FAN REVIEWS

The date was Saturday, August 17th. The place, The Tweeter Center on the Waterfront. Camden, NJ, just outside of Philadelphia !! The crowd was defiitely ready for this heavey weight bout. DLR opened the show and was astounding heading into the middle of his show, the crowd, dilirious !! However, the crowd seemed to die down after DLR`s karate kicks and other amusement stlye hi-jinks wore off. Sammy and the Waborita`s came out and blew the roof off the place !! Sammy and co., simply knocked `em dead !!! I am a long time Van Halen fan and like Sammy and Dave equally !! I can honestly say that !! I was lucky enough to see Sammy open for Black Sabbath around 1980 or 1981 in Philadelphia at the Spectrum !! Even then, Sammy knew how to rock, and as THE WHO say, LONG LIVE ROCK !!!!!!!

P.S.--Thank you for your tribute to the GREATEST Bassist of all time, JOHN ENTWISTLE............

We were the first band to vomit in the park, and find
the distance to the stage too far, mean while it`s gettin` late, rock is dead
they said, LONG LIVE ROCK
submitted by Ted C., Westville, NJ

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I went to the concert last night at the Tweeter Center, Camden, N.J.. I read the reviews from previous shows how Sammy was blowing Dave off the stage, David sucks, saying Dave lost it, ect... Now I am a Roth fan, have seen VH 12 times, all with Dave, and said I would never go see VH again with any singer other then Dave. Now I'll be the first one to admit, Dave looks his age in the face, his body is the same. As for the music, DAVE ROCKED THE HOUSE. Dave opened the show last night, and I left the show 4 songs into Sammy's set, and I was not the only one. Not to put Sammy down, I don't know much of his music, (solo), and his work with VH is far from CLASSIC VAN HALEN. I sat in section 104, row B, seat 15 & 16. The 2 fat girls who were 2 rows behind in row D, who seen the show last week also, and were saying Dave show stunk, I don't know what you were watching, Dave's the man, Is truely! VH, and it's obvious that either you don't like Dave's character, Dave's classic music, or the rolls of fat from your stomach are blocking you eye sight from seeing the man, the legend, DIAMOND DAVID LEE ROTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-Steverizzz

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I was at the show on August 17 at the Camden, NJ Tweeter Center. The show was great, they both put on a great show.
Sammy's voice was stronger than Dave's, but Dave has never had a great live voice. Dave's band sounded really good. Sammy's show was so energetic, but his choice of songs could have been better(Where Eagles Fly, momentum killer). Dave was nonstop rock all through the set. His few between song antics were pure Diamond Dave. No getting around it, Dave really rocks. Sammy really got the fans involved with the bleachers on stage, that was really cool. He definitely loves his fans and goes out of his way to make them have fun. The one thing I could have done without was Sammy pushing his Tequila. Everything revolves around that stuff.

It is my opinion that Dave won the battle that night, and from what I gathered from hearing people talk after the show most people agreed.

Overall it was a great show. It was exactly what I expected....two old pros kicking ass!!
Brian from Eagleville, PA
My frined and I arrived at the venue early so that we could get our passes to go onstage. Unfortunately, there was a snafu and we ended up in our regular seats. We were determined not to let that ruin our evening.

Dave came on at about 8:05, which I thought was too late. Dave was actually somewhat engaging with the crowd by telling a few stories. The rest of the time he didn't seem nterested to be there. Once again, his singing was sub par, but you have to love the songs if you are a VH fan.

Then it was time for the REAL headliner. Sammy came on at about 9:30 and sounded great. I think his vocals were even better than the show in Scranton. He had a lot of energy and I really enjoyed watching the rest of the band interact as well. The only criticism that I could have is that he played one less song than usual. I was a little bummed, but it was a great time none the less. I can't wait for his next tour. We won't have Dave around to ruin the party and we can get a full dose of Sammy. I can't wait.

Ken
Philadelphia, PA

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Well, I was there, as were 5 people that I brought with me, that have never seen Sammy live before.

Dave came out first, and put on an impressive show. But then out came Sammy. He held nothing back, and kept everybody standing, dancing and singing along.

