MR

After reading opinions/rumours on various message boards over the net concerning DLR, I was expecting a wig wearing, overweight, old has been, trying to do justice to early V/H classics and his solo stuff, while making a complete fool of himself. On what I witnessed last night this is not entirely true.
What wig? What man would wear a rug which still shows his bald patch. And even though they will never be Van Halen his backing band rocked. He is still in possession of the best frontman/crowd banter in the business and obviously enjoys every minute of it.
Even though his bicycle kicks only reach shoulder height he is fitter than the most of us! He finished up the concert at Hammersmith/London with 'Jump' and his trademark Scissor kick. Ouch
Even Eddie himself would have been impressed. The whole performance was top stuff and I doubt if anyone left disappointed.
So no, I would say he's not over the hill................yet!
Agree or disagree?

The last time I saw him, on the Sam and Dave Tour, he was horrible. His voice kept cutting out on him all night and when it didn't you wished it would. His act played well in the 70's & 80's, but seems tired and old hat now, IMO. I've said this many times on here, I am a fan of Dave era VH, but I wouldn't go to see him live again. I don't care what one looks like, just be able to deliver the goods.

I have heard many who agree with you though, Mr. Rock.

Mr. Rock wrote:

So no, I would say he's not over the hill................yet!

I didn't expect that David Lee Roth could still pull it off. From your earlier post I saw he had a great setlist as well. You must have had a great night!
I can't say anything about his present performance; the last time I saw him live was in 1988.

I think Dave has a lot to offer, and he could still front VH successfully if they reunited tomorrow. The problem with many who post about this issue is that many folks never saw Roth with VH live. Many Sammy favorers became fans when Sam was in the band, therefore have a slightly skewed view of Roth to begin with. For those of us who love Dave in VH, we cut our teeth on the early VH records and hold the original band close to our hearts. However, many of Dave supporters have to remember some things. Dave was never a great "singer", at least live. Back in the day, he ran around, drank whiskey, and got most of words right (some of the time). Dave was a great vocalist. What I mean by that is that he could deliver a flavor of vocal styling that was different from the rest and ultimately classic. Whether he can do that today with the same vigor and energy is debatable, and I bet it can be debated on a show by show basis. Dave still drinks whiskey, smokes cigs & dope, and bangs groupies by the dozen. His lifestyle doesnt often permit perfect voice tone and stamina. He didnt have it back in the day (on a regular basis) and he doesnt today.

There is no doubt that Sammy can still bark like he used to. He can very easily jump back in and be successful. But what we old school VH fans miss is what Dave represented, and still represents today to some degree. We miss the ballsy swagger and delivery that makes no excuses and makes for one hell of a show. Whether that still motivates you after all these years or not, listening to a Roth era record makes me smile deep down.

Dave couldnt do Sammy material. Sammy can do Dave material, although he hates doing it and its evident when they do the old stuff live that Sam is dogging it. I'd rather not hear it if Sam is gonna let the crowd sing or not be into it. So there is the catch.

My question is - Do we really need 3 or 4 more VH records with Sam? This isnt gonna be the Rolling Stones here people. Have Sam and Dave do a world tour with VH. Sam set and a Dave set. Separate busses. Record a double live dvd and put out a cd to match. Create one mater anthology and pack it in.

Sure Dave has lost a few steps. Then again, listen to Robert Plant and tell me if he could still sing every song in the Zep catalog the way he used to. Everyone loses a step. Can you still do the same things you did when you were 20 or 25? The fact that Dave is in better shape than any other current VH member shows that he may not be as washed up as many think.

I will enjoy the new VH with Sammy returning. However, when it comes to the live show, I will be quietly longing to see Roth pacing the stage once again. That is my preference only. To answer your initial question: Roth is not washed up and can still bring it. It just depends on how much excess is involved.

As you can tell by my previous enthusiastic post I had a good time! NUBMAN made some good points with that he doesn't perform well on a consistant basis, I had read he wasn't very good at Glasgow a few nights before. I have never seen Halen/Roth, only the Hagar version, so it looks like I've missed out on something special. Never the less my opinion on that particular night hasn't changed and I'm glad I went.

To answer your question concerning

My question is - Do we really need 3 or 4 more VH records with Sam?

