I was there in dc also. Dave sounded great - hit all the notes. I wondered the same thing about the back-up vocals; they were really good, maybe too good to be true. We did not get Eddie's best performance in DC; I wouldn't say he was sloppy like Page since he never fumbled, rather he just simplified a bunch of harder parts on his solos. Check out the Toronto show on the tube and you can tell the difference.

Dave, you are right about Eddie's performance as far as simplifying some of his parts. Sloppy probably wasn't the best description. I was really disapointed with his solo, compared to others I have seen.

I was at the DC show, and very glad to be there, even in the nosebleed seats.

I was also pissed about Michael Anthony's absence, the bass player always get the shaft. Wolfgang did a pretty damn good job, however. What is he, 16? Playing sold-out shows around the US is not a bad way to start a career, and having your dad and your uncle there has got to be some kind of fun family adventure.

I still wish Michael Anthony had been there.

The set list was almost eveything I could have asked for, and unexpectedly, I was surprised to hear the stuff you only know if you had owned the (most likely) vinyl or eight-track tape. In fact we were joking that we expected the band to fade in teh middle of "Little Dreamer" and then come back in, just like it did on the eight-track tape version.

Having avoided arena shows due to bad sound, I'd give Verizon about a 7 for quality. The mix was far from the usual mud, I could hear just about evey note, though I would have like the bass to rumble the floor.

Marley was a very good opening act, but totally inappropriate for this show. Better no opener for Van Halen, I mean, who really could open for them? Are there any hard rock bands these days?

Finally, how is it that Sammy Hagar can really rock, and Van Halen can really rock, but the combination of the two really did not rock? It's a mystery, maybe it's like mixing two very volatile chemicals that neutralize each other. Who knows?

Thanks for the review, I didn't have the pesence of mind to write down the set list.

I have to agree with all in this string....this was my fifth Van Halen concert (third with DLR) and I was impressed with all but Eddie's solo--he really did the bare minimum and his chords and solos were rather sloppy (Although I wish I could play that "sloppy"!!). Alex did not dissapoint with his solid drum solo. I thought Wolfie sounded TOO MUCH like Michael as well...the harmonies on all those Van Halen One Album songs were PERFECT--I loved it.

i also have been to many van halen/hagar, and dlr shows. this was the best playlist that i've attended, and musically was very good.. but,,, it was the worst dlr concert for intermingling with his audience. i was more than halfway through the concert loving the playlist when i realized, that "hey, why isn't dave personalizing this show" no comments, no commoradore with eddie besides and occasional smile, . I'm thinking that maybe this is because of Eddie's attitude with dave, remember the mtv awards that thwarted this comeback in '96? When dave was hamming it up and eddie couldnt take it. So yes the songs were great, but stifiling one of the greatest front men in rock history takes away from the experience that we all expect and were waiting for for so long.
somewhat disappointed overall in the experience. not that i wanted dave to b.s. all night long, but think about it, he didnt do it at all? thats not like him.

Paul,
I was in section 111 row B, so I was pretty close to the stage on Eddie's side, and was close enough to see his facial expressions like when he came and sat down on that little bench to noodle around with that
"down-home" solo thing. The expressions on everyone's face seemed like they were really, honestly having the time of their life, so that, at least for me was validating that at least their hearts were totally into it. The sound was not all that better up closer to the stage, trust me. The highs and midranges were not balanced as well as it could have been, but at least it wasn't totally washed out with bass. I could hear Wolf's bass runs reasonably well under Eddie's "brown-sound" wash but, oftentimes, David's vocals got lost when Ed cranked it. But chalk it up to enthusiasm on the band, I'm sure. Speaking of Diamond Dave, he still has the pipes for the most part and I caught a couple of yelps and horsecries like he used to do it.
I totally agree the "catwalk" was wasted. We only got Wolf walking around it embarrassedly, and he seem like he was the only one equipped with wireless - Eddie stayed hardwired the whole time. I also expected Ed to come forward to the audience during Eruption and Dave to do some more showmanship - but he seemed sort of unsure sometimes...
What you guys may have missed was Dave taking someone's cell phone from the front row and putting it down his crotch inside his pants, rubbing it, checking the smell, then giving it back to the owner - hookay......but, typically Dave.

