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[guitar guru]

Back in 1982 my Uncle heard I was into Kiss and guitar playing. He pulled me aside and said I have a few records you should hear. I took them home and popped the first onto the turntable. It was April Wine . There were some very cool songs on it. The next was even cooler . It was Ozzy Osbourne "blizzard of oz" with Randy Rhoads. Killer stuff! The last one I played was Van Halen 1. From that moment on, I was different. My whole life changed in a heartbeat. The first time I heard "eruption" I was hooked. It is still my fave album of ALL time, and I even have a framed Gold copy on my wall. Now this is only half the story. About 3 weeks later, I saw an ad in the local paper. Van Halen was coming to The Syracuse Carrier Dome. As a present, for my 15th birthday, my parents bought tickets for me (and my dad) to go to the show. It was my first
concert ever. Yeah the acoustics of the dome were terrible and our tickets were nosebleed seats, but I didn't care. It was Loud, The band was on fire. Ed was wearing what lookedlike an american flag jumpsuit with knee pads and would run from one side of the stage and then slid about 6 feet on his knees. A day or two later they played the Infamous Largo MD 82 Video show. One of the local musicians made Dave a 7 foot birthday card and thousands of fans signed it. On stage that night Dave was mashed over the head with cake and then seltzered
by the entire band and roadies. There must have been about 20 people on the stage just soaking the hell outta dave.
Awesome First Show from The Best Band On the Planet!!! Now lets hear yours...
(ps Catch has another version of the show but I will give him a chance to tell it)

[frankm]

OK, I'll have at it.

Didn't really hear the band or get into them until about Diver Down and then only knew a little bit. I was still fairly young at the time. I remember listening to the US Festival on the radio but still did not get it. Then something changed whereby the band grew on me more and more. By the time 1984 was released I had to get the vinyl the day it was released (remember vinyl ?). I couldn't make any of the 1984 dates which really bummed me.

When Sammy joined the band I was thrilled. The 5150 tour brought them to Alpine Valley. Got tickets immediately, for both shows (two nights in the valley - yeah baby !). A group of us from high-school were going so we ended up with two sets of tickets.

Well, the day of the show we set out in a caravan of three cars. Got to the show and headed for our seats. One group laughing because they had better seats. Well as the second group headed over to their seats found out their seats were not available. I can't remember exactly how it went but I believe the band set-up a second mixing board or lighting board or something which took out a group of seats. As I said I can't remember what the exact issue was but basically they needed to be moved to another location. The usher got his boss and some other Alpine Valley lady who took the group and moved them to the center and down about 15 to 20 rows. I was in the other group and recall watching my friends move from the one section down closer and more center. I was so upset. My better seats ended up to be not as good. Not that there are really bad seats in the Valley but still.

The bitchin stopped though as soon as the show started.

The show was awesome. I can't remember a thing about it, it was so long ago and there have been so many shows since. But I recall having the time of my life. High-school buddies partying in the Valley, man it was the time of our lives.

Van Halen 5/23/86 Alpine Valley, East Troy, WI
Van Halen 5/24/86 Alpine Valley, East Troy, WI
Van Halen 5/27/88 Alpine Valley, East Troy, WI
Van Halen 5/28/88 Alpine Valley, East Troy, WI
Van Halen 5/29/88 Alpine Valley, East Troy, WI
Van Halen 10/28/88 Bradley Center, Milwaukee, WI
Van Halen 8/31/91 Marcus Amphitheater, Milwaukee, WI
Van Halen 7/31/93 Alpine Valley, East Troy, WI
Van Halen 4/14/95 Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont, IL
Van Halen 7/28/95 World Theater, Tinley Park, IL
Van Halen 7/29/95 Alpine Valley, East Troy, WI
Van Halen 5/16/98 Rosemont Horizon, Chicago, IL
Van Halen 9/05/98 Alpine Valley, East Troy, WI

Wow, 13 times. What a trip. Without a doubt the weekend of 7/28-7/29 was the greatest weekend.

