s***@hotmail.com
2012-02-20 11:34:58 UTC
i said i'd post them. this is the first i found. proves i'm very
honest:-
A Tale of Two Singers
On the ferry platform at Penn’s Landing on the Philadelphia side of
the Delaware River, where most Tweeter Center concert goers migrate
from, the good natured Dave or Sammy dispute raged.
“Sammy is just old,” began a man in his early forties wearing a teal
polo shirt.
“Old?!” came the incredulous response from a tank top wearing Sammy
fan who was swigging a can of Coors Light. “David Lee Roth doesn’t
even have any hair left—or a voice!”
And so it went. Though not quite a topic for a philosophy lecture,
there is something about the debate over who was the better of the two
former Van Halen singers that just won’t recede. Most agree that while
Roth had the attitude, the drive and the smarts to make Van Halen the
biggest rock band on the Southern California scene in the late ‘70s
and early ‘80s, it’s only realistic to note that Hagar had the better
pipes, reaching notes that the Diamond One would never even bother
trying to hit.
When it was announced in April that the two would join forces on a
summer tour, it wasn’t so much shocking as much as a sense of “What
the hell took so long?” Eddie Van Halen was battling both cancer and
marriage woes, and a rumored reunion attempt with Roth fell through
numerous times since the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards debacle. Sammy
continued to plug away at a pitiful solo career, turning most of his
energy into becoming a successful tequila salesman.
These are two men who crave the spotlight, and playing small venue
tours or the occasional festival just wasn’t doing it for either of
them, leaving no choice but the wise ploy to cajole whatever was left
out of the Van Halen name without actually enlisting the Van Halen
brothers (Hagar even brought Van Halen bass player and resident mime
Michael Anthony out for a few dates).
Billed as “The Tour You Waited For: Song for Song, the Heavyweight
Champs of Rock and Roll,” Hagar and Roth would switch as headliner
each show, with no opening act, the premise being to let the fans
decide who was the winner. Though back and forth throughout much of
the summer, Roth looked to be on the ropes coming to the Camden
waterfront, as it was mere days before that Hagar slammed him
publicly, calling him uncooperative, saying that he was living in the
past, and likening him to Liberace.
Camden was Roth’s night to open, and he proved that just when you
think he’s down for the count, that’s when he is the most dangerous.
Wearing a skintight pink lamé vest over a polka dot shirt and pants
dotted with black triangles, Roth brought the crowd back to 1984,
opening with “Hot For Teacher”, leading the cry of “I heard you missed
us…we’re baaaaack!” Roth relied almost solely on Van Halen tunes,
which in all fairness, only made sense. Did anyone really want to hear
“Just Like Paradise” from his blip of a solo career?
Bringing out the time tested hits “Panama”, Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love”,
and “Ice Cream Man”, Roth also dug deep into the Van Halen catalog for
the chestnuts “D.O.A.” and “So This Is Love?” His band was tight, and,
for the most part, stayed in the background. Roth’s voice, which has
been up and down over the past few years, was primed for the evening,
and there weren’t many notes in his limited range that he missed.
Looking freakishly fit for his age, well tanned and muscular, the hair
thinning but still intact, Roth threw high kicks and did the toe
touching “Air-Roth” off of the drum riser with ease. Even playing the
part of sexy rock god doesn’t seem staged, it seems like the man many
consider to be rock’s greatest frontman truly believes he is 18 again.
“It’s hot tonight, and I don’t know whether it’s the heat or the
humidity,” Roth said as he began one of his many rants, focusing on a
pretty girl in the front row. “But you are hot baby! What’s your name,
baby? You’re the kind of girl I’d give my name to…not my real name.”
The cheesy one-liners are what make Dave Dave. He constantly has that
huge, mouth agape grin going, or is stuffing the microphone down his
pants while doing a little hip shake for the girls with his tongue
wagging. On this night, he lost none of his edge and gave the audience
exactly what they wanted.
