Concert Review - Van Halen @ Staples Center
The mighty Van Halen enjoyed an uproarious homecoming on June 1st at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The band had been enjoying abundant press during the first part of the tour, but this was their homecoming dance; the first of three concerts in Southern California.
Usually I don't follow a concert tour too closely if I am attending a show late on the itinerary. However, with all the online discussion about the near nightly changes to the set list and introductions of songs not played live in three decades, it was hard not too. By the time the Van Halen machine rolled into Los Angeles on June 1st, the set list felt quite polished, leaving very little out in the way of must-hear tracks.
Truly, the only Van Halen classics missing and which I would have loved to have heard during the show were "Atomic Punk", "Mean Street" (which did make a riffage appearance during Eddie's solo) and "Sinner's Swing!", but as you will see, there is very little to complain about the nearly two dozen song set list.
"Unchained"
"Runnin' With the Devil"
"She's the Woman"
"Romeo Delight"
"Tattoo" - from A Different Kind of Truth
"Everybody Wants Some!!"
"Somebody Get Me a Doctor"
"China Town" - from A Different Kind of Truth
"Hear About It Later"
"Oh, Pretty Woman"
Alex Van Halen Drum Solo
"You Really Got Me"
"The Trouble with Never" - from A Different Kind of Truth
"Dance the Night Away"
"I'll Wait"
"And the Cradle Will Rock…"
"Hot for Teacher"
"Women In Love"
"Beautiful Girls"
Story time about Dave's dog leading into "Ice Cream Man"
"Panama"
Eddie Van Halen Guitar Solo
"Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love"
"Jump"
I highlighted the inclusion of three songs from Van Halen's new album A Different Kind of Truth because these were among the best performances of the night.
While it is true David Lee Roth's voice can't quite reach all of the banshee wails he is known for, for being 57 and singing for the better part of four decades, Diamond Dave has lost little of his vocal lustre.
In terms of showmanship however, like a fine wine David Lee Roth has only gotten better with age. There were less in the way of jump splits, but the man commands the stage like no one else. He is the original master of ceremonies and could teach a graduate course to singers less than half his age on how to engage an audience of thousands and make each member feel like the band is performing solely for them.
An excellent example of this was the extended story about his dog, told while strumming an acoustic guitar as a run up to a blazing performance of "Ice Cream Man".
One thing I was pleasantly surprised not to hear at the concert were cries from the audience for Michael Anthony. Now as a fan of Van Halen since the late 70's, I will say yes, I would have liked to have seen a full-fledged Van Halen reunion with Mad Anthony as much as the next guy. However, I will absolutely not say a disparaging thing about Wolfgang Van Halen, because he absolutely deserves to share the stage with his father Eddie, uncle Alex and surrogate uncle Dave.
To quote my review of A Different Kind of Truth, Wolfgang Van Halen knows exactly what he is doing on the bass guitar. Really, should there have been any doubt? He's a third-generation musician of the Van Halen family after all. This was made even more apparent with his live performance. The guy can play. Period. While he didn't get a spotlight solo, there were plenty of close ups of his fingers at work on the four string projected on the mega-sized LED screen behind the band.
This screen was the center piece of a positively spartan stage, which just two separate areas of EVH amplifiers (one for Wolf and one for Eddie) flanking Alex Van Halen's drum kit. Shining brightly behind the band was one of the best utilized LED projection screens I've seen at recent concerts.
I was located on the exact opposite end of the arena floor, and as you can see from the photo gallery, the screen made it feel as if you had a near-front row seat, no matter where you were in the arena.
This effect was put to best use when Eddie Van Halen played his guitar solo, letting the whole of Staples Center watch as the guitar hero worked his unique fret board magic while seated on the stage.
The solo interpolated multiple riffs from Eddie's arsenal, with the legendary "Eruption" as a center piece.
As mentioned earlier, "Mean Street" was riff-checked during the solo, as was "Cathedral".
Simply put, this was a staggering example of the guitar solo. To quote my friend and Van Halen writer, Frank Meyer, who was also in attendance that night: "that was probably the best Eddie solo I've ever seen".
Eschewing the usual leave-the-stage-before-the-encore, Van Halen stormed right through the last songs of the set with nary a break and a party-hardy "do you really want us to leave the stage before the encore?" rhetorical question.
The concert was truly the party event of the year, made all the better with a solid opening set from Kool & the Gang.
The only thing that could have possibly made the concert even better would have been the inclusion of more material from A Different Kind of Truth. David Lee Roth sounded strongest on the three songs played from the album and indeed, the entire band brought even more energy to these performances.
While they did play three of the strongest tracks from the album, including a monster rendition of "China Town", it would have been epic to have had "Blood and Fire" or "Stay Frosty" included in the set.
On this evening Van Halen proved they are still the reigning champions of party rock and of having one helluva good time. If Van Halen comes to a town anywhere near you on this tour, do yourself a favor and go see them. And to the boys in Van Halen, pace yourselves out there and get back in the studio soon, because 2013 could use another new Van Halen album.
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