Well, this diary is really about someone else’s letter. Apparently, after Van Halen played 80 shows in the USA and Canada (as well as Asia and Europe…maybe UK), Sammy and Eddie finally subscribed to the ever-popular (and what I like to call the “Henry Lui at Coach House syndrome”, for all you OLD school Love fans who know what I’m talking about) ‘Less talk, more swingin’ problem-solving technique which has effectively ended the Van Halen/Sammy Hagar career again. Now, I’m not sure what the problem is exactly except I think ‘Ol Hammer-ons’ may be hitting the sauce again but this time WAY before the show and from what some concertgoers have said, WAY too much. Of course, they can play as sh*tty as they please and still make a fortune playing Canada so they won’t be working at Wal-Marts any time soon. Now, not everybody can play Canada but the ones that can, know that Canadians love music and can be quite forgiving…unless you don’t show up, then they can get a bit ‘Onery’, as our beloved President is fond of saying…

So, I’m reading this board and I guess Sammy’s forgotten the words and just saying profanity instead and to the guys onstage (that are probably drunk and high), that’s some real funny stuff. They are goofing off like at some bar b q but instead of a backyard, it’s a venue that holds 40,000 people. and their management are in the backroom counting out $2 million in ticket sales, instead of flipping burgers on the grill. no WONDER they’re laughing! And i supposed they (or was it Eddie?) were their own worst enemy cause now the band is once again broken up, Eddie’s in his Malibu pad, probably doing blow and watching “Lost” ( i LOVE Lost!), while his brother, drummer Alex, is damn near deaf (hey Alex, you got, like, 80 drums on stage…who you think you are, Carl Palmer?…chill out!), bassist, Michael Anthony JUST came out with his own BBQ sauce (see, i WAS getting somewhere with the BBQ thing…), “Mad Anthony’s BBQ Sauce and Hot Sauce.” Apparently, the Hot Sauce is so hot “they should come with asbestos diapers”, according to one VH fan that sampled some wings at Hagars’ CABO WABO bar down in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, that came with Mad Anthony’s Sauce. I sure hope that unlucky fellow made it to the WC in time…

But below is one fan’s take on things and i kinda got a kick outta it, as it’s nice to see a fan of a HUGELY successful rock band not be affected by the bands’ success and unafraid to voice a real opinion of disappointment (not something like, ‘they didn’t play my song, man’ but the real recognition that these guys were strictly in it for the moolah and didn’t even bother to practice and completely threw a party BEFORE the show! right on!) and even though there were people on that VH message board ready and willing to make excuses for the band (hey, one Canadian paid $150! And seems like he’d do it again but $150 CAD is like $115 USD, which is like 60 Quid, see…on these diaries you even get an exchange conversion…) the guy below (who obviously is no ‘sheep’ and knows the value of money) wasn’t buying the excuses and prefered to let his opinion do the talking….by the way, VH went on to gross $54 Million on that tour…that’s a lot of tequila, y’think?….read on:

Posted on the Ernie Ball VH forum winter 2004:

I can understand your defense of EVH. I, however, think that if I were to see him and it cost me $50, dude should wait until after the show to get plowed. If I want to see a drunk dude playing crappy and making weird faces, I will go to a local club and watch a local band do it for free. I am not trying to be an a-hole about it, but, give your fans their money’s worth. Not excuses. If you haven’t played for 8 years…..oh well…..practice to make sure your band is tight before trying to cash in on the whole “reunion” wave…..

If there are technical probs, that is out of their control. I can see that. But, one should not come out playing after partying back stage first. Just ain’t right. Like I said earlier, my wife had the let down of her concert going life when the singer of “Band X” could not even remember the words to his own songs. Then, he would slur what he thought he knew and basically performed like GARBAGE. But, he was “rock-n-roll” when he cursed all night. He certainly knew the words to that. I happen to lose all respect for them and won’t buy any of their merch again. But enough on that.

I think those who went to see EVH perform, expected him to do just that….perform and he did not pan out. Now, if the shows are getting better, then you will no doubt see a great show. But to say EVH does this on a regular basis, that would cause me not to see him. I can play Van Halen songs crappy. Why pay to hear someone else do it….even the guy who wrote them?

all the best,

Mike Randle