Hagar, on the other hand, looks like he has forgotten what it means to
rock and roll, and has surprisingly become more of a parody of his
former self than Roth. Once the scrappy boxing glove clad singer for
Montrose and later Van Halen, Hagar is now the goofy and affable Cabo
Wabo guy. Bringing onstage two sets of bleachers filled with the most
drunken fans available from Philadelphia, a makeshift bar, and
waitresses delivering drinks in skimpy outfits, it was Hagar, and not
Roth, who went for the cheap cheers by getting the titty-cam started.
Hagar ambled across the stage in a display of shameless self-promotion
with his “Cabo Wabo” T-shirt on, intent on playing the role of “the
working man’s rocker.”
Opening with the horrendous “Shaka Doobie” from his latest album, Ten
13, Hagar weaved in and out of too many numbers from his less than
prolific solo outings along with his standard fare of Van Halen songs
that his backing band seemed intent on butchering. Telling stories
before many of them about how he and Eddie originally came up with the
compositions, Hagar seemed like a man pining for an ex-wife, playing
with more or less resignation than emotion. By the time he closed his
set with “Dreams” from the Van Halen landmark 5150, much of the crowd
had already begun to walk out. Perhaps it was for the best, as they
missed his multiple failures to reach the high notes of the track.
“Song for a song,” the evening clearly belonged to Roth. The quality
of music, the stage presence and the selection of hits played all
pointed to a win. Hagar was spent and didn’t care about the sound of
the band or his appearance. Going through the motions was painfully
Sammy’s show, while Dave was out to prove himself.
In truth, either of these guys would kill to be back in Van Halen,
trying to recapture the magic of yesteryear. Signs point to Sammy
reentering the fold if the Van Halen brothers ever come out of their
self-imposed exile, but it would be in their best interest to at least
give both of their former singers the shot. They made it through this
tour without murdering each other, and as good as one or the other may
be solo on any given night, they don’t come close what they had as
part of the Van Halen unit. It’s high time for the band to do
something drastic, instead of sitting back and watching what is left
of their legacy rapidly fade away.
first round to dave
honest:-
A Tale of Two Singers
On the ferry platform at Penn’s Landing on the Philadelphia side of
the Delaware River, where most Tweeter Center concert goers migrate
from, the good natured Dave or Sammy dispute raged.
“Sammy is just old,” began a man in his early forties wearing a teal
polo shirt.
“Old?!” came the incredulous response from a tank top wearing Sammy
fan who was swigging a can of Coors Light. “David Lee Roth doesn’t
even have any hair left—or a voice!”
And so it went. Though not quite a topic for a philosophy lecture,
there is something about the debate over who was the better of the two
former Van Halen singers that just won’t recede. Most agree that while
Roth had the attitude, the drive and the smarts to make Van Halen the
biggest rock band on the Southern California scene in the late ‘70s
and early ‘80s, it’s only realistic to note that Hagar had the better
pipes, reaching notes that the Diamond One would never even bother
trying to hit.
When it was announced in April that the two would join forces on a
summer tour, it wasn’t so much shocking as much as a sense of “What
the hell took so long?” Eddie Van Halen was battling both cancer and
marriage woes, and a rumored reunion attempt with Roth fell through
numerous times since the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards debacle. Sammy
continued to plug away at a pitiful solo career, turning most of his
energy into becoming a successful tequila salesman.
These are two men who crave the spotlight, and playing small venue
tours or the occasional festival just wasn’t doing it for either of
them, leaving no choice but the wise ploy to cajole whatever was left
out of the Van Halen name without actually enlisting the Van Halen
brothers (Hagar even brought Van Halen bass player and resident mime
Michael Anthony out for a few dates).
Billed as “The Tour You Waited For: Song for Song, the Heavyweight
Champs of Rock and Roll,” Hagar and Roth would switch as headliner
each show, with no opening act, the premise being to let the fans
decide who was the winner. Though back and forth throughout much of
the summer, Roth looked to be on the ropes coming to the Camden
waterfront, as it was mere days before that Hagar slammed him
publicly, calling him uncooperative, saying that he was living in the
past, and likening him to Liberace.
