Topics › All Forums › The Great Bootleg Forest › Unofficial Live Audio Recordings › Van Halen – 21 May 1983 – US Festival Rehearsal, Los Angeles, CA [SOUNDBOARD]
| February 28, 2026 at 3:32 pm Quote #70147 | |
 mrmojohalen (6565) | |
| March 1, 2026 at 1:19 am Quote #70151 | |
 jorge (592) | http://www.thetradersden.org/forums/showthread.php?t=222575 Van Halen (US Festival Rehearsal) Lineage: Maxell UDXL-I C-90 cassette > Nakamichi DR-1 (azimuth adjustment) > Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi HD > Audacity (24-96) > FLAC 6 Track Listing: 01 Dave’s Intro Notes: As spoken by Dave, this particular performance occurred on a Saturday, and was the final rehearsal before the US Festival that was set to take place “next weekend”. This provides us with a concrete date of May 21, while Roy’s tape was simply labeled “Rehearsal US Fest”. So where did this show take place? Apparently the band rehearsed for a few weeks, starting out at their usual rehearsal spot at Zoetrope Studios, however at some point during the weeks, they relocated to A&M Studios, specifically on the A&M Soundstage which is where this performance took place. Very special thanks to Van Halen historian Greg Renoff for helping solve the “where”. The story that has been told before, is that after the band concluded their South American tour and headed home, Dave stayed behind in South America to explore the Amazon jungle with a group of friends. Some weeks later, after the rest of the band had settled on the initial $1 million deal to perform at the US Festival, it is said that it took many days to locate Dave deep in the jungle, so that he could come home to finalize the deal and start rehearsals. While this was a private show, it is essentially like any other concert as far as the show structure and performance goes. This time however, Dave shows off his comedy skills in full glory, making this a very fun and unique listen, perhaps rivaling the final show in Buenos Aires over three months earlier. Where he would usually first talk to the crowd prior to Jamie’s Cryin’, here we get a comedic backstory to the US Festival gig. Then where it is usually the acoustic spot before Ice Cream Man, we get some funny lyrics from Dave poking fun at Steve Wozniak, who for anyone that doesn’t know was a cofounder of Apple, and founder of the US Festivals. Dave joking about Steve is a recurring theme through the show, alongside other comedic bits. Another standout moment is Ed’s “little guitar” seemingly having some strings out of tune for Little Guitars. If we look at the setlist, it has been shortened and shuffled a bit since South America, but is the same arrangement as what was performed at the actual US Festival show on May 29. The only difference here is Dance The Night Away seemingly being missing due to the tape flip, because in typical Roy fashion, his usual choice of a 90 minute tape ran out during the jam section of Somebody Get Me A Doctor. Luckily, we get to hear the full Girl Gone Bad segment before the tape stops, which has evolved even more since the final show in South America. Dance The Night Away should’ve followed, but he didn’t flip the tape and start recording again until during Cathedral. Nothing else is missing, and while at a glance it may look like Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love and Bottoms Up are cut, it’s because the band just didn’t play those at this rehearsal, and instead went straight into You Really Got Me. This is the end. Roy Snyder was Van Halen’s front-of-house sound engineer beginning with the rehearsals preceding the start of the Fair Warning tour on May 12 in 1981, up through the US Festival show on May 29 in 1983. The 53 recordings that have been shared over the last year are the majority of what is known to have survived in his collection. We are aware of 9 or 10 Fair Warning 1981 soundboard and open-mic recordings that survived, plus 1982 soundboard tapes for a Diver Down pre-tour rehearsal from July 5, the show in Montreal, and the two shows at the Hollywood Sportatorium. Sadly, someone else bought those around the same time we saved these other 53, but with any luck, there’s a slim chance they may turn up one day. Regardless, what we ended up with is a great legacy preserved for both Van Halen and Roy, rest in peace. jorgeQuote |
| March 1, 2026 at 8:55 pm Quote #70153 | |
 ModelCitizen (344) | This one freaking smokes! Al and Mike just on fire. Dave holding court! Ed, not perfect but still untouchable! …Zero Discipline ModelCitizenQuote |
| March 10, 2026 at 3:51 pm Quote #70174 | |
 ron (12276) |
VAN HALEN – US FESTIVAL REHEARSAL 1983 SOUNDBOARD 2CD [ZODIAC 850] A&M Studios Soundstage, Los Angeles, CA, USA 21st May 1983 STEREO SBD Disc:1 (47:08) Disc:2 (43:18) David Lee Roth – Lead Vocals STEREO SOUNDBOARD RECORDING ronQuote |
