TOO LITTLE AIN'T ENOUGH

I pulled out David Lee Roth's "A Little Ain't enough" CD and listened to it again on the way home from work. It has a moment here and there, but for the most part the album is forgetable. After repeated use of his canned formula when it came to making music (loud, fast, screeching, focus on women, booze, women, sexual references, parties, and more women), his brand of big metal party rock hit a dead end. One of the reasons he split from Eddie back in 1985 was that Dave wanted to continue using this formula over and over again, while Eddie grew tired of it and wanted to expand his musical style. Eddie took a new direction, brought on Sammy, and they together wrote 4 number 1 records, staying strong as a rock band through the mid 90's. David did not adapt, floundered around for a while and his career effectively hit the wall in the early 90's and never fully recovered.

From Wikipedia entry for DLR:
In 1991, Roth released A Little Ain't Enough, a more mainstream hard rock album, produced by Bob Rock; it achieved RIAA gold status. Twenty-year old guitar prodigy Jason Becker played on the album, but he was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease shortly before the accompanying arena tour. He was replaced by Joe Holmes. The stage for the A Little Ain't Enough Tour featured statues that spat whiskey at Roth's audience, and a pair of giant inflatable legs, positioned 'spread-eagle', wearing ripped, fishnet stockings. Musical tastes changed dramatically by the end of 1991, with the arrival of grunge music, hence Roth's tour did not sell out many venues, as in the past.

Golden locks are shorn
Strained voice, flying kicks are gone
Aging Adonis

Glam rock's Adonis
Stage god sees only himself
Acts like Narcissus

Casts himself adrift
Career's gradual decline
Floats on his ego

I CAN'T DRIVE 55

I spent a good portion of Saturday in the office, using the drive to and from to listen to a new CD, a sort of "best of" collection of Sammy Hagar's solo career. A lot of sweet tunes. While driving through Parker on the way home I pulled alongside a Douglas County sheriff's patrol car stopped at a red light, making sure I had "I Can't Drive 55" playing at top volume. The light turns green, and I stomp the gas peddle, making sure I top off at 40 mph, the speed limit on that street. But I was way ahead. Stopped at the liquor store to buy a BIG bottle of tequila for tonight's concert.

The warm up act was a visit to Donnington Castle in England where Van Halen appeared on August 18, 1984. An excellent audience bootleg recording. Dave was particularly chatty and the band was playing really tight that night. A great concert. There was alot of audience chatter as well, making me feel as though I was there sitting behind drunk Brits a few rows from the stage. A beautiful night for a concert, the air being cool with a full moon overhead burning through thin high clouds.

I took pleasure knowing that as I stood outside that night, Van Halen was simultaneously playing at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

Eddie leaves rehab
Blood alcohol levels down
While fans booze it up

Rested and ready
Eddie's back up on the stage
Knocks us off our feet

"We are here to listen to one of the greatest bands in history. It is my honor to introduce you to VAN HALEN!"These words came courtesy of golf legend Tiger Woods as he announced the band at Tiger Jam XI, a fundraising event April 19 at Mandalay Bay Events Center that helped raise more than $1.5 million for the Tiger Woods Foundation.

The main event for the evening was a trip to Japan, to see "Van Hagar" live in the Tokyo Dome on February 1, 1989. A really hot concert with Sammy in the lead. One of these days I'll figure out how to hook the HD tv to the living room stereo to really make it sound as loud as a real life concert. The boys were jumping around the stage, played very well and were obviously enjoying themselves. All this emphasizes what I missed by not having seen them in concert years ago when they were in their prime. The music and DVDs are a way of making up for those lost opportunities.

1984 ALL OVER AGAIN

After nearly a nearly two month absence, Van Halen has once again returned to the stage with their appearance in Reno NV last Thursday. As the Reno Gazette Journal quotes:

"The band was in top musical form, with Eddie ever the astonishing guitarist and brother Alex pummeling away on his massive drum set. Even Roth didn’t hold back, save for a few of the banshee screams that went missing. The band played every song in its original key, evidence that Roth can still hit the highest highs, or at least back off subtly when he can’t."

"But the crowd stayed on its feet the whole time, a sure sign that this band can still whip an aging fan base into a frenzy. Nearly two hours, a drum solo and guitar solo later, the band didn’t seem to let up. They closed with “Ain’t Talkin’ ’Bout Love” and “Jump” amid a confetti storm, a giant inflatable microphone and not exactly a whole lot of jumping. Roth pulled out only a few helicopter kicks during the show, but not the high-flying scissor kicks he once did."

