REVIEW: Van Halen works through problems, comes out shining in Chicago
TODAY: (Updated 11:56 a.m.) Editor's note: Kirk Marske, better known as “Captain Kirk,” producer of the KUUL Morning Guys — Mark Manuel and Steve Ketelaar — was among the Van Halen fans for the band’s Thursday night concert in Chicago, and here are this thoughts ...
Thursday night’s show at the United Center was the second Chicago show of the tour — they played in Rosemont on Tuesday.
When I got to the arena, I talked with a Quad-City Van Halen fan, Craig, who purchased tickets in “The Pit,” the area between the stage and the catwalk. His ticket package included access to the soundcheck and he said Eddie was a little cranky about the sound. Craig said Eddie yelled at the sound engineer because Alex’s snare drum was too hot in the mix and after the soundcheck, Eddie stormed off after someone said it sounded good. It made me think Ed would be in a bad mood for the show but he was in a great mood from start to finish.
The show started with Eddie playing a bit of “Eruption,” into “You Really Got Me,” and it was apparent to me that Ed had good reason to be upset with his sound engineer — the sound was terrible. I was wondering if the accoustics were bad in the arena because David’s vocals weren’t coming through. It took about 6 songs before the audio issues were resolved.
The sound board was next to the stage and throughout the show, Eddie and Dave would verbally and non-verbally give them instructions about the sound. They were cordial about it, but I’ve never seen musicians do that during a concert. There were two songs early in the set that I couldn’t identify, partly because they weren’t VH hits and partly because the sound was so bad. In one of those songs, I saw Ed motion to the sound guys and mouth the words “bring up the snare.” I guess the engineers couldn’t win either way! However, I laughed out loud though when Roth paused during “Everybody Wants Some” to ask the crew to “give them less smoke” — he was laughing too and it was such a Spinal Tap moment.
This was the first time I’ve seen David Lee Roth with Van Halen. I had seen him when he was on tour with Sammy in 2002 but never with Van Halen. In 2002, he did a fair job at best — his vocals were average and his stage presence was laughable, mostly because he was still trying the kicks and martial arts moves he could pull off 25 years ago. Last night, he was comfortable in the role of aged rock star. His vocals were better and he stayed within his limits, both vocally and physically. There were a few times he sounded a bit like me singing Van Halen during Karaoke and he forgot the words during “Beautiful Girls,” but overall he did a great job throughout the night.
Ed was the best I’ve ever seen him. Unlike the 2004 tour, he was comfortable around his lead singer and bass player, he remembered all the songs, and he was full of energy from start to finish. He smiled the entire night and everything he played was tight. There were also a few times he interacted with fans in the crowd (including shaking some hands), which I’ve never seen him do. His solo was not one of my favorites, although it’s always fun to see him play. If I’m not mistaken, he didn’t include “Eruption” in it. It started with “316” and “Cathedral” was the focus of the solo. He did play his solo sitting on the steps to the catwalk, so it was cool he was so close to the fans while he played.
I didn’t know what to expect from Wolfgang but he also did a great job. I had read reviews that he was nervous and stiff during the show, and who could blame him since he’s only 15 and playing in front of thousands of people. But, I thought he seemed relaxed and it was fun to watch him work the crowd. Wolfie had the easiest access to the ramp leading to the riser at the rear of the stage and he made several trips up there during the show. During “I’m the One,” he made his way to the end of the riser and as the song ended, he pointed to someone in the crowd, then pointed to his bass and then broke into the bassline that starts “Running with the Devil.” He clearly knew all the attention was on him and he was not only unphased by it, he was soaking it up and enjoying it. Reviews were also critical of his backing vocals but he seemed to nail them as easily as Ed did.
Alex was Alex. He’s always so businesslike and methodic but he did a great job too.
The set list:
YOU REALLY GOT ME
I’M THE ONE
RUNNIN’ WITH THE DEVIL
(SONG) — request for more snare and vocals
SOMEBODY GET ME A DOCTOR — Intro was played by Roth using harmonica played into an electronic bullhorn
BEAUTIFUL GIRLS
DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY
EVERYBODY WANTS SOME
(brief bass solo)
SO THIS IS LOVE
MEAN STREETS
PRETTY WOMAN
(drum solo)
UNCHAINED
I’LL WAIT
AND THE CRADLE WILL ROCK
HOT FOR TEACHERS
LITTLE DREAMER
LITTLE GUITARS
JAMIE’S CRYIN’
DLR with accoustic guitar and story about Ice Cream Man
ICE CREAM MAN
PANAMA
(Ed’s solo)
AIN’T TALKIN’ ’BOUT LOVE
JUMP w/ 1984 INTRO
I thought it was really cool that “1984” was included as part of “Jump” during the encore, but I was extremely disappointed in the sound for “Jump.” The keyboard was way too hot in the mix and I could not hear Ed’s guitar during the song — I spent most of the song wondering if Ed’s guitar was even plugged in.
Overall the show rocked and it was worth the trip to Chicago to see it. Four guys having a great time playing two hours of great songs easily outweighed the technical problem — the production issues didn’t bother them and their energy and enthusiasm made it a great show.