Both were

constantly smiling, and Dave often did the schtick where he holds his

mic to Ed's guitar during a solo while he looks at the crowd, open

mouthed in astonishment.

That's not to say that Dave didn't get pissed, however. He was

standing out by the far tail of the "S" runway when, in the middle of

a song, he yelled at the soundboard crew with intense anger, "TURN

THE FUCKING VOCALS UP! Don't make me ask you again!" I turned to Ed

to see his reaction, thinking he would be pissed at Dave's behavior,

but incredibly, Ed just smiled even wider. As Dave walked past him

returning to the stage, they did a mini-hi-five, low and behind each

other's back. I don't know what it meant. I'm guessing it's one of

those things that only makes sense to two people who have known each

other for decades.

I never got to see Dave sing with Van Halen live. I got into the

band in 1984 when I was 12 and didn't see them until the OU812

tour. I've seen Dave solo multiple times, but am always wonderfully

caught off guard by his stage antics. He really is the clown prince

of rock 'n' roll, and I say that with as much affection as I can.

There's not a moment that goes by where he's not trying to entertain

you, whether it be with silly facial expressions, dance moves, jokes,

props or stories. He is the former 5 year old kid who ran up to

every new adult and wanted to show them everything he owned and all

the things he could do and wouldn't stop talking until his parents

told him it was bed time. And that attitude has never quite gone away.

Thinking about the whole experience, I can't help but smile. I was

going to write a few more details about the show, (like the brilliant

way Dave introduces "Somebody Get Me A Doctor" or the intensity from

Dave that makes "Mean Street" one of the great live VH songs) but I

think it's probably better to let you all discover that for yourself.

Song list (again, not in order):

******Song list spoiler space*******

YOU REALLY GOT ME

ROMEO DELIGHT

SOMEBODY GET ME A DOCTOR

I'M THE ONE

MEAN STREET

UNCHAINED

PRETTY WOMAN (No "Intruder.")

DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY

ICE CREAM MAN

BEAUTIFUL GIRLS

GUITAR SOLO - NOT the solo of the 2004 tour. Includes everything you

want to hear: Eruption, Cathedreal, etc.

SO THIS IS LOVE?

AND THE CRADLE WILL ROCK....

EVERYBODY WANTS SOME!!

SECRETS

I'LL WAIT

RUNNIN' WITH THE DEVIL

LITTLE GUITARS

JAMIE'S CRYIN'

ATOMIC PUNK

FEEL YOUR LOVE TONIGHT

LITTLE DREAMER

ON FIRE

PANAMA

HOT FOR TEACHER

AIN'T TALKIN' 'ABOUT LOVE

ENCORE:

1984

JUMP

[Steve Haynie]

That is a long set list. I would not expect to hear all of those songs every night of the tour.

[Scottcrud]

I can't wait!!!

[serial]

What? No "drum solo" or "Bass solo"?

Are the 80s THAT dead?!

[dirk]

That was a great report. Thanks for sharing. I saw Van Halen 1984 in Karlsruhe, Germany on one of their very last gigs with DLR and i must admit that it was disappointing. Very halfhearted behaviour especially from DLR.

Anyway, i hope they will come to germany during their tour - like to see them again. Like anyone i love their first album. Many many memories...

[Guest pirateflynn]

Hey, that was an pretty good account of your experiance and it sounds cooler than I thought it would. I could do without your remark about the "silly LA attitude" as this is my home and I happen to love it here.

[MCChris]

Hey, that was an pretty good account of your experiance and it sounds cooler than I thought it would. I could do without your remark about the "silly LA attitude" as this is my home and I happen to love it here.

Not my story,

[BTMN]

HMMMMMM......

[BubbaVO]

Oh man. I'm not sure whether to jump up and praise the Lord. Or whether I should just sit tight and let's see if they can stand each other for more than month on the road.

I only saw VH with Sammy. I really didn't like it. (And I'm OK with Sammy on his own - not a hater) But if Dave is really back...

[Guest pirateflynn]

Hey, that was an pretty good account of your experiance and it sounds cooler than I thought it would. I could do without your remark about the "silly LA attitude" as this is my home and I happen to love it here.

Not my story,

You know I don't read these things. I just look for stuff to get pissed about! Sorry Taylor Player, I skimmed over that part.

Cool picture, BTW.

[serial]

You know I don't read these things. I just look for stuff to get pissed about! Sorry Taylor Player, I skimmed over that part.

That is SO L.A.!

[Taylor Player]

Hey, that was an pretty good account of your experiance and it sounds cooler than I thought it would. I could do without your remark about the "silly LA attitude" as this is my home and I happen to love it here.

Not my story,

You know I don't read these things. I just look for stuff to get pissed about! Sorry Taylor Player, I skimmed over that part.

Cool picture, BTW.

No problem.....I Love L.A.!

[Taylor Player]

A couple more pics:

[Guest pirateflynn]

That is SO L.A.!

[cmatthes]

Earlier today, a co-worker and I may have been successful into talking our Marketing Manager into letting us get the Verizon box for VH in November...

THAT would be the coup of the month!

[David B]

I've got my tickets for the 2nd show of the tour. Killer set list too.

[FrankieII]

Right on! Great article, and thanks for the pics!!!

[elduave]

Earlier today, a co-worker and I may have been successful into talking our Marketing Manager into letting us get the Verizon box for VH in November...

THAT would be the coup of the month!

Really. Tell me more about this "insurance"...

[DavidE]

I'm on the short list for my firm's shared box for the Cleveland show. I have tickets to take clients to see Genesis, but I'd rather go to VH. I may get lucky and go to both.

[Brooks]

sit tight and let's see if they can stand each other for more than month on the road.

i gots tix sept 29, greensboro nc (show #2!!!)

[jisham]

Earlier today, a co-worker and I may have been successful into talking our Marketing Manager into letting us get the Verizon box for VH in November...

THAT would be the coup of the month!

No joke...I was only able to get a nosebleed ticket for the DC show.

[frank_c]

I'm on the short list for my firm's shared box for the Cleveland show. I have tickets to take clients to see Genesis, but I'd rather go to VH. I may get lucky and go to both.

i ended up with lousy seats for the Cleveland show. i'm going to both Toronto shows, too.

[cmatthes]

No joke...I was only able to get a nosebleed ticket for the DC show.

No doubt - I was pretty much shut out with Ticketmonster when they went on sale a couple of Fridays ago. We have a reserved box at Verizon Ctr though (corporate), so we're hoping to snake that.

[Bernard from Belgium]

Thanks for sharing...

Just thinking about it... My first real American guitar was a Rickenbacker John Lennon Ltd Edition 355 (full scale). I used to play JUMP on it... Yes, solo too...

[Taylor Player]

I've heard a lot of rumors that the band actually earmarked a ton of the best seats (the pit etc.) for broker use on ebay with the band getting a cut of the $1000 bids that the tixs are getting.