I also expected more pyrotechnics, but hey, this was about the music and perhaps anything more might have detracted from the fact that the guys are at least able to make it work again and play music together, something that the guys probably were very conscious of.

Maybe as you hinted at, that DLR and EVH came to some sort of agreement that D would scale back some of the braggadocio, while E would share the spotlight. In any case, from where I could see, which was pretty close, Dave and Ed were truly happy to be with each other on stage, and were trading non-verbal gags with each other.
Once when David was jiving and Eddie gave out a twisting bend of the strings, it caught Dave's ear and he said "oh I get it , that's a windy, twisty road, right? Yeah I get that shit!" while Eddie grinned and laughed, so maybe while that might have been rehearsed, it seemed spontaneous, and I was willing to believe in these two again.

That and the harley davidson engine competition between them was great too.

It was a magic night, I think, and I'm pretty sure the band realizes their fans never really went away, just like they never did. Even though Michael Anthony was not asked back (there's always something controversial going on) I still enjoyed myself immensely along with the rest of the DC crowd. Not only that, but they (minus Wolfgang) are in fantastic physical shape, ripped to the nines, like they've been doing Tae-Bo....they've gotten their mojo back, for sure.

PLUS.....

...I even got to see Valerie Bertinelli as she came over to our side of the stairs near the floor! She was sort of making rounds of the floor A and B sections, but I assume she was lost and had a small entourage of people steering her around. As soon as about 20 of us recognized her, we were shouting her name....it was great - I was five feet away from her and she looks SMOKING hot still, under the bright pre-show Center lights, like she just stepped out of One Day at a Time, I'm not lying, I fell in love and I felt like I was 14 years old all over again. Then Van Halen started, David was atop the riser waving that blood red flag, and I was a confirmed teenager again for two straight hours. My 42 year old ears are still ringing 5 days later.

God bless Rock and Roll..

Came all the way from Winnipeg since I was in the area to see my fiancee who took me to the show.

I was in heaven....

Anyone got pictures from the show???
Anything up on youtube???

I went to the show at M.S.G...and it was fantastic. To me..David was great..and he was never my favorite back in the 80s..but on this night he was awesome..I loved him. Alex was also killer on every song..Wolfgang was sharp and very good and his backing vocals I thought were also good..very good. Eddie was so good at times I played air guitar all night..come on..who else could get anyone to play air guitar like eddie???Tight on just about all..I will say his solo was what you would want all the tapping and hammering..and speed. David and Eddie interacted well..and quite a bit. I would like to finish by saying Hot For Teacher was my fav. of the night and Eddie to me reinforced why I chose him over Randy..not to say who is better..but no one pulls off Eddie like Eddie..one of a kind. Do not miss the show.

Perhaps I don't have a right to comment here since VH never came anywhere close to me. But with the videos posted on youtube one can easily see what works and what doesn't. Let me explain some.
Dave is toned down way too much. And for who? Eddie? Ed is too worried about his own spotlight!
This is wrong...no would expect or accept Eddie to do anything best of who he is up on stage so why should we expect anything less from Dave just because of Eddie? His playing is part of what makes VH so good and likewise Dave and his antics.
Also...in numerous videos you can hear Dave sing as he use to but ONLY when he puts forth the effort. Its almost like he doesn't care to do his best. Eddie....let Dave be himself and you keep up
the excellent playing. Dave get rid of the red hat and the lounge playing attire - look. It doesn't fit you and simply detracts away from who you could be to the fans and thats the best.

I'm staying away from this tour. The You-Tube vids I've seen indicate too much stuff is piped in, including backing vocals, Wolf's bass track and keyboards. I saw a clip of Wolf doing a "voop" move but the accompanying noize was more of a standard "dut-dut-a-dut". Last time I saw Van Halen (w/Sammy in 2004)I was let down that they used piped in keyboards for songs like Jump, Right Now, Dreams, etc. Van Halen was at their best in the early days w/DLR and when they did the Live Without a Net DVD w/Sammy (where Eddie did keyboards and Sammy did guitar on those tunes). Now it's "Milli Van Halen". I'm not the only one that feels this way. Real good seats still available for Portland Dec. 1!

