Official Sammy Hagar/David Lee Roth/Van Halen Thread

[Dr. Blutarsky]

"Crossroads" was a nice wrinkle/addition.

How did THAT go down?  Was it part of the extended Cradle jam?

Awesome dude.

They played it during "Somebody Get Me a Doctor".  Here's a clip for the Columbus show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zk3qNjqC85s

Definitely one of the many highlights of the show for me last night.  I also enjoyed Dave's speech before "Ice Cream Man" even though he gave pretty much the same one the last time I saw them.  It just shows how great a front man he is that he can captivate an audience.

Thanks for the link - great performance-second you on Dave. I can't wait to hear some new music w/Dave & Eddie.

[faldor]

"Crossroads" was a nice wrinkle/addition.

How did THAT go down?  Was it part of the extended Cradle jam?

Awesome dude.

They played it during "Somebody Get Me a Doctor".  Here's a clip for the Columbus show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zk3qNjqC85s

Definitely one of the many highlights of the show for me last night.  I also enjoyed Dave's speech before "Ice Cream Man" even though he gave pretty much the same one the last time I saw them.  It just shows how great a front man he is that he can captivate an audience.

Thanks for the link - great performance-second you on Dave. I can't wait to hear some new music w/Dave & Eddie.

Some pretty good clips from the show at Mohegan Sun the other night.

http://www.youtube.com/user/DIOSABBATH8875

Including Dave talking to the crowd.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-6TMnGHg04

[TAP]

MSG tomorrow 

[bazgnr]

I'm a big Sammy fan, but he deserves the backlash he gets for the Zeppelin comments:

http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5iSfjM3vdO6RUEef1I7fUpl4tIuPw

TORONTO ? Sammy Hagar has a new supergroup that includes a virtuoso guitarist and a fellow Van Halen alumnus, but fans eager to see the so-called Red Rocker sing alongside the six-string hero he's most famously associated with shouldn't hold their breath.
It seems a peace settlement in the war of wills between Hagar and Eddie Van Halen could be years away, if it arrives at all.

"I love Eddie, but we don't love each other," Hagar said during an interview Thursday.

"I heard that he got cleaned up again. Hopefully he stays that way and doesn't die, because before we both die we have to be friends again.
"But like I said, people have to be level-headed and have to be healthy before you can settle a feud."

Eddie Van Halen's battles with drug and alcohol addiction are legend, marring past shows with Hagar and delaying the start last year of a reunion tour with original singer, and Hagar's predecessor, David Lee Roth.

Instead of waiting for that friendship to be repaired, Hagar has teamed with acclaimed guitarist Joe Satriani, Red Hot Chili Pepper drummer Chad Smith, and former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony. The group, code-named Chickenfoot, will enter the recording studio just before Labour Day.

"We've written eight, nine songs. We just got to go in the studio Sept. 1," Hagar said.
"When people hear the music, it's Led Zeppelin. It's as good as that. I know that's a mighty bold statement... We could rival Zep."

Hagar, 60, stills looks remarkably like he did during his time with Van Halen - suntanned and goateed with that trademark mop of curly blonde hair.
In town following a show at Casino Rama, north of Toronto, with his "party band" The Wabos, Hagar took up residence for the day in a downtown hotel to promote his latest career turn as a spirits connoisseur.
Halen fans are no doubt familiar with the song "Cabo Wabo", a track from the multi-platinum 1988 album "OU812" that sang the virtues of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Hagar's love of all that is Cabo has seen him open cantinas bearing the name, and now he's spending the summer selling Cabo Wabo Tequila.
The brand, with its origins in Hagar's desire to serve a local, high-end tequila at his cantina in Cabo San Lucas, grew over the years, eventually gaining recognition and robust sales in the United States. Last year, Hagar sold an 80 per cent stake in the company to multinational spirits company Campari for a reported US$80 million.

"It wasn't planned. All this happened step by step. Every time I turned around there was a new opportunity for it," Hagar said.
"Everyone thought it was a gimmick. It's an expensive tequila (a 750 ml bottle retails for $71.20 in Canada). They thought, what does this guy know about premium tequila?"

Apparently Hagar has even convinced bassist Anthony, who was known for drinking Jack Daniels whisky straight from the bottle onstage during his Van Halen years, to quaff his tequila while performing.

The two have remained close, and perform together often, since the Hagar incarnation of Halen finally folded after a reunion in the late 1990s.
When the band reunited last year to tour with original singer David Lee Roth, Anthony was replaced by Eddie Van Halen's son Wolfgang.

Although it's "great that they finally did the reunion with Dave," Hagar said he had no desire to take in the show.
"Mikey should have been there. It's ridiculous," he said.

"(Seeing the show) just wouldn't interest me in the least, all the hoopla and all that around something without it being the original."
As for the Van Halen vs. Van Hagar debate, Hagar is content to let the fans choose their favourite and listen to the old recordings.

"I'm really not interested in being in that band right now. I'm so much more interested in our little Chickenfoot project," Hagar said.
"To me that's 10 times Van Halen, because it's functional, we all like each other."

[SLCPUNK]

I still can't get over him being 60.

Good for him though, shit man!

[TAP]

MSG tomorrow 

Holy shit, they were awesome.  Eddie's rehab seems to have worked out well this time, he was unrecognizable from the guitar player I saw in November.

[SLCPUNK]

Pics?

[TAP]

Pics?

No, didn't take a camera. But there were guys with handheld cameras filming the audience, presumably for the DVD they have said will come out.

[Dr. Blutarsky]

Pics?

No, didn't take a camera. But there were guys with handheld cameras filming the audience, presumably for the DVD they have said will come out.

