Van Halen Dates Officially Canceled

[No Surprize]

JRNYMAN can either confirm or refute this - I was too young to attend US back in 83 (not by my decision though). My older brother and a few of his buddies went. Upon return he told me a little story about VH. As the story goes, before VH was to come out on stage they showed each member on the big screens prepping backstage. Eddie is loosening his fingers on the guitar, Mikey is drinking, Alex is pounding sticks on the furniture, and flash to Roth...........bangin some chick with a big grin on his face in the camera for all the audience to view on the screens. Now not being there, I can't confirm this, but I would not be surprised.

Also, I have heard that The Scorpions definitely gave the best performance that day. I had never been into them yet (only 13 in 83) and neither was my bro (who is older and had just returned home from a 6yr enlistment in the Navy). He came back from US raving about the Scorps and from that day forth we were both fans.

As for the great festival concerts, it is too bad they just don't happen in the US much anymore. Though missing out on US, luckily I was able to attend a few Day on the Greens, Mountain Aires, and Monsters of Rock. They just don't do 'em like that anymore.

I wish I could confirm your bro's story but I just don't remember that happening - not saying it didn't, I just don't remember it. Sorry
As for the big festivals....
You have to wonder exactly why concerts in general have become so God Damned expensive. There's a post in the Journey forum which lists how much each band is making for their appearance at some state fair and IIRC, Journey is getting over $250,000, Benetar is making $50K and Loverboy is raking in a paltry $16.5K. Now, a rock concert at a state fair is a gamble for the promoters since they have no way of accurately estimating the number of people who will actually attend any particular show. Country acts traditionally draw larger crowds at state fairs and are easier to bet on. But, c'mon.... really? Does Journey really need to make THAT much more than Loverboy? And maybe that's completely normal by today's standards and I'm surprised over nothing. Or, perhaps it's the God Damned promoters like Live Nation and Ticketmaster who have essentially taken over the distribution and promotion of pro acts and their performances. Or, is it the mega-increased insurance fees all acts must carry due to accidents like the one that happened a couple of weeks ago with Radiohead's rigging collapsing and destroying most of their gear and killing one of their crew. I don't know what the answer is but it just seems nuts that the average ticket price for a single act, in advance is around $75.00!
In contrast to that, Europe seems to have a handle on these types of shows - and they're just a few days away from having their economy completely imploding, yet people still seem to find the funds for not only tickets for these big shows but for a lot of people, attending them means traveling to another country and staying overnight. My bet is on the greedy fucking greasebag promoters here in the states who have their collective hands in the pockets of seemingly every touring act.

Went to a couple of the Day on the Green shows and had completely forgotten about the Mountain Aire gigs. God I miss Northern Cal sometimes. My oldest brother has lived in Tahoe for decades and is the Fire chief of the Tahoe Keys community. Mountain Aire....... awesome setting for those shows!

I think it mostly has to do with the state of the recording industry. When you had bands like VH, Kiss, Queen, Leppard, Aerosmith selling Millions upon millions of vinyl, cd, or cassettes they could afford to go on tour, keep ticket prices low and stay on the road for a while. Now, none of these bands sell millions of records thanks to the theft of the net, so they have to recoup & make their money someway. And Journey, when you in Europe, traveling to another country it's like us traveling to another state, just a hop, skip, and a jump away.

[Memorex]

Many many bands and artists throughout the era of rock and roll sold less albums as years went on without theft.

I think part of it is it's much easier to get your fill of something via you tube and other stuff and the desire to attend a show decreases. I would go to more shows if it wasn't for the price. I just think very few artists are worth that much.

[slucero]

JRNYMAN can either confirm or refute this - I was too young to attend US back in 83 (not by my decision though). My older brother and a few of his buddies went. Upon return he told me a little story about VH. As the story goes, before VH was to come out on stage they showed each member on the big screens prepping backstage. Eddie is loosening his fingers on the guitar, Mikey is drinking, Alex is pounding sticks on the furniture, and flash to Roth...........bangin some chick with a big grin on his face in the camera for all the audience to view on the screens. Now not being there, I can't confirm this, but I would not be surprised.