I wouldn't mind, but I think with 3-4 albums you might be a touch too hopeful though.

I think he should wear a wig. His hair looks horrible. As for his voice, he never could sing live. I think he's actually better now than lets say the Your Filthy Little Mouth Tour. That was sooooo bad I almost shot him just to stop the pain (LOL). I'm just not sure he has it in him to create great songs anymore. Even when his voice is really bad he's still a great frontman who can be entertaining. Not many other singers can claim that.

NUBMAN wrote:Have Sam and Dave do a world tour with VH. Sam set and a Dave set. Separate busses. Record a double live dvd and put out a cd to match. Create one mater anthology and pack it in.

This is exactly what came to my mind when Hagar and Roth toured together last year. I wondered if it was an expeirment that would possibly pave the way for an all-out Van Halen tour with both Hagar and Roth at the mike. This would definitely be an exciting show, but I have a feeling old issues might once again rear their ugly heads.

I saw David Lee Roth during the Sam & Dave tour, and David Lee Roth was the winner. His new band was fantastic and hearing all the Van Halen classics with him was great. Fortunately, Sammy Hager was the opening act that night.

Journeytroll

To answer the original question...YES

I saw V.H. in the old days{81-82}, he could'nt sing then. So whats the difference now?

I don't think Dave is over the hill at all as a performer even though he's not the same person he was during his VH days.

hi , my 2 cents, am a huge hagar fan, both solo and with vh....however still dig daves stuff bigtime..I haven't seen them live in person (dave in vh) but many video's, live boot's , radio shows , and I can say that he sucked live then vocally IMHO...he is funny, charasmatic, crazy and has a "presence" to be recconed with even today..saw him last year and on the '02 sam n dave shows and dave's band is really good but once again he really wasn't very good...and he fudged the words a bunch of times...
dave has always been more about his looks,booze,pussy,and $$ and the "party" part of performing and being a singer/frontman...

I prefer hagar for I feel he still can sing,write and yes, he does party and put on a great show himself...
different strokes for different folks but this writer couldn't care less how these guys look but how good they sound...this is after all "music" right?


rock the fcc ..stop these assholes from censoring everything and everyone!!!
www.stopfcc.com/#sign

later,

chi-town marty

I saw the S & D tour in '02 and Dave was pretty unbearable. I just watched the awesome guitarist he had (Brian Young from the Atomic Punks), trying to zone out Dave's singing, thankful that Sammy was up afterwards. The person I was with thought Dave was awful also. He reminded me of what Tony Bennett would sound like singing VH tunes, but worse. And yes, I am old enough to have been a fan of VH w/ Dave back in the day.

NUBMAN wrote:My question is - Do we really need 3 or 4 more VH records with Sam?

My answer is - Yes. Well, at least 2.

Who cares what shape Dave is in, or if he can still run and jump around and drink whiskey and talk sh1t to the women in the crowd (who are thinking...yeah right, you old fart). What is the main function of the job? -To sing. Dave can't sing. Simple as that.
Sam sings better than ever, and his stage presense is much, MUCH better than Dave's at this point.

JourneyTroll wrote:I saw David Lee Roth during the Sam & Dave tour, and David Lee Roth was the winner.

That's funny.

Great post NUBMAN!

I share your passion for music of old and what it gave you back when!
I got into heavier music late (about 16 years old) and one of the first albums I snapped up was 5150. Loved the vocals, I'm a sucker for a great voice, loved the songs and in particular loved the fact the band had gotten a little more serious in the lyric department, a little more drama and less theatrics so to speak!

I must admit I love DLR, and believe he was the front men of front men for the 70's and 80's scene. For me, about the same time I remember DLR's Eat em and smile and Skyscraper being huge for me.

You mentioned the VH gang should tour with both Roth and Hagar, a set each kinda thing which I agree would be fun, but I think they've made the right choice choosing taking the oppurtunity to move forward while they still can, and give the fans some new music! I don't doubt a reunion tour as you descibed with both front men would be fun, but without the added bonus of new material, it's only relevant to people like yourself (and me for example if it were Sammy only singing the classics he was a part of without the new tracks!) and could only be short lived. Let's hope it happens one day, but I'm hoping that days way off, cause when I can experience the old stuff (that I grew up on) mixed with the new (the likes of the new tracks to be recorded with Sam) then it just doesn't get any better! I hope it gives birth to a new studio album!