That was my eighth time seeing Sammy live. And it was the best one yet. Everytime I see him, he sounds better. The Waboritas are fantastic, and obviously have a hell of a time up there and seem to bring out the best in Sammy.

Sammy truely has a unique gift. He has the ability to make everyone in the audience feel good about being there, and feel personally like they are part of the show. He makes every show better than any party that I have been to.

Oh, an those 5 people that I went with? Ages range from 46 to 8. All were ecstatic and completely blown away by Sammy. Add 5 new fans.

I can't wait to see hime again. I may actually be able to swing Cabo this year.

Thanks again for an awesome and totally remarkable night!

Ray H.
Prospect Park, PA.

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The Friday night before the show, I sat down at my computer and burned two CD's - one of pre-5150/DLR material and one of post 5150/SH material. What I found was surprising....although I do favor older Van Halen material, I was really digging the Sammy Van Halen songs as well. After all, the Sammy/Dave debate has never really been a fair one, the catalogs are drastically different - to no fault of either artist. So, there I was, sitting at my PC, getting more and more excited as I picked each song for my "custom" CD - "Summer Nights", "Cabo Wabo", "Get Up" - I was looking forward to hearing these songs as much as was looking forward to "Beautiful Girls", "And the Cradle Will Rock", and "So This Is Love"!

So now it's Saturday night, in the parking lot. Cars blasting out Van Halen songs that span nearly 3 decades, and having a lot of fun doing it. The longer I stand there the more thankful I am that David and Sammy have come together for the tour. Today's music scene is overflowing with artists (if you can call them that) that fave forgotten how to have fun. Too much screaming. Too much anger. Not NEARLY enough fun. We go in, we get a beer, and we get ready.

Dave shows up about a half hour late. I don't think it's any surprise that Dave has lost some serious ground in the vocal area. My brother saw him on the 1984 tour and I saw him during the Little Aint Enough tour. He does a fair share of talking and tries to avoid the high notes. However, on this night, he turned out an above average performance. He has A LOT of help from his supporting cast - his band is tight as a drum and nearly perfect. Not only do they have the music down, they handled the background vocals in grand fashion. It was classic Diamond Dave - the leg kicks, the smarmy grin, all the David Lee Roth antics that make some people hate him and others love him. The crowd loved it - "Panama", "So This is Love", "Little Dreamer", "Ice Cream Man" (with Dave on acoustic guitar no less), "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" and a number of other classics played out to a sea of thankful fans. The only solo number was "Yankee Rose". Not a lot of banter, I think he wanted to concentrate on the music (it might have had something to do with coming on a little late). He encored with "Jump", a little bit disappointing - I've never been a big fan of that one, always felt it was a little too pop. He also didn't do "Unchained" which is a personal favorite of mine. All in all he was solid, and I really kind of expected otherwise - it was great to see Dave still had it.

On to Sammy. After about a thirty minute intermission, Sammy came out in full force. He had two risers about 10 rows deep of fans on stage with him which I thought was pretty cool. Of the first 4 songs he played, 3 OF THEM were solo songs. I understand that Sammy has an extensive solo catalog and a solid fan base that listens to it, but this show isn't about Sammy the solo artist, it's about Sammy the ex-lead singer/co-writer of VAN HALEN. "Top of the World", "Right Now", "Why Can't This Be Love", and "Finish What Ya' Started" (during which he took a veiled shot at Dave). That was it. The rest was solo Sammy and the crowd was not amused. A lot of people sat down or left. During "Where Eagles Fly" the fans that he brought up on stage looked as if they were asleep. Then after the endless plugs for his tequilla company, we're treated to "When It's Love" and "Dreams" as an encore. "WHEN IT'S LOVE"??????? AS AN ENCORE?!?!?!?!?! Good Lord. IT WAS 105 DEGREES OUT THAT NIGHT - DO "SUMMER NIGHTS" FOR GOD'S SAKE! How about "CABO WABO"? Something other than one of the lameist balads in Van Halen history! I was disgusted. A lot of you, if this review even gets posted, will take this the wrong way - I'm NOT taking shots at Sammy because I don't like him - I'm not a huge fan of his solo material, yes - but my point here is that IT SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN PLAYED. This is an EX-LEAD SINGERS OF VAN HALEN TOUR - end of story. Do "Mine All Mine" - maybe a little "Get Up" - how about "Good Enough"? Where were these songs???? Sammy's voice was great, the band is outstanding - they just didn't play Van Halen.

