Reviewed: Van Halen at St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa
February 19th, 2008 by Wade Tatangelo in News
Reunited hard rock heroes play nice — but predictability proves boring.
Van Halen w/Ky-Mani Marley
Mon., Feb. 18, St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa
Photo by Shanna Gillette.
Diamond Dave displayed a giant grin for nearly two hours straight. Eddie melted faces with ferocious guitar exploits. Alex bashed away on a fortress of drums. And Wolfie managed a fine job on bass. The famed feuders maintained a friendly façade throughout the evening but the concert didn’t exactly erupt at any point into hard rock utopia.
The highly anticipated reunion of the Van Halen brothers and original lead singer David Lee Roth arrived at Tampa’s St. Pete Times Forum on Monday. What appeared to be a capacity crowd of 20,000 seemed delighted just to witness the almost classic lineup (Eddie Van Halen’s son Wolfgang has replaced founding bassist Michael Anthony) run through the old hits without former enemies Roth and Eddie hitting each other. Sadly, the dearth of surprises proved rather boring. Van Halen’s set list hasn’t varied since the tour started months ago and the performances Monday were close facsimiles of the ones recorded decades ago.
The house lights went down at 8:30 sharp and the crowd jumped to its feet, thanks to an offstage guitar solo by Eddie. The axe man then appeared front and center with Roth coming into view on a walkway above the stage singing “You Really Got Me.” Drummer Alex Van Halen was positioned in the back with bassist Wolfie Van Halen (Eddie’s 16 year-old son) stationed off to the side.
The bad blood between Roth and Eddie never surfaced. The two men hugged and leaned on each other during workmanlike renditions of early crowd-pleasers such as “Running with the Devil” and “Beautiful Girls.” Eddie would unleash a scorching solo while Roth egged him on with hand gestures that occasionally looked like karate moves. Van Halen’s original singer sounded rough, but the vintage voice remained recognizable — although it grew raspier as the show progressed.
Roth, sweaty and shirtless under an open jacket that revealed washboard abs, continued with the charisma cranked to 11 during the concert’s duration. Eddie’s finger-tapping fierceness was awe-inspiring, but the virtuoso has never played with discernible feeling, his tone failing to ever mimic a human emotion other than adolescent glee. Ultimately, there’s only so much shredding you can take before even the most technically difficult accomplishments sound pedestrian.
The boisterous, beer-swilling, male-dominated crowd of 40somethings sang along and pumped their fists dutifully to faves like “(Oh) Pretty Woman,†“And the Cradle Will Rock†and “Hot For Teacher.†Even Alex’s extended drum solo kept the majority of attendees standing, cheering and hollering. Roth, though, nearly lost the crowd with a way long introduction to “Ice Cream Man†— only reeling ‘em back in with a shout-out to weed smoking.
Before the reunited band offered an encore of “Jump†I made a beeline for the exit. Van Halen has always been an act I respected for Eddie’s chops (and to a lesser extent Alex’s) and Roth’s unrelenting showmanship. But they never moved me, never connected with me in a meaningful way. Seeing the band live, in seats that put me four rows up from the floor and about 75 ft. from the stage, didn’t change my decades-old opinion of Van Halen.
See previous post for the real time blogging I did during the concert.
Send to a friend:
February 19th, 2008 at 8:37 am
You got abused the last time you had the audacity to put IN YOUR OWN COLUMN that Eddie was overrated. You and I disagree on most things guitar but I\\\’ve always agreed with you on that one. I can\\\’t think of a group I\\\’ve anticpated the reunion of less than Van Halen. I think you were more than generous in your review.
February 19th, 2008 at 9:22 am
Yes, he was more than generous… While the show was enjoyable and seeing them together again was a treat, there were issues. One was my fault and the other was not. The one that was not my fault was the sound quality. Frankly, the sounds guys should be taken out back and shot. What was my fault was that after the first song, David Lee Roth started to look EXACTLY like that Bill guy on the Enzyte commercials!!! For the rest of the concert, I couldn’t help but giggle every now and then. Ruined it for me, man…
February 19th, 2008 at 11:45 am
I think eddie lost his musical soul many moons ago. he hasn’t done anything new or relevant since the original VH days. i don’t know if its the drugs, or lack there of (though he did do a stint in rehab about a year ago, right?), but it would seem (from what i’ve read) that he is just going through the motions. speaking of what i’ve read…
from the orlando weekly… http://www.orlandoweekly.com/music/story.asp?id=11998
“Hence the multitude of backing vocals that miraculously sprung from only three mouths during show opener “You Really Got Me,†not to mention the offstage keyboards and phantom guitars that arose elsewhere. The wonders of technology have helped elevate overdub-heavy material like “And the Cradle Will Rock†and “Mean Street’†from tunes once played sporadically to standards now simulated nightly.”
anything like that going on at the tampa show?
