Gudlyf’s World

My first concert experience was Van Halen back on their first tour with Sammy Hagar, right after 5150 debuted. Eddie was a huge influence for me in picking up guitar, even though I never got much further than learning tablature from books and magazines, putting funky stickers all over my guitar, and listing my future aspiration in my year book as, “playing guitar in a band.” Hey, it sounded a hell of a lot better than nerdy IT guy at the time and maybe saved me from a few jock pummelings.

Back in March I mentioned the upcoming Van Halen tour coming to the Worcester Centrum. At the time I thought it was a bunch of bull, but it turned out true. I hadn’t been to a rock concert in maybe ten years, but somehow notalgia got the best of me and I felt the itch to go see what I considered a rare event — Sammy back with Van Halen. Hell, if their past is any indicator, this could be the farewell tour!

My brother was raring to go and couldn’t contain his excitement! Alright that’s not so accurate, but I was able to easily lure him into coming with me. Well OK, I bought him the ticket, but really he was happy to go…after I reminded him it was an excuse to get out of the house and I’d buy the beers. And then there’s the lie that they were just opening for Clapton but let’s get back to my quasi-review.

I remember from past Van Halen tours that people hated the fact that Eddie would switch from guitars and go stand behind a keyboard for a few songs. I mean, who goes to see Van Halen to watch Eddie play keyboards?! I was pleasantly surprised to see Eddie stick with his axe the entire show, even for the opening number, Jump. Eddie not only never hit the keyboards, but nobody did. They said fuck the keyboards and just played a track or shoved the poor Schroeder in the back — put a no-namer on stage with VH? Fuck no!

And speaking of the opening number, bravo on that. Sure it’s not my favorite, but if I remember correctly, they rarely played that in concert or weren’t able to because of ownership issues with DLR. Sammy and crew know damn well that a boatload of the people there want to hear the popular songs and not only crap they’re pumping out for the greatest hits album. Nobody’s there to hear the new shit. When the new songs come on, that’s usually when it’s time to go drain the weasel. Playing for the fans gets them huge marks in my book.

Another big point getter for me was digging up a rare one like Somebody Get Me A Doctor, and then add a few more for letting Mikey’s pipes let loose on it finally. That boy can still crank out some incredible highs and is the driving force behind the all-too-familiar background vocals heard in everything since the first album.

I also have to mention that a divorce, a hip replacement and a battle with cancer have somehow worked wonders for Eddie. Shirtless, sporting a top-knot, and running and jumping around the stage for a few hours without so much as two minutes rest, I was in awe. (Don’t look at me like that — I was just sayin’ that he was shirtless!) Also, I’m not sure if him sporting a cigarette once in a while for a few puffs looked sad or screamed, Cancer? Fuck cancer! Take this cancer!. I prefer to think of the latter.

And as for Alex, that dude is ageless. He looks the same as he did ten years ago! However, I think he fucked up a few songs in there, which I have to say I’ve never in all my years of concert going knowingly bore witness to before. But I was a hell of a lot less sober back then, so he could’ve tore a hole in his snare in those days and I’d think I was listening to the album verbatim.

Although I’m no fan of a bass solo, at least Mikey made it short and bearable. He also spiced it up by giving old-time fans a glance at his earlier years, toting the good ol’ Jack Daniels bass and hammering back a whole bottle of the sour mash! Alright it was a nip bottle, but a whole bottle!

Eddie also brought his son “Wolfie” up on stage with him to play a guitar duet of sorts. Holy shit did that make me feel old. I remember when he was born, and now here he is up there playing guitar with his dad?! Eddie was quick to announce, “you are all looking at the future, right here!” I’m not sure whether to pitty Wolfie or envy him, but I have to say he was so pudgy and seemingly awkward, you couldn’t help but want to give the poor kid a hug (Stop looking at me like that! I’m just sayin’!).

In summary, I was pleasantly surprised. It was a good way for me to properly say goodbye to the Van Halen concert scene, possibly for good. I got to hear Van Halen as I had first seen them, in the first venue I had seen them in, no less.

As my brother and I stood there after the last encore and the lights came on, we both agreed that the show was better than we expected. We watched, pointed and laughed as mullet heads abound swept past us in disappointment that the show was over, the waft of spent joints in the air.

“Look at all these idiots,” my brother said.

I laughed. “Hey, at least they still got the hair, right?”

“But they’re gonna miss Clapton!”