Concert Review
Van Halen
Darien Lake PAC
Darien Center, NY
Tuesday August 25, 2015
Review/Photos: Buffalo Ray
Overcast skies above and a chill in the air was not going to stop the Van Halen train from rolling into the Darien Lake PAC, Tuesday evening. The band gave us one of their best performances in a long time. Most were wondering if the show would even happen at all due to the cancellation of their show just prior due to Roth coming down with a case of the flu.
Kenny Wayne Shepherd opened the show and gave a solid performance backed with seasoned musicians from various bands. His band was tight and the crowd really seemed to enjoy his playing as many people were showing off their air guitar skills. Kenny is an awesome guitar player and really knows how to work the crowd with his guitar. He was a good choice for an opening act for Van Halen. If you like the sound of guitars, you were treated to two different flavors on this night and neither disappointed.
After seeing these guys on TV, something they have never have done much of in the past, VH fans were not too sure about how the concert would be after their not so promising appearances on Jimmy Kimmel and Ellen. The band did not sound good as Dave’s voice and antics were just too hard to watch. If those two shows were a preview to what was to come, it wasn’t going to be good. I also wondered how those two performances would affect ticket sales for this tour. After seeing some video clips pop up on You Tube from various venues, It seemed as Dave was slowly getting his groove back while the band sounded as good as ever. Dave will never have that voice we are all used to as he just turned 60 recently but on this night I truly believe he gave it his best shot, and to me, Dave sounded better than their last performance at HSBC Arena in 2012.
From the minute they hit the stage they were on fire kicking off the night with “Light up the sky”. This song also features heavy backup vocals that can be challenging without the likes of former bassist Michael Anthony. Wolfgang stepped up to the plate and showed us he can hang with the big guys. His playing is much better and background vocals mesh perfectly with his dad. During the beginning of Running with the devil Eddie came over to give Wolfgang a big high five. Watching Eddie play and seeing he is all smiles on stage these days. You can tell he is in a better place now and enjoys having his son in the band.
Alex was in true form with another one of his massive drum kits. His drum solo was more mellow than in the past but seemed to be reggae inspired.
They ripped through the Roth era classics like “Romeo Delight”, “Everybody Wants Some”, and “I’ll wait”. Rare plays of “Women In Love”, “Drop Dead Legs” and lost classic “Feel Your Love Tonight” were on display.
The one thing you notice is that Wolfgang helps carry the rhythm all the while doing it quietly on his side of the stage. Every now and then he would come front and center with his dad to just hang out for a brief moment. He is not a flashy bass player but he has the chops to carry a tune along with great back-up vocals as well. Eddies guitar solo did not disappoint either. He mixed in riffs from other songs along with his classic style of tapping and pulling harmonics from places others never knew existed along with a ton of different chord structures.
All in all it was a great show, some songs could have done without Dave’s rambling on and on but that’s just Dave being Dave, get over it. It was awesome hearing them play tunes they have not played in years. Perhaps the best part was seeing how it appeared that all of them were getting along and having the time of their life, something that was lacking on previous tours. Hopefully this is not the last appearance of Van Halen in Buffalo.
Set List
Light Up the Sky
Runnin’ With the Devil
Romeo Delight
Everybody Wants Some!!
Drop Dead Legs
Feel Your Love Tonight
Somebody Get Me a Doctor
She’s the Woman
China Town
I’ll Wait
Drum Solo
Little Guitars
Dance the Night Away
Beautiful Girls
Women in Love
Hot for Teacher
In a Simple Rhyme
“Dirty Movies”
Ice Cream Man
Unchained
Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love
Guitar Solo
You Really Got Me
Panama
Encore
Jump
This is kind of a funny review. As a musician and hearing and seeing several videos of concert clips and songs from this current Van Halen tour, there’s no way in hell that they are actually singing back up vocals. They’re too perfect, and in sync which indicates a backing track like most artists use now days. Dave can no longer sing, period. He’s done. Washed up. As far as the smile on Eddie’s face, that’s because he knows their show sucks and all you old Van Halen fans are dishing out your hard earned money to see such a crap show and he’s laughing all the way to the bank. I wouldn’t have gone to this show if you gave me free tickets and backstage passes. A normal person that doesn’t have any musical ability obviously would say they were awesome. And that same person will also say Motley Crüe and Vince Neil are still amazing and can still sing!!
Show was great daves still an axing showman and his vocals were alright.eddie was unreal.. best living player out there..also there’s no way they have used a backing tracks with dave he’s to unpredictable and has stopped in the middle of songs to yell at his sound guys and audience members who have thrown beer. If you have a chance to see these guys nows the time. Who nows it could end