February 19th, 2008 at 12:17 pm
Don’t know about “phantom guitars” but there were definitely synth and keyboard parts being pumped in and it did sound like more than a few of the pristine backing vocals were emanating from a mystery source.
February 19th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
The sound was horrible!! I stood in the tunnel for 2 1/2 hours because the sound on the 3rd level was terrible. Don’t they check these things? All I could hear was noise. Very disappointing!!
February 19th, 2008 at 6:59 pm
I would really enjoy getting the set-list for the St Pete Times Forum show…I took my 13 year old son…he loved it…I thought the guys did an incredible job…too bad you didn’t enjoy the show
If anyone by chance took the time to write down the tunes as they were played…would really appreciate a dump.
February 19th, 2008 at 11:35 pm
Sorry to hear about your opinion. I mean years of hate and ego, money, drugs, women, hip replacements, and much more and now in thier 50’s…I thought they did a great job.. I worked the Orlando show also and watched them warm up without Roth, it’s true, they truley hate one another. Eddie, Wolf, and Alex were warming up with VAN-SAMMY material.
They are a shell of what they once were, but what were you expecting. They are a married couple not sleeping with each other showing up to a dinner party with a smile and rock n roll. I’d rather see these guys half-ass a tour then any new sounds like everyone else new rock bands.
February 20th, 2008 at 10:09 am
As we were approaching the Forum we noticed an ambulance parked at the back stage entrance. My husband knows someone who works with the road crew. Apparently, it was for Eddie. There is some mention of the flu, not sure but that explains his performance Monday night. Eddie and David Lee may hate each other but thank God DL was there. Without him there would be nothing to look at. He appeared strong and energetic and carried the show. Alex and Wolf appeared tight as they delivered a solid rock rythmn section. Eddie worried us. Why didn’t he make a big point out of introducing his son? It’s huge for a 16 year old to have the honor to play on that stage!
February 20th, 2008 at 10:58 am
the sound was a little rough at first but i still think they kicked ass.Great show,and i would rather see them again and again before i see any of that crap those so called rock bands call themselves.VAN HALEN ROCKS!!!!!!!
February 20th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
Shaunman:
Glad to hear you enjoyed the show with your son. I have many great memories of being a young teen and seeing shows with my dad. Here’s the setlist (to the best of my knowledge, there was nothing official given out to the press like at the Timberlake show, for instance):
Van Halen set list 2/18:
You Really Got Me
I’m the One
Runnin’ With the Devil
Romeo Delight (with lyrics added from the Who’s “Magic Bus”)
Somebody Get Me A Doctor
Beautiful Girls
Dance the Night Away
Atomic Punk
Everybody Wants Some
So This Is Love?
Mean Street
(Oh) Pretty Woman
Alex Van Halen drum solo
Unchained
I’ll Wait
And the Cradle Will Rock
Hot for Teacher
Little Dreamer
Little Guitars
Jamie’s Cryin’
Ice Cream Man
Panama
Eddie Van Halen guitar solo medley
Ain’t Talkin”Bout Love
Encore:
1984 (intro) (Not sure if this happened ‘cos I was in elevator at this time on my way down to third floor form the press pox located in the rafters)
Jump
February 20th, 2008 at 11:56 pm
I was at the Atlanta show on Feb 10 — my first ever live VH show. It was awesome to be there — I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. But, the sound system was horrible. We even had the horror of Eddie’s Amp cut out during Erruption. All we could hear was his monitors — the mixing board went out. Dave’s vocals were muddled — often not intellible. He had feedback and his earpiece was not working well. He axed the nostalgic lead in (some considered boring) to Ice Cream Man that he did in earlier & later shows. I’ve followed all the Florida concert reviews ’cause I had considered getting another ticket for the Duluth show Feb 20 — the other side of Atlanta from me. Some are hoping for better sound. I don’t think that will happen based on the trend. I read on another Florida review that DLR has had the flu since Atlanta. Now Eddie could be sick as well. Oh well — I was still thrilled to be in the same room with the band.
