When I was in high school in the 80's, Van Halen was my religion. Then: Now: Kill me now. There's no way in hell I'd go see them on tour in their current state... no Michael Anthony, Eddie with dentures, DLR with a nose that was beat up by a microphone... it would be just too depressing. FOCUS: What has survived the test of time? What should just fade away and die? ALT-FOCUS: Discuss Van Halen's reunion.
I did see Van Halen on their last reunion tour with DLR. I have to say, I was quite impressed. While I was disappointed that there was no Michael Anthony, they did a great job, and they played some deeper tracks which was really cool. I would go see them again. Eddie hasn't been playing this well in years.
Same here. I thought, well, they're old and it's going to suck with Wolfgang. But, DLR was, as always, the incredible showman. He owned the crowd, and the show was terrific. However, whatever that was on Kimmel last night was sad. Eddie et al were fine, but Dave. Oh, Dave. I wasn't (and don't) expect him to be what he was 25-30 years ago, but that's not good. Who knows, maybe he'll be able to pull it off, but last night and earlier this year with Foo, he just doesn't appear to have what he had even a few years ago.
Agreed. EVH looked great for being a 60 year old rocker, and he sounded sharp. DLR was horrific. And those baggy JNCO jeans? Yeesh. That was awkward
AC/DC can still bring it and put on an absolute blast of a show. Joke about the Stones all you want, but Mick Jagger has the stamina of a 17 year old cross-country runner. For two hours he runs back and forth on the biggest stage in the game and by the time they close with Jumping Jack Flash he isn't even breathing hard. Axl Rose had cardiac arrest one minute into his big VMA comeback show. Jagger is the performer's performer.
I had the chance to see them back in "the day" and missed out. Either way, seeing as that's really how I remember them, I think I'd just be let down due to my own expectations if nothing else. And,ugh....this thread makes me feel ancient. Thanks Nett!
Well if this thread is only making you feel ancient, I'd consider that a step up. Aretha Franklin has been doing it for YEARS, and still keeps on going. Mick and Steven Tyler have to get points because of all the fucking drugs they put in their body and they're still ticking.
I saw Iron Maiden a couple of years ago and Bruce Dickinson has still go it. Playing The Trooper and he was running around on top of containers and across the stage waving this big ass Union Jack the entire time.
All this talk about DLR and VH got me to pull out some old cds. The one that has impressed me the most is DLR's 'A Little Ain't Enough.' This album was not well regarded on the heels of 'Skyscraper.' One word about Skyscraper for you guitar heads. There's a song on there 'Hina.' It took me a while to discover it, but upon very close listening, I realized just what a sick motherfucker Steve Vai was. Listen to the opening of the track. Separate the channels, L and R. What I discovered is that what I thought was digital delay (and for you kids, digital delay was all the rage in the 80's), was actually Vai playing the 'echo.' Seriously. It is the most fucking sick second guitar part I've ever heard. I'm sure that's what he's doing because if you turn it up, you realize the two parts are not the same, you can hear the pick attack, and it's just insane. Anyway, the quintessential Roth album will always be 'Eat 'em and Smile' but "A Little Ain't Enough' is a hell of an album. Jason Becker is a fucking monster on it. It's a shame he has ALS and hasn't played in years, but this album showcases what a badass he is. Frankly, it's the best offering from the VH progeny since 1990.
I'm a huge Steve Vai nut... and I'm still blown away by his albums like Flex Able (his first studio solo album), which is just him fucking around with a 1/4" 8-track in a shitty little studio he built in a small 2 bedroom house. http://www.vai.com/AllAboutSteve/disconotes_flexable.html It's kind of raw, and silly, but man, the shit he was pulling off was, and still is, damn impressive. You can really see how his time with Zappa influenced him.
Vai relates the touchstone of his skills To Zappa directly. He said "Zappa told me I was a great guitar player but I had the tone of an electric ham sandwich. Since then I became completely obsessed with tone. It's what made me a great guitar player." I met David Lee Roth once. My friends band opened for Vince Neil (asshole) and we were at the bar afterwards and there was Roth at the opposite end of the bar. Not low-pro whatsoever: Love Boat captain's hat, white bell bottoms and a white cardigan tied over his shoulders. I pointed him out to my friend who instantly screams "DAAAAAAAAAVE!!!!" Roth sees us, waves with a big smile and starts walking towards us. It was hilarious he walks like Elvis Presley dances, jackhammering his hips and knees like he's keeping his balance during an earthquake. As he approaches, my friend changes his tone: "Ummmm....DAVE?!?!" David Lee Roth, as it turns out, is smaller than Tom Cruise. I'm talking five feet tall, and skinny. This supremely vane, dick-slinging cock rocker legend is a TINY human being. But friendly and boisterous like you can't imagine.
He's a tremendous player. Some of his stuff gets a bit out there to me, but the guy is incredibly impressive. One of my favorite live CD's is 'G3' with Satriani, Vai, and Eric Johnson. They each do a 3 song set, then do a 3 song set together. On this album, they did 'Goin' Down,' 'My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama,' and 'Red House.' All three shine, and are so distinctive in their approach, tone and voice. Just a pleasure to listen to them.
I've played as long as I can remember and this is something I've never understood....instrumentals. I just can't get into them, I can appreciate the artistry and talent, I just can't listen to them without wanting to pull my hair out. I have a cousin who's a very talented musician and back in the 80's and 90's he did a few punk rock albums (He went against the grain of punk rock, he was actually really fucking talented.) His music wasn't exactly my bag, but I enjoyed listening to it in a sadistic, self hate sort of way. I took his tapes into bars and had my buddy who was the sound man for local bands play it during band breaks and for the most part people dug it. The last time I saw my cousin was like 6 or 7 years ago and he played me his new music. What a load of crap. He was writing stuff that was technically difficult, simply to write stuff that was technically difficult. It wasn't melodic or aurally pleasing in any way, shape, or form. It was just difficult to play. And fucking boring. I told him as much and haven't heard from him since then.
It's funny, because I'm just the opposite. I've always liked instrumentals as in some ways I think they're tougher to write and pull off because you don't have lyrics to rely on. Agreed that overblown, overextended instrumentals that are poorly written suck, but on the G3 album, 'Flying in A Blue Dream,' 'Manhattan,' 'Zap,' and 'For the Love of God' are all tremendous. Other bands do great instrumentals as well - and here I'm thinking of Genesis. They have a live album (from 1977 - so just right before the 80's) that is probably the best live album I've ever heard. There's a song on there 'Firth of Fifth' that has a long instrumental break and guitar solo that is majestic - the guitar player is Steve Hackett and may be one of the most underrated guitar players of all time. Especially since I've started taking jazz lessons, I've come to understand how difficult it is to write a piece that has no words and make it entertaining.