FAN REVIEWS

Outstanding show. I have seen Van Halen 22 times in concert and all that I can say is that anyone that misses this show, is really missing out. The highlight of the show would have to be, from beginning to end. They look like they are having a lot of fun........and as the song says, ITS ABOUT TIME. Dont stop what you are doing VH.

David W.

--------------------

What an awesome show, we went to both shows in St. Louis and actually sat in the "Golden Ring" for the second show. Great song set selection. Both shows were priceless, it was great to see the guys back together again and having a great time together I might add.

Eddie sounded great, like he never left, very touching when Wolfgang came out and played with him. As Eddie said "The next VanHalen. Alex and Michael rocked as usual, the solo's were outstanding. Then as for Sammy so very talented, a voice that hit every note, every time. Very personable with the fans, signing autographs during the show, St. Louis will always love Sammy. Hope you enjoy the sand from Cabo Sammy.
And thanks, it was a concert that will be in my heart always you guys are great and "It's about Time"!!!!!

Mary E.

--------------------

WOW!!!

Now THAT was a Van Halen show!
Night number two of the St. Louis shows was UNBELIEVABLE! It blew night one away. The band changed the running order of the set a little, starting off with YOU REALLY GOT ME and adding JUMP to the encore section, which worked great. Sammy was SAMMY, talking to the crowd a lot more and feeding off of the love this town has for him and giving it back. He changed his solo section a little taking out DEEPER KINDA LOVE and doing an extended EAGLES FLY with much crowd participation! The whole vibe of the concert was different than night one. Extremely upbeat, very happy, the band seemed more relaxed tonight. Oh yeah and, Eddie ROCKED! His solo section on night one was very sloppy but tonight he was on! Simply AMAZING! The crowd was wild tonight, not as many people as night one but much louder. Sammy seemed very very happy tonight, Mike was Mike, always cool, and hopefully the Van Halen brothers enjoyed St. Louis as much as we did having them here. That's it, it went by way too fast again!

Adam W...

--------------------

Being only 23, I know I witnessed history the night of July 29th, 2004... Van Halen with Sammy Hagar rocked St. Louis for a second night in a row. I have been too only two Sammy concerts in the past, so I had no clue what I was in for with Van Hagar. After being ready to see Sammy again the night I left last years concert, I was ready for VH. I bought tickets the day they decided to play a second night in St. Louis and it was convenient enough to bring my mom for her 42nd birthday, which was July 31st. Everything was perfect... parking right across the street, didn't have to walk, our seats were right at the main entrance at club level by bathrooms and beer and shirts were right by our seats. To make the night even better, we knew we were gonna see Sammy with Van Halen.

The opening band, Shinedown, was pretty good. I've heard them on the 105.7 The Point not too long before the concert. Then Van Halen came out and the crowd went bonkers! We knew we were seeing something that may not happen again and I treasured each moment. I am a huge solo Sammy fan, so of course I am partial to him and not DLR. It was weird to hear Sammy sing some Roth songs, but I think it was just because I am used to hearing DLR's voice. I don't know if I care for the new songs. 'It's About Time' is ok. Eddie bringing Wolfgang out was awesome! In 20 years I know I will be hearing him on the radio doing his own thing and I know Eddie will be proud.

I am quite upset that Sammy wasn't his usual Sammy-in-St. Louis-self. After seeing the past two concerts in STL, I was expecting him to talk to the fans more. I noticed he started opening up towards the end with shit loads of autographs and wearing more and more fan memo, so that was good to see. I just hope no one 'restricted' Sammy from being himself because that would piss a lot of Redheads off.

I have to say Alex's solo was awesome, but I favor the drums anyway. Eddie's solo was good, but it was too long. It's good to know he still has it and thankfully it gave me a chance to use the bathroom. Then there is my other favorite band member... Michael Anthony. I have to say I think he grew on me after the past two tours with Sammy and then being on Sammy's recent DVD. Michael-you are awesome!!!

I do recall Sammy saying he was gonna do a free show under the Arch... who cares when... just DO IT!! Heck, I don't care if he does it for free or not, he needs to come back to STL with the Waboritas sometime this year!! Right now I am trying to talk my man into taking me to Cabo for Sammy's birthday bash... so I hope to 'see you in Cabo' Sammy!!

Christine Thrower aka Redrockerchick

Union, Mo.

P.S. To that fan that threw the DLR shirt to Sammy - boooooooooo!

--------------------

Van Halen - St. Louis Review – July 29, 2004

I traveled from Indianapolis to St. Louis to see my favorite band play for the third time on the summer 2004 tour. I had always known that I was going to the second night of the two Savvis Center shows having bought a plane ticket some time ago. I was one of my mini summer vacations to St. Louis and Denver for two VH concerts. I pulled a 14th row center single on the aisle about 50 hours before the show off ticketmaster.com. As most of you know, when Sammy plays St. Louis on his solo tours, he gets 15,000+ consistently at the local outdoor amphitheatre. That is the reason I chose this “redhead loving city” for one of my four reunion tour shows.

