Like a big ol' nerd I've been excitedly checking the online forums for the latest reviews, videos and sound bytes of the new Van Halen tour. If you've missed this first YouTube clip...wow. I wish I'd seen this back in 1985 so that by the time I had a similar experience in the high school talent show I would've known I wasn't alone. Even the stars have issues sometimes!
What really makes me laugh out loud is that Eddie starts trying to tune at stage volume! Doesn't he have a tuner pedal that mutes the guitar while you fix it? Or even better, how about the guitar tech, stage left, with at least four guitars tuned and ready-to-go?
Next is something funny, yet unsettling. This is the winner of the "Gayest Moment at a Van Halen concert" prize, even outstripping the formidable assless chaps entry from 1985. Wait until near the end, when Diamond Dave dons a white sailor's hat and bounces on the big inflatable mic while confetti pours down and the disco ball twirls. I don't know what it is, but something about it gives me Sigfried and Roy vibes. Maybe Dave's pitched the idea of adding a sailor character to the Village People? As one poster on VHLinks.com said, "As always with Dave, it's a delicate mix of gay and rock n' roll."
Well, shit...I can't embed it, but believe me, the link is worth following:
Atlanta is not on the schedule so far, and I'm not sure if I'm up for paying $50 - $100 to sit in the nosebleeds, with my view possibly obstructed by the P.A. (horror storries of these kinds of tickets abound). If Michael Anthony was there, I'd be there. As it is, I'll wait for the DVD. Maybe.
Well, just to prove I'm an old fart, I just picked up the Eagles' new album and will give it a spin tonight. 28 years between albums has to be some sort of a record.
DLR has always been a little bit on the theatrical side. One might say that he's the Dennis DeYoung of Van Halen.
You let me know if he breaks into "Babe" or "Lady."