Also, I have heard that The Scorpions definitely gave the best performance that day. I had never been into them yet (only 13 in 83) and neither was my bro (who is older and had just returned home from a 6yr enlistment in the Navy). He came back from US raving about the Scorps and from that day forth we were both fans.

As for the great festival concerts, it is too bad they just don't happen in the US much anymore. Though missing out on US, luckily I was able to attend a few Day on the Greens, Mountain Aires, and Monsters of Rock. They just don't do 'em like that anymore.

I wish I could confirm your bro's story but I just don't remember that happening - not saying it didn't, I just don't remember it. Sorry
As for the big festivals....
You have to wonder exactly why concerts in general have become so God Damned expensive. There's a post in the Journey forum which lists how much each band is making for their appearance at some state fair and IIRC, Journey is getting over $250,000, Benetar is making $50K and Loverboy is raking in a paltry $16.5K. Now, a rock concert at a state fair is a gamble for the promoters since they have no way of accurately estimating the number of people who will actually attend any particular show. Country acts traditionally draw larger crowds at state fairs and are easier to bet on. But, c'mon.... really? Does Journey really need to make THAT much more than Loverboy? And maybe that's completely normal by today's standards and I'm surprised over nothing. Or, perhaps it's the God Damned promoters like Live Nation and Ticketmaster who have essentially taken over the distribution and promotion of pro acts and their performances. Or, is it the mega-increased insurance fees all acts must carry due to accidents like the one that happened a couple of weeks ago with Radiohead's rigging collapsing and destroying most of their gear and killing one of their crew. I don't know what the answer is but it just seems nuts that the average ticket price for a single act, in advance is around $75.00!
In contrast to that, Europe seems to have a handle on these types of shows - and they're just a few days away from having their economy completely imploding, yet people still seem to find the funds for not only tickets for these big shows but for a lot of people, attending them means traveling to another country and staying overnight. My bet is on the greedy fucking greasebag promoters here in the states who have their collective hands in the pockets of seemingly every touring act.

Went to a couple of the Day on the Green shows and had completely forgotten about the Mountain Aire gigs. God I miss Northern Cal sometimes. My oldest brother has lived in Tahoe for decades and is the Fire chief of the Tahoe Keys community. Mountain Aire....... awesome setting for those shows!

I can't begrudge anyone from getting their worth... but in this case it's not the promoters... its the acts...

if the acts were really, really SERIOUS about ticket prices.. then they'd band together to fight it... get 10 big name acts to simply say "enough" and demand "x", then the promoters would make it work.. except they can't... because the acts make nothing anymore on record sales... its all in merch & ticket sales...

All you are getting from the acts that bitch about ticket prices is lip service.

In the "old days"... the cost of touring was subsidized by the labels and collateralized with record sales revenue... neither are happening anymore. Artists now can only make the major portion of their money touring (merch & ticket sales)... so it makes sense that the ticket prices are what they are.

Look at Tom Petty... there's a guy who's publicly fought the labels over record prices... yet ticket prices to his shows are no less than the rest of the acts today...

[The Sushi Hunter]

I agree, it's the modern technology that is the problem. I personally know people who go to the libraries in the area and check out hundreds of music cds and then they upload the cds onto their computers, ipods, mp4s, etc. and then check the cds back in. Back in the day before the computer technology, if you wanted a copy, you had no other choice but to go out and purchase the record, 8-track, cassette, cd, etc. Technology has changed all that now.

JRNYMAN can either confirm or refute this - I was too young to attend US back in 83 (not by my decision though). My older brother and a few of his buddies went. Upon return he told me a little story about VH. As the story goes, before VH was to come out on stage they showed each member on the big screens prepping backstage. Eddie is loosening his fingers on the guitar, Mikey is drinking, Alex is pounding sticks on the furniture, and flash to Roth...........bangin some chick with a big grin on his face in the camera for all the audience to view on the screens. Now not being there, I can't confirm this, but I would not be surprised.