Some of you people crack me up.Fist it was oh.it will never work wolfe cant play hes a kid..dave and eddie are going to fight on stage..dave cant sing eddies going to be drunk..now that they proved they can pull it together and wolfe can cover mikes bass and vocal parts..now some of you are saying oh ..they lipsync wolfes not playing or singing...listen if you`ve been to the show wolfe sings on daves mike and eddies mike and hits all the notes..if that was the case dont you think dave would pipe in his vocals too ?? the fact is they all can pull it off but some of you hates cant accept it..Van Halen 2007 is working and it kills some of you to admit there awesome...give it up haters .. van halens with dave and wolfe are here to stay ..live with and deal with it.. cause sammy and mike are`nt coming back..

I went to the Mohegan Sun Arena concert in Connecticut. I really enjoyed seeing DLR and EDV on stage. I enjoy looking at You-Tube videos of the concerts and I have come to the same conclusion: the sound in the arena and the other venues was distorted and sometimes I could barely make out the song until after a couple of minutes. I think David Lee Roth sounded good but he sounded diferent. I think David used to "talk" the versus of the songs in the old days and now he is actually trying to sing. David sings good, don't get me wrong, but I think he might have been uptight and trying too hard. The constant screaming of the audience didn't help, everyone so excited, I yelled too!

I also saw on You-Tube the pre tour Van Halen rehersals and I found them (the sound) more enjoyable than the concert. Eddie's guitar notes were crisp and clean and recognizable; David Lee Roth seemed to clown around and his voice amazingly sounded the same as the albums. (Yes, I am old enough to have VH on vinyl.) Again, he seamed relaxed and didn't force it. I hope Van Halen decides to make a Live Album and when they do, I hope they find someone who is excellent on mixing the music. Yes, I would go see them again.

Tommy, Yeah, Wolf's playing bass and he and his dad are singing backing vocals, alright, but with the help of backing tracks, backing keyboard tracks also. And, no, Dave really can adequately sing when he puts his mind to it, so no need to pipe in a vocal track for him. Dave's real strength is his showmanship, attitude and stage presence. I don't mean to single out Van Halen, cuz other bands pipe stuff in too, but a live performance is better when it's done without a safety net. I'm not a hater, and I do like Classic Van Halen w/DLR, but I don't care for their present day on-stage gimmicks. Peace, enjoy the tour.

One of the truths many people don't appreciate about the entertainment industry is that it isn't called the music friendship, it's called the music business - and like any other partners in a venture, the members of Van Halen are insured against factors which might compromise the effective delivery of their product to the customer.

Backing tracks, particularly for vocals, have been an essential part of the contract between the tour promoter and the artist management ever since the late 70's, when the technology first became available to stripe a MIDI time code track alongside the pre-recorded parts.

Legally your ticket guarantees you to a "personal appearance", not a live performance. When I worked for a large international live sound company, on Christina Aguilera's first visit to the UK, we had to erect the entire stage and sound system, at a cost of many hundreds of thousands of pounds, despite the fact that she was still in LA with no intention of leaving her sick bed, or telling her fans about the cancellation of the event until we had fulfilled every last one of our duties to meet the requirements of her rider - right down to the back-stage refreshments no-one was ever going to eat or drink.

Billy Sheehan was once quoted as saying that he wasn't at all surprised to learn that on the Skyscraper tour, for the second DLR band tour with Steve Vai, that despite no longer being in the group, the vocals he recorded for the Eat 'em and Smile show where still being used.

I should also say that when I saw Van Hagar on the F.U.C.K. tour, it was rather more than obvious Sammy didn't sing a single note all night, much to the "delight" of those in the front row chanting "Bring back Dave" and flinging water bombs.

No live band should ever use tapes!!!