[Chris C]

I've seen the boys 22 times, at various places across the US, I'll just give my 3 favorite. My first VH concert was in New Halen in 86 for the filming of LWAN and it was simply awesome. Saw them in 88 Monsters in LA which was just super cool for an east coast boy, and finally Hartford 95 when I sat 3rd row and caught a pick from Eddie. Great memories.

[Anonymous]

i have seen vh twice once in 1988 at the dome in syracuse and once in 1998 at the state fair in syracuse i had third row dead center for the 1998 both amazin shows but the 1998 was better because of the seatin and they played stuff from every era a couple storys to share also

story number one
in 1983 they came to the dome here with dave it was daves twenty fifth birthday anyhow i have a friend who has worked in the hotel business for twenty five years he said he was workin at the hotel where van halen was stayin that night anyway he was called up to the hotel room to assist vh when he got there he discovered dave doin a white substance eddie alex and mike where yellin at dave what are you doin to us?your gonna ruin us a few minutes later dave fell throught the glass table from bein so intoxicated and they had to call an ambulance

story number two
i have a female friend who i have known for several years from a local gym i work out at anyway she got to party with van halen on the 86 tour he said she was backstage after the show and eddie alex mike and sammy where partying like mad doin everything then they went back to the hotel she got to ride up an elevator with eddie and valerie she said she was lookin at edward the whole ride and valerie was snarlin at her when they got off the elevator she was told to leave by an angered valerie

those are my two van halen stories hope you liked them
cheers and happy holidays
scott g aka catch

[TIM LUCAS]

I got hooked on the Fair Warning album.I never got the chance to see Dave with the boys.I had tix promised to me to the 1984 tour in Nashville but they fell through. :furious: I finally got to see them in 86 with Sammy on the 5150 tour with BTO (opening act) :thumb: .I saw them from there on ,every tour in Nashville and Memphis once in 88.
I got really lucky when Van Halen came to Nashville in 98.My wife and i are already running late to get to the show.I run into a buddy of mine(which was my roommate from college).He was working for the Salvation Army doing a Food drive at the gate.He tells me to hang around for a minute while he finishes up boxing food.His wife(girlfriend at the time)says "Well,tell him!"He said how much do you like Van Halen?"(He was never into the band at all).I told him that they were always the bomb in my book.LO & BEHOLD.....2 backstage passes were given to me!I about shit right then!I stood in line and made my way up to the guys and got a picture with the band.I talked to Ed,Alex,Mike and Gary.Very nice people!! :thumb: I got a guitar pick.I had to get that bootleg!When i did ,it did not have any cover art so i just put a VH logo on the front cover and my back cover is my pic with the band.So cool!!!!!!!!! :thumb:In total i have seen 'em only 8 times and i hope to see em again soon.
Tim :thumb:

[guitar guru]

WOW!! These are all awesome stories!
Keep em' Coming. Here's one:
When I was 17, The Album 1984 came out.
I was desperate to get a copy, but it was the middle of winter in upstate NY.
No one was around, so I decided to take my bicycle and ride 6 miles to the mall.
It was a ten speed with thin tires, in the snow, and I wrecked at least 20 times. I got the LP, double bagged it, and made my way back up the hill. When I finally put the album on and listened I was petrified. No loud guitars, or screaming vocals. I was ready to smash it against the wall, until track 3. "panama" came on and I smiled so wide,
and let out a sigh of relief. Then I flipped over and "hot for teacher" closed the deal. I can't count on all my fingers how many drummer friends tried to learn the intro to that, not realizing it was a microphone placed in Ed's Porche tail pipe. Ok, Who's Next?

[guitard]

Nothing special about this story really...

As my signature says, I saw them from the front row twice. I don't remember which one it was at, but I desperately wanted to get a guitar pick from Eddie. He didn't throw out that many picks back then. I don't think anyone really threw out a lot of picks back then.

Even though I was in the front row, it was still really hard getting a pick. I knew that I somehow had to get Eddie's attention. Obviously, he's jammin' away most of the time, not to mention that it is extremely loud.