Camden was Roth’s night to open, and he proved that just when you
think he’s down for the count, that’s when he is the most dangerous.
Wearing a skintight pink lamé vest over a polka dot shirt and pants
dotted with black triangles, Roth brought the crowd back to 1984,
opening with “Hot For Teacher”, leading the cry of “I heard you missed
us…we’re baaaaack!” Roth relied almost solely on Van Halen tunes,
which in all fairness, only made sense. Did anyone really want to hear
“Just Like Paradise” from his blip of a solo career?
Bringing out the time tested hits “Panama”, Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love”,
and “Ice Cream Man”, Roth also dug deep into the Van Halen catalog for
the chestnuts “D.O.A.” and “So This Is Love?” His band was tight, and,
for the most part, stayed in the background. Roth’s voice, which has
been up and down over the past few years, was primed for the evening,
and there weren’t many notes in his limited range that he missed.
Looking freakishly fit for his age, well tanned and muscular, the hair
thinning but still intact, Roth threw high kicks and did the toe
touching “Air-Roth” off of the drum riser with ease. Even playing the
part of sexy rock god doesn’t seem staged, it seems like the man many
consider to be rock’s greatest frontman truly believes he is 18 again.
“It’s hot tonight, and I don’t know whether it’s the heat or the
humidity,” Roth said as he began one of his many rants, focusing on a
pretty girl in the front row. “But you are hot baby! What’s your name,
baby? You’re the kind of girl I’d give my name to…not my real name.”
The cheesy one-liners are what make Dave Dave. He constantly has that
huge, mouth agape grin going, or is stuffing the microphone down his
pants while doing a little hip shake for the girls with his tongue
wagging. On this night, he lost none of his edge and gave the audience
exactly what they wanted.
Hagar, on the other hand, looks like he has forgotten what it means to
rock and roll, and has surprisingly become more of a parody of his
former self than Roth. Once the scrappy boxing glove clad singer for
Montrose and later Van Halen, Hagar is now the goofy and affable Cabo
Wabo guy. Bringing onstage two sets of bleachers filled with the most
drunken fans available from Philadelphia, a makeshift bar, and
waitresses delivering drinks in skimpy outfits, it was Hagar, and not
Roth, who went for the cheap cheers by getting the titty-cam started.
Hagar ambled across the stage in a display of shameless self-promotion
with his “Cabo Wabo” T-shirt on, intent on playing the role of “the
working man’s rocker.”
Opening with the horrendous “Shaka Doobie” from his latest album, Ten
13, Hagar weaved in and out of too many numbers from his less than
prolific solo outings along with his standard fare of Van Halen songs
that his backing band seemed intent on butchering. Telling stories
before many of them about how he and Eddie originally came up with the
compositions, Hagar seemed like a man pining for an ex-wife, playing
with more or less resignation than emotion. By the time he closed his
set with “Dreams” from the Van Halen landmark 5150, much of the crowd
had already begun to walk out. Perhaps it was for the best, as they
missed his multiple failures to reach the high notes of the track.
“Song for a song,” the evening clearly belonged to Roth. The quality
of music, the stage presence and the selection of hits played all
pointed to a win. Hagar was spent and didn’t care about the sound of
the band or his appearance. Going through the motions was painfully
Sammy’s show, while Dave was out to prove himself.
In truth, either of these guys would kill to be back in Van Halen,
trying to recapture the magic of yesteryear. Signs point to Sammy
reentering the fold if the Van Halen brothers ever come out of their
self-imposed exile, but it would be in their best interest to at least
give both of their former singers the shot. They made it through this
tour without murdering each other, and as good as one or the other may
be solo on any given night, they don’t come close what they had as
part of the Van Halen unit. It’s high time for the band to do
something drastic, instead of sitting back and watching what is left
of their legacy rapidly fade away.
first round to dave