Meadowlands Rocked!

[goCabo]

Jersey's first VH night at the Meadowlands was AWESOME! The boys really seemed to be getting along and having fun with each other. I did miss Sammy playing guitar. I love the dual-guitar thing! I also missed the goofy in-sync dancing they used to do. But maybe since Sammy didn't have a guitar, it didn't feel right. But even the goofy dance for Best of Both Worlds wasn't there. Sammy did it a little on his own, but it would have been fun to see them having fun.

Sammy's influence was shown by the select few that got to sit within the stage. Sammy was smackin their hands all night long, signing stuff, putting on every shirt and hat that was tossed on stage. He's just such a people person.

Was surprised to see Wolfie joining Eddie during this solo. I hadn't read thru Greensboro or Phily shows that he was there. But he certainly played to Jersey Tuesday night! It was cool to get a glimpse into Eddie's personal life. He's one proud papa.

And the audience bowed to Eddie during his solo. You could see Eddie was taken to tears during the chanting. Then he tried to continue his solo, only to be blown away again by the chanting and having to stop to wipe his eyes.

I'm a real drum-fan and Alex is just the best! I could watch him all night long! His solo brought the house down. As Sammy said ... "Doesn't get much better than that!"

I do wish Sammy would choose some other solo stuff to sing. Something that would rock. Like 55 or Mas Tequila or Heavy Metal. I love Sammy, but I love to hear him ROCK!

It was such a thrill to see the boys! A show you don't want to miss!!!!

[Pelata]

Awesome!

I saw opening night in Greensboro....fantastic show!!

[goCabo]

Just listened to the bootleg from Greensboro. Can't believe how much better they sounded 2 weeks later! The Greensboro show seemed kind of weak. A little off-tune even. And the crowd was kind of weak. Maybe it was just the poor recording. But in Jersey, the house rocked! I can't remember Sammy's line that he kept throwing at us. Something like 'you guys are on the beach' or something. I took it to be good. Since Sammy lives on the beach - being there is obviously one of is favorite things.

The audience was kind of funny - 30+ crowd! If they had put an album out first, the younger folk would have gotten a chance to know what they were about and probably would have come. But for a bunch of old farts - we showed lots of heart! And think about how old THEY are! They're all 50 or so. They're masters at their art and it shows!

We saw the Sammy/Dave show and it was obviously no contest that Sammy put on a better show, but to actually have the right band behind him this time (sorry Waboritas), was just the ultimate experience. They haven't lost it, if anything because of their long hiatus, I'd say they've been practicing and refined their moves (is that possible).

Wait'll you hear the new stuff Eddie does on the guitar - how does he think of this stuff! Definitely reclaimed his title of Guitar God! Let's hope they make it to a new album!

[Gaffguitars]

Are we on the same planet? I went to both shows. Yes, the band rocked and the set list was cool. They dropped Learning To See for The Seventh Seal on the second night and opened with You Really Got Me instead of Jump. They definitely rocked. However, the sound was horrendous. The first night was so loud that all the vocals were unbelievably distorted. The second night was a little better volume wise but the mix was still bad. I don't know if it's the lousy Meadowlands PA system or if the sound man needs to be shot but the sound sucked. I like my concerts loud but also clear. I couldn't tell what Sammy was singing or saying most of the first night. And Michael Anthony's high pitched screams were enough to kill a small animal. Van Halen never sounded this bad before. The second night was also a little less than half empty which was also disappointing. Eddie can still play and having his kid come out was cool. The guys were definitely "looser" on night two and had more fun. The bottom line? If the sound was good it could've been the best show of the year. I think there is no excuse for a shitty sound when you've paid this kind of cash for a concert. Otherwise, it was definitely cool to see Van Hagar in action again.

[Gaffguitars]

Wait'll you hear the new stuff Eddie does on the guitar - how does he think of this stuff! Definitely reclaimed his title of Guitar God! Let's hope they make it to a new album!

I don't know if you saw them when Gary Cherone was singing but Eddie isn't really doing anything new. So he sort of modified Cathedral, Eruption, and the Intro to Little Guitars. He's been doing that for years. The Fernades Sustainer pick up on his guitar surely got the crowd going when he held one high note for what seemed like several minutes. His solo was great as always. He's one of the best if not the best. But after being gone for 6 years I thought he'd have more up his sleeve.

[goCabo]

Yeah - I'm embarrassed to say that I did see the Cherone line-up. That was pitiful. My jaw was just on the floor the whole night watching Cherone jumping around on stage like Prince. Cherone made it like it wasn't even Van Halen anymore. You can't compare Van Halen or Van Hagar to Van Cherrie.

Now I'm no guitar aficionado, but the way Eddie 'grabbed' the strings and was pulling and shaking as opposed to strumming or fingering, just seemed different. Maybe I just didn't get a close-up look of it in previous shows. But it sounded awfully cool and I've not seen anyone else do anything like that and actually have it sound like something.

As for the sound, it was a little off and MadMike's screaming - well that's just him! He's shrieky! But I can't hold that against the show. The show was awesome, the vibe was great. It was still an awesome experience!

[Gaffguitars]

Yeah - I'm embarrassed to say that I did see the Cherone line-up. That was pitiful. My jaw was just on the floor the whole night watching Cherone jumping around on stage like Prince. Cherone made it like it wasn't even Van Halen anymore. You can't compare Van Halen or Van Hagar to Van Cherrie.

I remember seeing Gary with Extreme. They opened for David Lee Roth and they blew him off the stage. Gary was electric. Dave was going throught the motions and was very disappointing that night. So when Gary joined VH I thought, well, this could be good. The album blew chunks and when I went to the show I couldn't believe it was the same guy I saw in Extreme only 5 or 6 years earlier. He acted like he didn't belong there, which in retrospect, he didn't. I agree it was embarrassing.