An official concert DVD would be awesome. Even the fan shot stuff on YouTube captures a lot of the magic.

[TAP]

Pics?

No, didn't take a camera. But there were guys with handheld cameras filming the audience, presumably for the DVD they have said will come out.

An official concert DVD would be awesome. Even the fan shot stuff on YouTube captures a lot of the magic.

I'm pretty sure there will be one, since DLR has announced it from stage a few times. He didn't say it last night, but there were notices posted saying the show was being recorded. I expect a lot of money was lost when they had to reschedule dates, it may be part of a deal to offset that. But just about every review I've seen, as well as my own evidence, suggests Eddie is playing much better and more consistently now than earlier in the tour so it's the right time to do it.

[Bandita]

They started taping the shows when they played in NJ, I can't wait to see the DVD!

[bazgnr]

They started taping the shows when they played in NJ, I can't wait to see the DVD!

Me too, considering I couldn't make the re-scheduled Pittsburgh show.  It might be as close as I get to seeing Dave and the boys....sigh.

[faldor]

A very favorable review for the Mohegan Sun Show, from the Hartford Courant.

http://www.courant.com/entertainment/music/hc-vanhalenrev.artmay22,0,4191307.story

[Bandita]

They started taping the shows when they played in NJ, I can't wait to see the DVD!

Me too, considering I couldn't make the re-scheduled Pittsburgh show.  It might be as close as I get to seeing Dave and the boys....sigh.

Well, hopefully they can keep it together long enough to make it your way again!

[bazgnr]

They started taping the shows when they played in NJ, I can't wait to see the DVD!

Me too, considering I couldn't make the re-scheduled Pittsburgh show.  It might be as close as I get to seeing Dave and the boys....sigh.

Well, hopefully they can keep it together long enough to make it your way again!

I'm hopeful that they can manage to pull it off and come through this way again.  The last time I saw them  was during the awkward and forced Sammy-reunion tour, and no one seemed to be enjoying themselves on stage...

[SLCPUNK]

Pics?

No, didn't take a camera. But there were guys with handheld cameras filming the audience, presumably for the DVD they have said will come out.

Well I only managed a few crappy cell pics, so don't feel bad.

[Malcolm]

Ross Cat of Best Of WNY recently conducted an interview with Sammy Hagar. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow.

Best Of WNY: Will we see premier rock 'n' roll bassist and all-around party animal Michael Anthony on the road with you again this summer?

Hagar: "Mike will be popping in and out of the tour, for sure. He really wants to play with us at the stadium shows that we are doing with Kenny Chesney. At this time I'm not exactly sure when he's going to be playing; one thing's for sure ? knowing Mikey, he can't stay home when Sammy and the WABOS are out on tour, we've found that out over the last ten years. He's played on about 90% of our gigs since the last VH reunion; he's usually around by hook or by crook. I have to say that having Mikey on stage makes it so much easier to play the Van Hagar material, when I'm singing 'Why Can?t This Be Love', 'Top Of The World', or 'Poundcake' and I hear his harmonies, I can close my eyes and feel like it was 1990 again. Hands down, Mike's backing vocals and bass playing are as big a part of the VAN HALEN legacy as me, Eddie, Alex or Dave. It has been and always will be an open door policy for Mike in any band I'm in."

Best Of WNY: Any desire to check out the current VAN HALEN tour which is getting primarily positive reviews in its second leg?

Hagar: "No, I just can?t do it, after the last Van Hagar tour, Eddie became my enemy; he wasn't the same guy he was when we started the Van Hagar era of the band; he made what should have been a great experience just down right miserable. Now when I say that, I'm talking about the Eddie Van Halen that is struggling with his personal demons; they've been pretty well documented. I will say this: The fact that they are doing the tour with Dave is awesome. They have owed the amazing VAN HALEN fans that for a long time; but not taking Mike out isn't doing the Roth era justice and it's just wrong. If you're finally going to go out and bill yourself as the original VAN HALEN, then Mike should be playing with them, for God's sake, that's just my two cents. I understand Eddie wanting to play with Wolfie, but he should just go out and start their own band. That being said, it seems that some positive has come out of this whole thing. Last time I saw Eddie, he was in really bad shape a few years back; but I did see a recent photo and he looks healthier than he has in a long time. That, to me, is a great thing, Eddie has all the support on the planet from me if he is finally getting his shit together. If this tour has helped him get himself together and clean up, I?m so happy for that."

Best Of WNY: you toured with David Lee Roth back in 2003 any chance you'd be willing to set aside differences and give VAN HALEN fans the "Best Of Both Worlds" with all five guys touring together?

Hagar: "As far as that goes, that's just not something I'm really interested in doing again right now. Eddie would have to be able to bring himself back to ground zero; by that, I mean he'd have to be completely clean."

[TAP]

Pics?

No, didn't take a camera. But there were guys with handheld cameras filming the audience, presumably for the DVD they have said will come out.

Well I only managed a few crappy cell pics, so don't feel bad.

Don't worry, I don't 

[Dr. Blutarsky]

Hagar: "As far as that goes, that's just not something I'm really interested in doing again right now. Eddie would have to be able to bring himself back to ground zero; by that, I mean he'd have to be completely clean."

Ed's not completely clean? Maybe that explains the rescheduled dates?

[TAP]

Hagar: "As far as that goes, that's just not something I'm really interested in doing again right now. Eddie would have to be able to bring himself back to ground zero; by that, I mean he'd have to be completely clean."

Ed's not completely clean? Maybe that explains the rescheduled dates?

He will never be completely clean. He was certainly not entirely sober for some shows before the break, and the break almost certainly had some rehab element involved no matter how camp VH spun it.