Also, I have heard that The Scorpions definitely gave the best performance that day. I had never been into them yet (only 13 in 83) and neither was my bro (who is older and had just returned home from a 6yr enlistment in the Navy). He came back from US raving about the Scorps and from that day forth we were both fans.

As for the great festival concerts, it is too bad they just don't happen in the US much anymore. Though missing out on US, luckily I was able to attend a few Day on the Greens, Mountain Aires, and Monsters of Rock. They just don't do 'em like that anymore.

I wish I could confirm your bro's story but I just don't remember that happening - not saying it didn't, I just don't remember it. Sorry
As for the big festivals....
You have to wonder exactly why concerts in general have become so God Damned expensive. There's a post in the Journey forum which lists how much each band is making for their appearance at some state fair and IIRC, Journey is getting over $250,000, Benetar is making $50K and Loverboy is raking in a paltry $16.5K. Now, a rock concert at a state fair is a gamble for the promoters since they have no way of accurately estimating the number of people who will actually attend any particular show. Country acts traditionally draw larger crowds at state fairs and are easier to bet on. But, c'mon.... really? Does Journey really need to make THAT much more than Loverboy? And maybe that's completely normal by today's standards and I'm surprised over nothing. Or, perhaps it's the God Damned promoters like Live Nation and Ticketmaster who have essentially taken over the distribution and promotion of pro acts and their performances. Or, is it the mega-increased insurance fees all acts must carry due to accidents like the one that happened a couple of weeks ago with Radiohead's rigging collapsing and destroying most of their gear and killing one of their crew. I don't know what the answer is but it just seems nuts that the average ticket price for a single act, in advance is around $75.00!
In contrast to that, Europe seems to have a handle on these types of shows - and they're just a few days away from having their economy completely imploding, yet people still seem to find the funds for not only tickets for these big shows but for a lot of people, attending them means traveling to another country and staying overnight. My bet is on the greedy fucking greasebag promoters here in the states who have their collective hands in the pockets of seemingly every touring act.

Went to a couple of the Day on the Green shows and had completely forgotten about the Mountain Aire gigs. God I miss Northern Cal sometimes. My oldest brother has lived in Tahoe for decades and is the Fire chief of the Tahoe Keys community. Mountain Aire....... awesome setting for those shows!

I think it mostly has to do with the state of the recording industry. When you had bands like VH, Kiss, Queen, Leppard, Aerosmith selling Millions upon millions of vinyl, cd, or cassettes they could afford to go on tour, keep ticket prices low and stay on the road for a while. Now, none of these bands sell millions of records thanks to the theft of the net, so they have to recoup & make their money someway. And Journey, when you in Europe, traveling to another country it's like us traveling to another state, just a hop, skip, and a jump away.

[Arkansas]

It's all supply and demand. If 'we' wouldn't pay the ticket prices, then they'd come down. (Maybe not as low as my first KISS show in '77 - $6, but the artists would find a way to make it cheaper, or stop touring altogether.)

And I totally agree with the techology thing. Back in the day, all we had were a few still pics in mags & lp sleeves. So going to see the bands that you heard on the radio was really a big deal. Sounds kinda strange, but it was 'proof they existed'. I mean, all we had was radio, a few records, and occasionally Don Kirschner's Rock Concert or American Bandstand, et al, on tv. Today, we can stream full shows in decent quality right to our smartphones. People don't completely get the thrill of seeing a real rock band any more because they can turn it on whenever they want.

Kinda related, anyone remember when doing a live album meant that a band had 'made it'? Ya know, 2 or 3 gold/platinum albums, then you got to do a live record. You don't see that any more either. No need.


later~

[brywool]

"I'm gonna come down there and fuck your girlfriend!"

yup, said the same thing on the 1984 Tour.

[RyanHippFTW]

Saw them here in Greensboro back in April. I loved it. Dave doesn't like the sound guy.

[JohnH]

Was perusing some of the vids posted from the most recent shows and came across this one in which Roth stops a fight which is taking place on the floor during Pretty Woman.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wWGo3CW ... re=related
The incident takes place starting at 5:15 into the video.

