MEN ON A MISSION

Part of the day was spent planning for Mondays trip. The weather for Milwaukee on that day looks poor: cold, snow/rain the whole day as a front moves through. Not wanting to wander the streets drunk after the concert, I found a cheap hotel a few blocks away from the Bradley Center. I also learned that 2$ gets me from the airport to within a few blocks of my destination on a straight shot bus ride. So the cost of the hotel and bus ride is cheaper than a car rental, which would have also double as a "bed" after the show. Sleeping arrangements are therefore taken care of. The trick will be finding my way to the hotel after the show!

The warm up act was an excellent bootleg recorded live during Van Halen's 1992 US tour with Sammy Hagar in the lead spot. A great collection of the Van Hagar era band. I'm thankful that none of the neighbor's have complained about the loud music coming from the blaring truck speakers, because I came in from the cold outdoors around 11:30 PM.

Now that I was stoked, I went inside to watch a DVD of a show recorded at the Sydney Entertainment Center in Australia on April 20, 1998. Gary Cherone was on lead vocals, although Michael and Eddie did a fair amount of lead singing themselves. A great show with Gary being a dynamic stage performer. As I said previously, Van Halen III was too difficult a transition for fans to accept, leading to it be their worst selling album, but the live shows, in my opinion, are just as hot as any from the previous eras. I personally believe Gary did his best and was short changed in the end, graciously accepting his short tenure with the band and who had to endure the wrath of loyal fans who may unfairly attribute him to the subsequent downfall of the band. When Van Halen was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March 2007, Gary was not even invited to attend the ceremony. "To answer the few fans who are wondering whether I should or shouldn't be included - while, yes, I was a small part of their history, I was certainly not part of their legend, and that is what we, the fans, are celebrating."

Gary's do or die
Band in disintegration
Victim of the times

From boys to grown men
Rock bands metamorphosis
No escape from time