ION INDIE MAGAZINE September 2015, Volume 16 | Page 20
was a sold out show and it was, as all shows were back then, general admission seating. Getting a place in front of the line
was a must, hanging out in line all day to get a great seat for chaos and craziness that was Van Halen was required. My photos
from that show were just what you’d expect from a 17 year old kid, really grainy & kind of crappy. But hell, some of them were
even in focus. But the greatest memories for me were from sitting there in awe of these four guys producing this unbelievable
sound at a level that parents (and most doctors) would definitely not approve of. The lead singer started all the craziness with
a leap from the drum riser that seemed to be 50 feet in the air. Diamond Dave was the master at crowd control, the ultimate
front man--everybody was watching and listening, even though he admittedly “forgot the fuckin’ words…” To his left there was
this little wiry guy named Eddie doing things to a guitar that nobody had seen before--lightning fast and precise--his brother
Alex up in the back, beating on a massive drum kit like a man possessed. Then there was the Jack Daniels swilling Michael
Anthony, with his thundering low bass lines backed up by his unreal high vocals.
My review of the band way back then would have been very simple:
The singer can’t really sing, but his acrobatics, charisma and stage antics are off the charts.
The guitarist is probably the best ever--can do these awesome jumps while playing--but looks like he robbed my
sister’s closet.
The bassist sure can hit the high notes and plays well, but do we really need a bass solo?
The drummer is one of the craziest I’ve ever seen, but how the hell does he play four bass drums?
Probably a good thing I wasn’t writing reviews back then.
I remember thinking that this was the coolest fucking band I had ever seen and heard! After the show, my ears were ringing
(and continued for a couple of days), my pockets were full of rolls of film ready to be developed, and of course, I had the
obligatory concert t-shirt purchased from the shadiest character I could find in the parking lot. Later that summer I saw them
again--this time at the historic Boston Garden. I had enough cash for scalped tickets to two of the 3 shows. I remember just
how pissed off I was because I didn’t get to see the third show.
That’s how and when I became a Van Halen fan…
Fast forward to 2015, Bangor, Maine and Mansfield Massachusetts…
David Lee Roth doesn’t fly from the drum riser anymore--what
would you expect from a man on the north side of 60 years old?
The antics, wit, “Dave-isms” and charisma, however, are still very
much there.
He looks and acts like a much younger fit man in phenomenal
shape. He can still kick high enough to make a Rockette jealous!
Let’s face facts though…Dave can’t sing very well now. But most
diehard VH fans already know this! We all know that he was never
a great singer. We’ve been watching Diamond Dave live for well
over 30 years “talk, charm and goof” his way through the VH
catalog of classic hits. The true fans never claimed he was a great
singer--we’ve always agreed on one thing though, David Lee Roth
is one of the all time best ever to front a Rock and Roll
band…period! I will be the first to admit, however, that I went to
these shows with so much skepticism. I still couldn’t get the
visions of DLR from the 2012 tour out of my mind. On the 2012
tour there was way too much Va