I arrived to my downtown hotel and enjoyed some afternoon brews at the on site sports bar. I loaded up the jute box with numerous Van Halen classics and met some other concert goers from Chicago and Louisville. I was surprised that most of these people I met had never seen VH. This would be my 25th all-time Van Halen show (2 DLR, 23 Sammy) and 42nd time seeing Sammy.

I made the 15 minute walk to the venue and spent about 30-45 minutes trying to upgrade my ticket but there were no good seats on the street so close to show time. I entered the arena about 8 p.m. and heard the closing minutes of the opening band.

As most of the shows have been, Van Halen hit the stage about 8:30 p.m. local time. They opened with the Kinks classic, You Really Got Me which seems to be the “same city, second night” first song along this tour in place of Jump.

Having seen earlier shows in Indianapolis and Columbus, Ohio I pretty much knew what to expect, a two-hour ten minute show with every band member taking a solo. For those who don’t like the solos, the bass solo and drum solo aren’t that long in duration (about four to five minutes). Sammy’s solo did not include Deeper Kind of Love but rather an extended version of Eagles Fly. Sammy veered off into a terrific guitar solo before returning to complete Eagles. The 10,000 fans were really into the chorus of it (Eagles Fly) and Sammy was very appreciative. Eddie’s solo included an appearance again by his teenage son Wolfgang playing 316. This was my first time seeing Wolfie play as he was not at my earlier shows. I was impressed with his performance! Eddie shouted “this is the future” to the crowd and raised his son’s hand.

The fans behind me in the fifteen row center had two great signs including one that read “Right Now, Dave is Jealous!” Sammy acknowledged the eager fans that held up the sign. The set list was the exact same as my Indy and Columbus shows except they reversed the order of Top of the World and Dreams and as previously mentioned You Really Got Me was the show opener and Jump was moved to the first encore. From the set lists that I have seen, the Top of the World and Dreams flip was a pleasant surprise and may have been a first on this tour! Sammy usually is way up high on the staging in front of the videoboard for Top of the World but this time, they played Dreams.

Those same fans behind me said the show was a little shorter than the night before but that Eddie sounded much better. Sammy said they had been using St. Louis as a home base for the band since Sunday venturing out to other Midwestern cities such as OKC. Hagar said “we been partying here all week!” One comparison to the old “Van Hagar” late 80s and early 90s concerts is Sammy doesn’t seem to “chat” as much with and to the crowd. His solo shows since the 1986 VH break-up always included unique stories and a little more crowd interaction. I always remember the 5150 to Balance tours including a more talkative Sammy.

It also should be mentioned that the three videoboard screens was a great production by the technical crew intermixing live shots of the band, fans shots, fan signs and some classic moments from those MTV video days. The popular Right Now video was redone with some updated “Right Now lines”. The videoboard “severe weather shots” on Human’s Beings enhanced the hit from the Twister soundtrack. I wonder why that song isn’t on the new 36 song disk BBOW?

As always, Sammy signed about 40 different items throughout the evening for fans in the two pit’s and first few rows. At different times, Sammy and Michael Anthony wore St. Louis Blues jersey’s for the hometown hockey fans. When Eddie spoke to the crowd, it was sometimes difficult to understand what he was saying. He did seem really happy on stage and it great to seem him back in action. Alex didn’t miss a beat and it was like the nine year gap never happened.

My one wish for this tour is that the band would mix it up a little more. Why not have a pool of songs that are mixed in every once in a while. Songs like 5150, Black and Blue, Love Walks In or other DLR era classics would leave the multiple city VH fans ecstatic! Don’t get me wrong, they sounded terrific! Other fans commented that there were 5,000 less people at the Thursday show. The lowered attended second night didn’t seem to slow the band down one bit as they put on a great performance.

For me, the money spent on four shows is well worth having waited so long for this reunion. Sammy gave a special thanks to the St. Louis fans and the local rock radio station KSHE as the band said goodbye after the show closer When It’s Love.

See you in Denver Sunday night!

Chris Farrow
Indianapolis, IN

--------------------

I saw both shows in st louie and the 09/20,21 shows in Illinois. man alive.
you guys fuckin, rock. It's been a loing time alright. Now your on the right
direction. Of the four it's hard to pick my favorite, but if I have to I
guess show two in my town of Saint louie. Almost ten years..... i feel like
a young sarg all over again. Look forward to next year and catching a show
or two if you continue on into November. I have to admit I'm a VH head for
along time. more years than I care to remember. I've studied Ed for years
and have played for over 25, but he is still the master. And sammy was
sammy. stomping through... loved all the shows... I understand how hard it
is to be on every night. And I just do clubs on the weekends,,,, wow. I
heard sammy on KSHE talking about a new studio disc... I'm alredy in line.
See you guys on the road latter this year. And thank you for the enjoyment.
It meant alot to an ole government mule...

Sarg

--------------------

Part 2 in Cabo San Luis was PHENOMENAL!!! I was blown away with both performances. Tonight was just FAN-F**KING-TASTIC. That just about sums it up. See you in Cabo, the next VH tour, Sammy & The Wabos who knows, but I know one thing... It'll definitely be a party!!!

The STLRedRocker