So this week, my girlfriend and I, along with other friends went to the Van Halen concert in Indianapolis on Tuesday. Given that this was their first tour with David Lee Roth in a long time, and given that neither of us had seen VH with Roth ever, we were both excited about seeing them at the fieldhouse.
Our first surprise after buying the tickets was hearing that the opening act would be Kool and the Gang. Really? At first we didn't believe the rumors, but they were later confirmed as the opening act. Now, I do like a couple of their songs and have seen them in smaller venues and on live television, but it seems like an odd pairing with a hard rock act. In retrospect, they did put on a better show.
So, our night began with dinner at Hot Box pizza and was followed by drinks next door at The Pub. After getting our bellies full with pizza and beer (love the Sun King Osiris!), we headed to Conseco Fieldhouse. I just can't call it Bankers Life fieldhouse...ugh.
We lingered for awhile at the souvenir stand, (is it just me or are t-shirts, sweatshirts and other concert paraphernalia over priced and not as good as it once was?). We arrived just in time to hear the end of the Kool and the Gang show and meet up with other friends who skipped dinner and watched the opening act. They were very happy with the opening act and spoke highly of how good they sounded.
Give or take a half hour, the lights went down and Van Halen came out. Their stage was rather sparse, but they had a huge video screen. After seeing a large video screen put to good use during the Guns and Roses concert in December, I was looking forward to what VH would do at this show.
Well, that screen would turn out to be disappointing. They mostly showed the same pictures of the band over and over again, along with some odd videos that didn't mesh well with the songs. In my opinion, the only time the video screen was put to good use was during DLR's acoustic rendition of 'Ice Cream Man', during which he showed home movies of his dogs (who were herding sheep) and talked about growing up Bloomington and New Castle.
On to the music, which was the biggest let down of the night. The band itself played well and Eddie has lost none of his mastery of the guitar. Alex was great on the drums, but I'm surprised he used recorded music during his drum solo, I don't think I've ever heard or seen that at previous rock concerts. Even though I wanted to see Michael Anthony on bass, Wolfgang sounded very good on the bass. Although his background vocals didn't mesh well, he seemed a little too loud.
However, the biggest disappointment of the night turned out to be David Lee Roth's vocals. His voice isn't as strong anymore and it showed. Frequently throughout the concert he was simply drowned out by the music and also forgot the lyrics to the song, even admitting in one song that he forgot the lyrics. He was also using a headset mic instead of a mic stand and he seemed lost without the mic stand. Here's a suggestion guys, get DLR a mic stand, he is better with it.
The music also seemed to have a lot of problems with distortion and it seemed like the band should have had more rehearsal time as they just didn't seem to mesh well together. I definitely think DLR needs a lot more work and maybe a lyric sheet to look at from time to time. Also, when a song need a keyboard (think 'Jump'), no keyboardist was present. Instead they used recorded music during the songs, which is too much like lip syncing. A big disappointment guys, put somebody out there with a keyboard. People go to rock concerts to hear live music, not recorded tracks.
So, all in all, it was a disappointing show. I tried to resist the temptation to compare it to GNR, who also returned to Indy after a long layoff, but I just couldn't do it. The Guns and Roses show was so much better in all aspects. Say what you will about Axl Rose, but he had his band prepared, the show was tight and they didn't miss a beat on anything. I can only hope that Van Halen will get better as their tour goes forward. I'm tempted to want to see them again, but not if they are coming off a long layoff. The fans deserved better than what we heard on Tuesday and judging by the comments in the mens restroom, I would say a lot of people were disappointed. Better luck next time maybe?
Our first surprise after buying the tickets was hearing that the opening act would be Kool and the Gang. Really? At first we didn't believe the rumors, but they were later confirmed as the opening act. Now, I do like a couple of their songs and have seen them in smaller venues and on live television, but it seems like an odd pairing with a hard rock act. In retrospect, they did put on a better show.
So, our night began with dinner at Hot Box pizza and was followed by drinks next door at The Pub. After getting our bellies full with pizza and beer (love the Sun King Osiris!), we headed to Conseco Fieldhouse. I just can't call it Bankers Life fieldhouse...ugh.
We lingered for awhile at the souvenir stand, (is it just me or are t-shirts, sweatshirts and other concert paraphernalia over priced and not as good as it once was?). We arrived just in time to hear the end of the Kool and the Gang show and meet up with other friends who skipped dinner and watched the opening act. They were very happy with the opening act and spoke highly of how good they sounded.
Give or take a half hour, the lights went down and Van Halen came out. Their stage was rather sparse, but they had a huge video screen. After seeing a large video screen put to good use during the Guns and Roses concert in December, I was looking forward to what VH would do at this show.
Well, that screen would turn out to be disappointing. They mostly showed the same pictures of the band over and over again, along with some odd videos that didn't mesh well with the songs. In my opinion, the only time the video screen was put to good use was during DLR's acoustic rendition of 'Ice Cream Man', during which he showed home movies of his dogs (who were herding sheep) and talked about growing up Bloomington and New Castle.
On to the music, which was the biggest let down of the night. The band itself played well and Eddie has lost none of his mastery of the guitar. Alex was great on the drums, but I'm surprised he used recorded music during his drum solo, I don't think I've ever heard or seen that at previous rock concerts. Even though I wanted to see Michael Anthony on bass, Wolfgang sounded very good on the bass. Although his background vocals didn't mesh well, he seemed a little too loud.
However, the biggest disappointment of the night turned out to be David Lee Roth's vocals. His voice isn't as strong anymore and it showed. Frequently throughout the concert he was simply drowned out by the music and also forgot the lyrics to the song, even admitting in one song that he forgot the lyrics. He was also using a headset mic instead of a mic stand and he seemed lost without the mic stand. Here's a suggestion guys, get DLR a mic stand, he is better with it.
The music also seemed to have a lot of problems with distortion and it seemed like the band should have had more rehearsal time as they just didn't seem to mesh well together. I definitely think DLR needs a lot more work and maybe a lyric sheet to look at from time to time. Also, when a song need a keyboard (think 'Jump'), no keyboardist was present. Instead they used recorded music during the songs, which is too much like lip syncing. A big disappointment guys, put somebody out there with a keyboard. People go to rock concerts to hear live music, not recorded tracks.
So, all in all, it was a disappointing show. I tried to resist the temptation to compare it to GNR, who also returned to Indy after a long layoff, but I just couldn't do it. The Guns and Roses show was so much better in all aspects. Say what you will about Axl Rose, but he had his band prepared, the show was tight and they didn't miss a beat on anything. I can only hope that Van Halen will get better as their tour goes forward. I'm tempted to want to see them again, but not if they are coming off a long layoff. The fans deserved better than what we heard on Tuesday and judging by the comments in the mens restroom, I would say a lot of people were disappointed. Better luck next time maybe?