February 21st, 2008 at 9:15 am
One more to add to your set list, they did a brief and not very good cover of Mountain’s classic Mississippi Queen somewhere in there.
I’d say the boys put on a great show but I totally agree with -the sound guy should be taken out and shot- sentiment. Initially I wrote it off to the Forum being a bad sound environment but then I remembered that I had seen Roger Waters there a few years back and the sound at that show was perfect.
Poor Ky-Mani Marley didn’t get a memorable performance either with the subs turned up to eardrum crushing levels.
I’ve seen most of the great rock bands including VH when they opened for Journey on their very first tour. For a band with that much experience to allow there sound to be anything less than crystal clear is criminal especially at the prices charged for -Nose Bleed- seating.
Did I have a good time? Yes, but not a GREAT time.
February 21st, 2008 at 12:35 pm
Ghost-Rider:
I thought I heard a bad version of “Miss. Queen” while walking from my seat by the floor to the press box upstairs — but wasn’t sure so I omitted mention of it from my review. Thanks for getting the info out.
February 21st, 2008 at 5:15 pm
Joe Shmo Says:
February 20th, 2008 at 7:42 am
I think VH is a great band but the sound system was terrible. The sound was the worst sound system out of every concert I have been to. I did a little research and found out the sound was terrible on the 4-5 shows I read about so it wasnt some fluke here in Tampa. I dont understand how the guy reviewing the show^ could even tell if eddie was hitting half the notes in his solos-the sound was that bad. You couldnt tell what was going on half the time-and I am very familiar with Van Halen songs. Eddie wasnt even playing his solos like they are played it was like the easy version-I guess he was sick? I figured VH would have one of the best sounding PA(sound) systems around but it wasnt the case. I believe this sound system was rented and it just didnt cut it for a arena show. They probably sold their sound system after they split up years ago. I know I keep going on about how bad the sound was but its just such a let down because had they had a decent PA(sound system) the show could have been so good because VH are great musicians. O- did I mention the opening act was BOB Marleys grandson??????? It was really bad.
Ghost-Rider Says:
February 21st, 2008 at 5:12 pm
Thanks Mr. Shmo, for telling it like it truly was. The only time the sound was good was when I had my fingers in my ears to filter out the noise. (If only I hadn’t forgotten my HEAROS, I’ll never leave home without them again) Any one who gives this show high ratings is confusing Nostalgic VH Loyalty with the sad reality that they didn’t care enough for their fans to make the sound great. I’ve seen some great Rock bands that, frankly, really stink live. (Aerosmith of the late 70’s, when they were usually wasted. And Bob Dylan of the ——– insert date here, to name a couple.) I like VH’s albums as much as any one. I saw their first tour when they were an opening act and they were one of the greatest bands touring at the time, they literally stole the show from their headliner every time. To give them any kudos for this performance is a mistake. Come on Van Halen, we deserve better for being loyal fans and supporting you through all your trials and self induced tribulations.
GR
February 22nd, 2008 at 2:54 pm
too bad everyones a critic..had a great time…great show…too bad the majority of people just coudln’t find a way to have a good time…good music good people..a drink or two…if you can’t ahve fun you have issues….negative energy!!!!
February 22nd, 2008 at 3:02 pm
Glad to hear you had a good time. But, y’know, being a critic is my job.
February 25th, 2008 at 5:13 pm
I see alot of people had issues with the sound. Have they been to a concert at the Forum before? It is the worst place to see concerts I have ever been to, and I have ssen them in Denver, Colorado Springs, Syracuse, Rochester, Miami, L.A., Dallas, Orlando, and NYC. The Forum has HORRIBLE sound. It is the main reason I didn’t go to this show. IN fact the only shows I have seesn there are Van Halen with Sammy, Pearl Jam, U2, and STP, Staind, and Lincoln Park. The sound was horrible with all of them except U2… probably because they are not a loud band. I was really hoping Van Halen would play outdoors.. oh well, maybe next time.
March 4th, 2008 at 1:39 am
The sound system is actually one of the best sound systems out there (V-Dosc)…just ask any FOH engineer out there. Also there was some limitations in regards to certain frequency levels and overall db. It’s just that when you mix a bad FOH engineer with a bad sound venus…it turns out worse. By the way, who’d wanna see a concert from the 3rd level, in a ice hockey arena?….it’s all reverberation up there. The only concerts that have sounded good @ The Forum was Red Hot Chili Peppers and U2.