At one point in the show - between songs - Dave was at the end of the stage opposite Eddie horsing around with the crowd. It was actually fairly quite in between roars from the crowd. I yelled to Eddie a couple of times and finally got his attention. I yelled, "Eddie, throw me a guitar pick." But he couldn't hear me. I yelled it again and he still couldn't hear me. I knew I only had a few seconds before he would start playing so I made a picking motion with my hand and slowly mouthed the words "guitar pick" several times. This time he picked up on what I was saying and he flipped me a guitar pick. Guitar picks aren't exactly designed to fly... it ended up landing in the security area in front of me. Eddie tossed a second one - same result. By this point, the next song was starting. Eddie flipped his last spare pick (he had them taped to his guitar) and then headed for the center of the stage. This one made it to me and I caught it.

A few other people tried to copy my strategy, but no one else got a pick.

I've still got the pick. It's nothing fancy - it just has Van Halen written on it in block letters. Not one of the fancy signature picks that are the standard today.

Randy

[aschiftner]

Went to see DLR in Dallas 1986. Camped out and got front row center. Their set opened with Shyboy. Blew Cinderella (opening act) away in about 8 seconds. About halfway through the show the guy right next to me empties his full cup of beer by throwing it right in Dave's face. :eek: I braced for some sort of retaliation but Dave just went on. I figured that it has probably happened before. Steve Vai and Billy Sheehan were just incrediable. Later Alan

www.vhtrading.com/aschiftner

[guitard]

Quote: Originally posted by aschiftner:
About halfway through the show the guy right next to me empties his full cup of beer by throwing it right in Dave's face. I braced for some sort of retaliation but Dave just went on. I would have been tempted to knee that asshole right square in the nuts.

I'm not a violent person by nature, but some entertainers will stop the show for something like that.

Randy

[ffoner]

Good thread.

Spring 1984, NJ. I am 14 yr old HS sophmore. I hear that VH is touring and will be coming to the Brendan Byrne Arena on April 2 and 3. The shows sell out on the first day tickets go on sale so I am out of luck because I don't call for tickets.

In home room, the kid who sits next to me tells me his brother has gotten him a ticket for the first show. I ask if his brother has an extra ticket and this kid says, "well, I might sell mine for the right price." After jacking up the price for weeks, and generally being a prick, the guy finally sells me his ticket a couple weeks before. I paid 50 bucks.

The show, needless to say was a blast. I was on the loge level at the back of the arena. I was just blown away by the whole spectacle, how loud the band was, how huge the stage was, and how amazing it all sounded and looked. I particularly remember "Little Guitars" and "House of Pain" being especially cool. I remember believing that Roth really did think "Jersey was number 1!"

:cool:

Looking back, it was probably the best $50 I have ever spent.

ffoner

[guitard]

Quote: Originally posted by ffoner:
I remember believing that Roth really did think "Jersey was number 1!" One of the first two shows I went to had the same thing. The crowd was so loud and wild, at times Dave just stopped talking because he literally couldn't be heard that well. He just turned and look at the rest of band, smiled, and had that look on his face that said, "Can you fucking believe this amazing crowd?" And this just made you want to cheer and yell even louder than you already were.

I was in the front row, so I got to see everything from up close. I was pretty sure that this wasn't a normal day at the office for the band.

Whether this was actually the case, I'll never know...

Randy

[Anonymous]