"“We’re a new band with the same s---ty attitude,” he added, letting everyone know that it was the original, sex-crazed party band that was on stage that night. The last time Van Halen was in Reno, it was 1992 during the Sammy Hagar era, but not a note from the Hagar days was heard."
http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008304190001

The countdown for Milwaukee is on, with another appearance in Las Vegas tonight!

In the meantime, last night I attended their concert in Biloxi, Mississippi back in December 6, 1991, with Sammy Hagar in the lead. My Friday night rocked! This audience bootleg was trimmed down, Sammy's banter with the audience having been edited out. Otherwise it was a fairly good recording. I was looking ahead to the bigger concert planned for Saturday night!

Open air concert
Under a round moons white light
Big rock in his head

Dance across the stage
Screaming throng, their arms outstretched
Their six string hero

Solo performance
Furious fingers bend steel
Eddie taps our minds

Steel strings vibrating
Electrons set in motion
Rhythm for the feet

Close with the anthem
The fans pledge their allegiance
Music makes them JUMP!

RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW

Unquestionably, one of the Sammy era Van Halen hits is "Right Now" that came out on their F.U.C.K. album in 1991: well written, strong and sung by Sammy with real feeling. The song was written by Eddie before "Jump" which appeared on their "1984" album. Heavy/big metal rock songs are not known for their great lyrics, and I was somewhat shocked to learn how "pithy" the lyrics are on the early Diamond Dave era albums (but the finished product sure do sound great, which was Dave's primary objective when it came to song writing). But that changed with the arrival of Sammy who seemed to take song writing more seriously (he had a fairly prolific solo career before, during and after his stint with Van Halen).

This song captures the spirit of what it is that inhabits me when it comes to this whole Van Halen thing: live for the moment, enjoy what you've got. When I drop a CD into the truck stereo, I'm there before the stage and no where else. I'm right there and it feels like right now. Everything else, including writing this blog, is simply meant to build the anticipation of that moment when the stereos cranked. And the CDs and the parties on the pass are all meant to build the anticipation for the supreme climax, seeing them play live on stage. Rocket to the stars! On that rare occasion when I do attend their concert, nothing else exists at the moment. Right here, right now.



"Right Now"
Don't wanna wait til tomorrow,
Why put it off another day?
One more walk through problems,
Built up, and stand in our way ,ah
One step ahead, one step behind me
Now you gotta run to get even
Make future plans, don't dream about yesterday, hey
C'mon turn, turn this thing around
Right now, hey
It's your tomorrow
Right now,
C'mon, it's everything
Right now,
Catch a magic moment, do it
Right here and now
It means everything
Miss the beat, you lose the rhythm,
And nothing falls into place, no
Only missed by a fraction,
Slipped a little off your pace, oh,
The more things you get, the more you want,
Just trade in one for the other,
Workin so hard, to make it easier, whoa,
Got to turn, c'mon turn this thing around
Right now, hey
It's your tomorrow
Right now,
C'mon, it's everything
Right now,
Catch that magic moment, do it
Right here and now
It means everything
It's enlightened me, right now
What are you waitin for
Oh, yeah, right now
(Solo)
Right now, hey
It's your tomorrow
Right now,
C'mon, it's everything
Right now,
Catch that magic moment, and do it right,
Right now
Right now, oh, Right now
It's what's happening?
Right here and now
Right now
It's right now
Oh,
Tell me, what are you waiting for
Turn this thing around

9 TO 5, THEN ON TO '95

Friday night finds me standing outside with the truck stereo cranked, listening to Van Halen playing live somewhere in Europe in 1995. This bootleg was the warm up for the real show to follow inside the house , where cigar smoking is naturally prohibited.

Popped in the "VAN HALEN LIVE: Right here, right now" DVD to watch the boys play in Fresno CA in May 1992. Again, another hot video of a smokin concert during which a bunch of their hits are showcased. These DVDs have opened another avenue for me to better understand who these guys are and how well they performed for their audience. To explore this avenue further, I've acquired a few more DVDs of their concerts, all bootlegs, that should be arriving here at the house over the next week.

Frontier Airlines recently declared chapter 11 bankruptcy, although they say it will not affect their schedule of flights and therefore ticket holders should not worry. I'm flying to Milwaukee on Frontier in a couple weeks. If its not one thing I have to worry about, its another. The true test of whether this tour resumes happens this coming Friday night when Van Halen is scheduled to appear in Reno NV on April 17th. My fingers are crossed!