Final word - if you love the pre-5150 catalog, you're going to have a blast. If you love Sammy's solo stuff, you're going to have a blast. If you're looking for post 5150 material, go find a copy of "Live Without a Stage".

-David F.

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Hey, Sammy!

Wow, what a great performance! This was the first time I've seen you since 1995 when I happened to catch Van Halen in Camden and then the following week in Columbus, Ohio. Man, you still got it! I took my fiancée to the show, she's never seen you and neither of us had seen Dave (I did take her to see the Van Halen 3 tour). She's never been much of a Van Halen/Sam/Dave fan but, hell, I grew up on that stuff. When we left she said to me:"Dave has to give it up. Sammy had so much more energy and he was down to earth. He interacted with the fans and the songs were so much more meaningful. Even in the video before the show he seemed so much more aware of the fans and his place. I really like Sammy!"

I couldn't have said it any better brother. We also liked how you were a man about the Sam/Dave War rumors and thanked him after the show. Dave was just Dave, from everything I've heard. All about himself, game show host look on his face, vulgar (which was still pretty cool) and out of touch with the crowd past the first couple of rows... it got old fast. You were just perfect.

When you did Eagles Fly I leaned over and told my fiancée it was one of your solo songs and it was a great one. She kind of gave me that 'ugh' look like she knew she wouldn't know the song and maybe not even like it. But when it was over she said it was awesome...especially the lyrics. The rest of the show was awesome too. We stood the whole time and danced, laughed and sang (well I sang, she only knows the popular hits). Top of the World was tremendous, it's always been my favorite Van Halen song. Others that were just as good: Right Now, When it's Love, Mas Tequila, Best of Both Worlds,Finish What Ya Started (I loved the story before it), Why Can't this be Love, One Way to Rock, and, of course, Dreams.

The whole set was just packed with dynamite and you guys exploded. What a treat! I went in not knowing what to expect and I was blown away. The only thing that could have made it better would have been seeing the guys [VH] with you. I don't mean to disrespect the Waboritas, they were absolutely GREAT, but it's just not the same on the VH stuff--pretty damn close-- but just not the same. Before the show I told my fiancée that I wished either you or Dave would get back with VH but after seeing the show I told her I want Sammy and no one else! It would be great to see it just one more time. Thanks again for a great show. Maybe now I convinced my fiancée that you are a great guy and performer. Still the winner and heavyweight champ of rock...Sammy Hagar!

It's a little late now but next time you're around in the summer and if you and the gang want to catch a Phillies game let me know and I'll hook you up.I should have thought of it before but I wouldn't have known who to contact. Thanks again!!!

Sincerely Rocked,
Andy M.

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I saw the show last night at the Tweeter Center in Camden, NJ. Dave came out first and put on a great show. His voice was okay but I thought his showmanship made up for it. I have seen Dave before without VH and he usually does a lot of talking between songs, not tonight. He did strike upa conversion with someone in the audience who threw a bottle or something at him. He made a couple of typical Dave comments back to the guy which were pretty funny. Dave set was all VH with maybe only one solo song ( I thinkit was Yankee Rose). Overall, Dave lived up to my expectations, great show.

Sammy came out next and put on his party theme. Sammy's set was less VH which I was disappointed about. I was shocked I didn't here Cabo Wabo or Poundcake. He did tell a little story of how "Finish What You Started" was written by him and Eddie which was pretty cool. Sammy definitely looked like he was having a good time. Overall, good show with some disappointment based on the set list.

If this Sammy vs. Dave bout was based on the number of audience boob shots on the big screen behind them during their sets, Sammy wins hands down,10-0.

Mike L.
Branchburg, NJ

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My husband and I have a 2 1/2 year old girl and 9 month old triplet boys so we don't get out much! But last night we had 2nd row center stage tickets at the tweeter center and it was a blast! Neither of us have been to a concert in probably 16 years and we forgot what we have been missing. The show was great and Sammy brought a lot of class to the show. I love the way he makes the audience such a part of the show! Rock On Sam!

Michele & Jeremy S.