I'd only want Dave back if it was to re-create that spark AND offer fans something new as well. The tracks on Volume 1 showed Dave's potential and I agree with you he might just be capable but who knows how the band works (luckily for me the Sam way).

But there's many like you Nubman that would love to just get Dave back into the ring like the good old days. Hope ya get your chance one day.

Just food for thought!
Cheers!

I think Roth is above everything a entertainer!
He's good singer and a GREAT frontman... and I think he well stop when he feels he can entertain anymore... he's ego can't stand not to b the jumping pussyeater he is (or was) ... I liked the Filthy little mounth album, never saw Diamond Dave live (unfortunally) but hope he stills great till I can!

"Do you think ROTH is over the hill?"


way, WAY over!!!

DLR totally sucks. His voice is completely shot, and his ego is disgusting. He is the ultimate "has been".

JourneyTroll wrote:I saw David Lee Roth during the Sam & Dave tour, and David Lee Roth was the winner. His new band was fantastic and hearing all the Van Halen classics with him was great. Fortunately, Sammy Hager was the opening act that night.

ROFL!!! DLR totally sucked on that tour! His voice sounded like shiit, and he was missing half the friggin words!

I swear, DLR fans are like Michael Jackson fans - they will defend him no matter what he does.

StevePerryRocks wrote:I swear, DLR fans are like Michael Jackson fans - they will defend him no matter what he does.

I wouldn't go that far............but point taken!

StevePerryRocks wrote:DLR totally sucks. His voice is completely shot, and his ego is disgusting. He is the ultimate "has been".

Point made by a Steve Perry fan LOL!

The similarity between the two is amazing. You as a Journey fan should realize more than most the division of a fan base over who is singing. I dont want to turn this into a Journey thread (that board was closed due to the fans slanderous opinions), but Roth and Perry are both in the same boat. Both are difficult to work with and have declining abilities to a certain extent. Dave is still at it though. Steve is relatively non-existant.
(back to the original point)
Van Halen CAN work with Dave again, but Im certain that Ed and the boys are not willing to put up with all of the garbage that comes with him (dave).
Sammy gives the band a chance to stay alive for years to come. The scenario I would settle for is rather simple......Have Dave come in and do a tour, dvd, live cd, etc and put the issue to bed. Afterwards, Sam and VH can get together and take VH into the future.
I guess the whole issue is moot because Sam is back and VH are pressing on. Classic VH fans will always have those early records to remember.

Roth has been over the hill since 1980. Seen Van Halen on Diver Down Tour and he could'nt sing then.

Dave is....well......Dave without a doubt one of the BEST frontman to ever grab a microphone. Dave set the standard for ALL rock / metal frontmen in the late 70's early 80's. He might never have been the best singer, but he WAS the best entertainer. SHOW RESPECT where it belongs!!!

Dave is the last great frontman in rock with few equals with his showmanship & bad ass attitude during his VH days, he is a rock legend of the highest degree with generations of fans who can " still kick it " after all these years!

Mr.Rock wrote:over the hill?

no.

heres DLR band from April this year



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQViCrM- ... my%20Hagar

hmmmmm

tattooed and godlike wrote:hmmmmm

Just find your glasses, t&g?

Just given the chance, Dave could pull the VH gig off right now, and as big as the Sammy reuinion tour was, it would be bigger.


I think it would be young Edward you'd have to worry about, not Dave.

I agree, I think Dave is just fine. I saw him live a couple years ago and I enjoyed his show. Saw him the summer he toured with Sammy. Thought Dave was better. Sammy is just the same old stuff each time you see him. He has such a catalog, but plays the same tunes over and over with maybe one different song each show...this year it was The Girl Gets Around....great song but he needs to insert more of those in his shows. I would like to see more older stuff. And Sammy says the same things at each show.

tattooed and godlike wrote:heres DLR band from April this year



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQViCrM- ... my%20Hagar

I prefer the Roth era VH but that was just plain awful. He sounds horrible and the outfit looks like something an aging disco star would wear. Completely awful!