I picked up on the band around the time of VHII but being over here in the UK and being a mere youngster at the time I didn’t get the chance to get tickets for them until a tour announcement for Diver Down came along. First day of ticket sales I headed on the bus to Manchester Apollo from my home town Liverpool with my then girlfriend, determined to get there early and bag good seats. We had no idea where the Apollo was – just got the bus in Manchester asked directions and walked – for what seemed like miles! And when we got there there was a hand written sign at the box office:
Van Halen: Cancelled.
Arse.
Next chance to see the chaps was the Castle Donnington bash in 1984. Tickets successfully obtained this time and it was the classic hire a minibus escapade: drive up the day before; park up at the site; drink a lot; sleep in the back and effing freeze all night in a cheap sleeping bag with no insulating mat. Get up hungover; eat butties containing what was bacon but had been seared to a crisp on a camping stove, and then move off into the big field rather worse for wear to set up camp on the grass. And get the beer out.
Show day was an experience as I’d never been to such an occasiion before – 80,000 hairy, rock fans getting very drunk, throwing food and plastic bottles filled with their own p*ss etc. And that was just the women.
Motely Crue were on first which I subsequently learned was an inenviable task at Donnington: lots of stuff being thrown at them from the crowd. They went down pretty well actually which was more than could be said for the likes of Y&T and others lower on the bill whose names I forget now.
Gary Moore, however, was excellent and by the time he came on I’d got brave and had slowly moved forward and was moved pretty close to the front. Ozzy Osbourne was plain pathetic to the point of being embarrassing.
But then Van Halen came on and they utterly rocked. Unchained at a million miles an hour to start; the drum intro for Hot for Teacher sounded incredible being that close up to such a huge speaker system; Dave got ‘attacked’ by some bloke who managed to get on the stage fairlly early on. This guy ‘hid’ in front of the speakers: the whole crowd could see him- and then legged it acros the stage at Dave, and you can see that incident in the Whistle Test video clip of the band. Dave also stopped the band dead in full flow mid-song in On Fire after he got hit by something thrown from the crowd and uttered the immortal “after this show, pal I’m gonna f*ck your girlfriend” line to wild applause. There were low flying aeroplanes for Dave to shout at and Ed’s solo was way out of tune in parts. All in all an unforgettable performance, and my one and only VH with Dave show as it turned out.
Saw them a couple of times with Sammy on the f*ck tour – both of which were great shows, and then again on the Balance support slot for Bon Jovi in the old Cardiff National Stadium where they rattled through an excellent ‘best of’ hour.
I did have great tickets for 2 of the shows with Gary in 98 (front row in Wembley) but.. they cancelled.
Arse. Again.

Andy

[hitnrundrummer]

Monsters of Rock tour at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.When Metallica came on we rushed the front and made it to front row for VH.Front row for my first VH show! If you watch the MTV MOR special, theres shots at the audience right where we were standing.If I get it on DVD,I'll make a still and find myself.Bought the $10 parking lot shirt.What a great day...theres a good boot from that show,too.

[Anonymous]

Quote: Originally posted by guitar guru:
Van Halen was coming to The Syracuse Carrier Dome. As a present, for my 15th birthday, my parents bought tickets for me (and my dad) to go to the show. It was my first
concert ever. OMG! That was my second concert ever! I remember it like it was yesterday! I had 7th row. We heard that VH didn't like brown M&Ms (later I found out it was to easily see if the promoter had read their contract-> if there were brown M&Ms in the jar, they knew the promoter didn't and they'd trash the place), so we saved up a month's worth and threw them at the band. It was basically DLR's birthday and I remember the road crew pouring booze all over him. I'm sure some of it must've been creme de menth, as DLR's hair was green afterwards (or maybe it was the lighting). GREAT show!

I just found out that this may exist on tape. (there was a guy 3 seats away from me w/ a walkman) Anyone have a copy for trade?

[ron]

Wow, Best VH Concert. Man, that's hard. Each one was special in it's own way. From the loudest concert ever (5150), to the best seats ever (F.U.C.K.) to meeting the band (VH III).

I'd have to go with the 5150 show out at Alpine Valley WI. I don't remember if I went to the 1st night or the 2nd night, but what a night it was. I had seats in the center section, maybe about 3/4 the way back. BTO opened. One of the best openers I've seen (although Vince Neil was good too). Then they break down and VH starts setting up.

Guys in white jump suits climb into the rafters and take their positions on separate floodlights. I had never seen anything like it. I was so excited for the show to start.

Man did they rip it up that night. Sammy was all over the place, and it was LOUD! My ears rang for 5 days after that one.