One thing I'll say about Dave is he's never been one to take shit from anyone or to allow things happening in the audience to be a distraction to the show. At the US Festival, for instance, this guy apparently squirted Dave with his squirt bottle which everyone had to try to stay cool since it was so blazing hot. Anyway, this guy in the front row squirted Dave and it pissed him off. So, Dave stops mid-sentence and says, "Hey mother fucker.... don't squirt me with that squirt bottle 'cuz if you do, I'm gonna come down there and fuck your girlfriend!" And, as you can imagine, the entire crowd, which consisted of me and 500,000 of my closest friends, went nuts!

You went to the US Festival? That's fucking cool. Any stories?

I was there too. We get there, around 930 Am , walking in to the venue guy is trying to pull up his wasted friend from the ground saying " come on dude, ya gotta get up" . Incredible, show hadn't even started and the guy was done already. Eddie on the big screen flipping somebody off, probably another squirt gun guy. Roth was pretty bombed too.

[JohnH]

JRNYMAN can either confirm or refute this - I was too young to attend US back in 83 (not by my decision though). My older brother and a few of his buddies went. Upon return he told me a little story about VH. As the story goes, before VH was to come out on stage they showed each member on the big screens prepping backstage. Eddie is loosening his fingers on the guitar, Mikey is drinking, Alex is pounding sticks on the furniture, and flash to Roth...........bangin some chick with a big grin on his face in the camera for all the audience to view on the screens. Now not being there, I can't confirm this, but I would not be surprised.

Also, I have heard that The Scorpions definitely gave the best performance that day. I had never been into them yet (only 13 in 83) and neither was my bro (who is older and had just returned home from a 6yr enlistment in the Navy). He came back from US raving about the Scorps and from that day forth we were both fans.

As for the great festival concerts, it is too bad they just don't happen in the US much anymore. Though missing out on US, luckily I was able to attend a few Day on the Greens, Mountain Aires, and Monsters of Rock. They just don't do 'em like that anymore.

As far as I remember hearing later, the pre show video was totally staged wasn't backstage at the Us and was shot on another day.

[YoungJRNY]

I heard VH is doing the Super Bowl halftime show.

[mrsromek]

First of all, THANK YOU to those of you posting about those old shows and all that! I was only a kid in '83, so all those bands were to me were MTV legends and all. I enjoy reading the stories!! In my opinion, Roth is right behind Robert Plant and Freddie Mercury as far as the best frontmen in music history go. I'm not talking singers. I mean the whole package. Who hasn't wished they were DLR at one time in their life?

Yes, I heard VH is rumored to do the Super Bowl too. Why not? They'd be 100000000x better than Madonna or some other crap like Justin Beiber or Big Time Rush or John Mayer.

[conversationpc]

I heard VH is doing the Super Bowl halftime show.

Just read an update about this on Blabbermouth...

VAN HALEN fan site Van Halen News Desk has posted an open letter from the band's singer, David Lee Roth, regarding the rumors that they will perform at the Super Bowl halftime show in early 2013.

Said Roth: "I'm compelled to address the now-rampant rumors that VAN HALEN is playing the Super Bowl. First of all let me say this — be still my pigskin heart. That honor has not been bestowed upon us at this time, though it is one we would accept in a NY minute.

"Having heard VAN HALEN blaring through stadium speakers on any given Sunday — more like every given Sunday, the idea of playing there live would be like — 'Okay, now we're in the game.'

"VAN HALEN's collective memories are — and with all due respect to each and every one of these memories, teeming with been-theres and done-that's, but none include playing at the Super Bowl. Playing at the Super Bowl is a veritable holy grail of musical recognition, a highly prized rite of passage for (game-changing) artists. Not a spiritual rite with snake pits or Hebrew school or anything, but it's up there.

"We are not on Commissioner Goodell's dance card at this time, but we would be most honored to dance the halftime away in New Orleans. It's an honor to be considered and for that we would like to thank the rumor mongers all over the World Wide Web."

See the entire article @ Blabbermouth.net http://www.blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?m ... um=twitter