Seems like a weird thing to post, but I found myself almost surprised that I did not go to see this seminal band tonight in Vancouver. To give them credit, this was the first arena concert in more than a dozen years that even tempted me. I really love intimate shows, and no longer really appreciate the spectacle of the big concert scene. Van Halen is perhaps the one band which was most instrumental in my own development as a musician. Not that I play like Eddie Van Halen, nor even really play that kind of music in particular. But somehow the band was really important in opening my eyes to "possibility". Eddie played like nothing I'd ever heard before, when I first heard the band in the late '70s. And few have come along since who blew me away the way his playing did. But it was a lot more than the showy super-fast guitar work... the band just rocked in a way few others did, and I dug it. I don't nearly own the entire Van Halen collected works. But I do have Van Halen (I) and their newest album, A Different Kind of Truth. I'm inspired by the return of David Lee Roth to the band, as I wasn't particularly a fan of Sammy Hagar in the VH role. Sadly, Roth's voice really isn't quite what it once was, and I found it takes away from what otherwise is a very solid album, very much in the vein of the early Van Halen music. The band rocks, and some of the songs are quite good. Overall, though... I just couldn't quite get past Roth's voice to convince me to give up a pile of money and an evening with my family to go out and lose another slice of my hearing. I guess you might say it was Woman and Children first. I did listen to all of my Van Halen recordings on my iPhone today, though, to celebrate the band being in town. So thanks for the great music, dudes!
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I didn't attend the Van Halen concert tonight
Seems like a weird thing to post, but I found myself almost surprised that I did not go to see this seminal band tonight in Vancouver.
To give them credit, this was the first arena concert in more than a dozen years that even tempted me. I really love intimate shows, and no longer really appreciate the spectacle of the big concert scene.
Van Halen is perhaps the one band which was most instrumental in my own development as a musician. Not that I play like Eddie Van Halen, nor even really play that kind of music in particular. But somehow the band was really important in opening my eyes to "possibility". Eddie played like nothing I'd ever heard before, when I first heard the band in the late '70s. And few have come along since who blew me away the way his playing did. But it was a lot more than the showy super-fast guitar work... the band just rocked in a way few others did, and I dug it.
I don't nearly own the entire Van Halen collected works. But I do have Van Halen (I) and their newest album, A Different Kind of Truth. I'm inspired by the return of David Lee Roth to the band, as I wasn't particularly a fan of Sammy Hagar in the VH role. Sadly, Roth's voice really isn't quite what it once was, and I found it takes away from what otherwise is a very solid album, very much in the vein of the early Van Halen music. The band rocks, and some of the songs are quite good.
Overall, though... I just couldn't quite get past Roth's voice to convince me to give up a pile of money and an evening with my family to go out and lose another slice of my hearing. I guess you might say it was Woman and Children first.
I did listen to all of my Van Halen recordings on my iPhone today, though, to celebrate the band being in town. So thanks for the great music, dudes!