| March 11, 2026 at 5:17 pm Quote #70176 | |
| ron (12276) | [text from a Japanese source] Only the first 80 copies will be released with a numbered sticker. VAN HALEN – US FESTIVAL REHEARSAL 1983 Soundboard (2CD) What is this!? From the newly excavated soundboard series by engineer “Roy,” who has produced a string of shocking works, comes a shocking sound source that is on a completely different level from anything that has come before. This is an urgent release on this 2CD pressing, an ultra-eventful record that is currently causing excitement among collectors worldwide! Permanently preserved in this work is a rehearsal album taken place in Los Angeles on May 21, 1983. It is a stereo soundboard recording recorded at the final rehearsal for the “US Festival,” the existence of which had never been known until now. Speaking of rehearsals from the “DIVER DOWN” era, “REHEARSALS 1983 SOUNDBOARD (Zodiac 838)” for the South American tour is still fresh in my memory, but that was a studio session with few complete songs. In contrast, this work is a full set that is just like a real performance with a small audience, and Dave’s MC and show composition are the concert itself. Despite this, its existence was unknown to anyone until today…it is truly an ultra-rare treasure. This is VAN HALEN from the “DIVER DOWN” era. Following the album’s usual “HIDE YOUR SHEEP Tour” and the only South American tour in history, the “NO PROBLEM Tour,” Van Halen’s final performance was at the historic “US Festival.” The performance drew 670,000 people, and through television coverage, brought the name, sound, and visuals of heavy metal, which had previously been nothing more than “a strangely named music called heavy metal,” into living rooms across the United States. Van Halen was the grand finale of “HEAVY METAL DAY,” truly rewriting music history. This album was recorded just eight days before this historic festival. According to Van Halen expert Greg Renov’s research, the band rehearsed for several weeks. Initially, they began at their usual Zoetrope Studios, but moved midway through the rehearsal to A&M Studios, where this album was recorded on the A&M soundstage. Roy’s tape simply read “Rehearsal US Fest,” but Dave’s MC comment that this was “the final rehearsal for next weekend’s festival” revealed the secret location. [A completely different rehearsal atmosphere from usual] Furthermore, the MC after “Runnin’ With the Devil” was also different from usual. While he usually teases the audience or shares local anecdotes, this album jokingly reveals how he ended up performing at the “US Fest.” The “US Fest” was funded by Apple’s Steve Wozniak, and Dave pokes fun at the organizers, saying, “I don’t know anything about computers,” revealing a very dated sentiment. He even sings an impromptu song mocking Wozniak. [A live performance on stage just before the legendary festival] ● Diver Down (7 songs) …And so on. “Dancing In The Street” and “So This Is Love?” have never appeared in the vast new excavation soundboard series to date, but “Dancing In The Street” in particular is an ultra-rare song that has only been played five times in the entire history of VAN HALEN. And “Dave’s Wozniak Song,” this is a mocking song based on the aforementioned Wozniak, and it’s an improvisation that you’ll only hear here, ever. Each of the “Roy” soundboard series was shocking, but this one is an impactful album that is incomparable to anything else. It is a live performance that was previously unknown, and above all, an unknown recording directly connected to the legendary event “US Festival” that changed music history. The live performance ahead of that legendary stage will be poured into your brain with a superb soundboard. It’s truly an event. This isn’t just a rehearsal recording. It includes songs never before heard in the series, extremely rare songs only played on one hand in the band’s entire history, MCs and improvisations exclusive to this day, and more. This is a truly exceptional live album with plenty to listen to. Enjoy it anytime, anywhere with the 2-CD press, which will never lose its luster. ★ This is a stereo soundboard recording of the public rehearsal for the “US Festival” held in Los Angeles on May 21, 1983. This is the final rehearsal, held in full concert format with an audience, on a previously unknown, ultra-rare stage. This is the latest installment in the newly unearthed soundboard series, recorded by engineer Roy. Enjoy Dave’s hilarious talk and incredibly rare songs, making this an absolute must-have. ronQuote |
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.