VAN HALEN-OU812 Tour- A Few Times

Written by Backstage Bruce

Oh! You Ate One Too? 

    I am a big fan of both Van Halen and Sammy Hagar. Van Halen burst onto the music scene when the classically trained Van Halen brothers (Eddie on guitar and Alex on drums), hailing from Holland, teamed up with the vocal stylings and stage persona of David Lee Roth. Sprinkle in the talented Michael Anthony on bass and you've got the perfect combination. Their first album, eponymously named, released in 1978, contains the instant classic 'Running with The Devil' and their remake of The Kink's 'You Really Got Me.' 

    Their second album, Van Halen II had a lot of great ditties including my favorite, 'Beautiful Girls'. During the song 'Ice Cream Man' we got to see Dave's chops on the guitar, which are pretty riffing. The tour for their third album, 'Women & Children First', would be the very first time I would get to see them live. The place was Oakland Coliseum, October, 1980. That album was the soundtrack of my life! My all-time favorite VH song is on it, 'And The Cradle Will Rock'. "At an early age he hits the streets, And winds up tied with who he meets. An' he's unemployed. (Unemployed) Owww"

My Van Halen BSP collection 1) VIP at MSG, 2) Catering staff (Meadowlands),
3) Working pass for Radio City Music Hall, MTV Awards 1996, when VH reunited.  

    Eight months later, VH releases 'Fair Warning' and they were playing Oakland Coliseum again so we go for another road cruise and the show was just as great as it was before with Alex lighting his huge gong on fire and David doing high-kick jumps that have never been seen before. The speed of Eddie's fingers was mesmerizing while Michael strummed on the bass keeping the beat flowing. 

    The next time I would get to see them, my third time seeing them, would be their very final show with the four-original members ever! It took place on September 2nd 1984, in Germany. Everyone was there. It was a 'Monsters Of Rock Europe' show, Motley Crue, Ozzy, AC/DC and VH. VH headlined, they were touring their sixth album entitled '1984'. It included the smashes 'Jump', 'Panama', 'Hot For Teacher', etc... 

    They were all over MTV during this time. That concert was amazing, maybe one of the best I had ever seen. The Crue was touring 'Shout At The Devil', Ozzy was touring 'Blizzard Of Ozz' and AC/DC was touring 'Back In Black'. It really was a moment in time. I was serving in the USAF, stationed in Germany, that is how I was even in the area. VH had a fight that night and broke up. They only had two more nights, in Italy, and their whole European tour would have been finished, but it was not to be. 

He can't drive 55

    The first time I saw Sammy Hagar was July 4th, 1980. He was headlining, a Bill Graham produced, "Day On The Green #1" at Oakland Stadium. There was over 75,000 people in attendance. The stage was designed with roughly a dozen or so Trans-Am cars painted on the backdrop. The hood of one of the Trans-Am opens and the Red Rocker himself emerged with a spectacular entrance. He was touring 'Danger Zone' at the time. It was definitely a memory making day. 

 
    The news broke that the VH camp and DLR had parted ways. In no time at all it was announced that Sammy would be stepping in. Mixed reactions and questions ensued. "Is it going to be all new music going forward?" "Will we ever hear classic VH live again" "What about Sammy, would we ever hear his solo work ever again?" Some radio stations starting calling them Van Hagar.

 
     Soon enough all questions would be answered when the album entitled '5150' was released. This is what Eddie named his home studio, 5150. It is reference to the police code for the criminally insane. The album was produced by Mick Jones of Foreigner fame and was an instant smash. It was the summer and everyone was waiting to hear the new Van Halen. The guitar playing was phenomenal! And the new power vocals were really outstanding. There were a few big smashes 'Why Can't This Be Love?', 'Dreams', 'Love Walks In' and 'Best of Both Worlds'. 

    They release their follow up album 'OU812' and they start to tour. At this time, I myself am back in the States and working part time at the coliseum as a caterer. I set up all the dressing rooms, stages, soundboard, VIP rooms, etc... And I just happen to be lucky enough to be scheduled to work that day. It started out pretty much like any other day backstage: arrive early, set up breakfast for the crew, then lunch, then dinner, in between set up the dressing rooms, etc...

    There was no real crazy request on their rider, other than the usual bowl of M&M's with the brown ones picked out, which was the norm by now. It was Sammy Hagar's 41st birthday so I had to go out and get a red cake for the dressing room. That was fun trying to track one down, calling different bakeries. Nobody had one on hand. One bakery agreed to whip me up a fresh birthday cake after I told them it was for Sammy. At first they thought the phone call was a prank but I convinced them after a while. 

Eddie's pick, front, with VH wings logo

    I get back with the cake, we refrigerate it for later. It is now 4:00 p.m., time for sound check. The band does a 20-minute sound check. During this time, my job is to go into the dressing room and spruce it up a bit: Check to see if they need more ice, beverages, food or pick up any paper plates and napkins, paper cups, etc... just a quick clean, once over, then get out before the band returns from sound check. While I am in there I see a handful of Eddie's picks just laying there, on the beverage table, so I helped myself to one.  

Eddie's pick, back, with autograph- 5150

    The show starts. It was amazing to see the two greatest guitarist, of our generation, on stage at the same time, absolutely incredible. Another unforgettable moment from that night was when it was just the two brothers on stage together. Alex had the green spotlight on him and Eddie had the blue one shining on him. I still remember that almost 33-years later as I write this blog post. I was technically working so I didn't get to sit and watch the whole concert. I did see about an hour of it and it was spectacular. All the new Van Hagar stuff was great and they did do a few classic VH tracks. 

    I had to run out and get the pizzas and the hot sandwiches for the buses. I loaded them up along with beverages. Most times when the show ends, the bands step off the stage and walk right over to the buses and roll out to the next city. The show ends, the band leaves. I am still working keeping the coffee station and snacks stocked for the crew during load out. They were very appreciative, they made sure I got a T-Shirt. These weren't just any T-shirts. They were "crew" T-shirts and they were the holy grail of T-shirts. They were not available for purchase. It read "Van Halen LOCAL CREW". I wore mine to class the next day and got so many comments.

Legendary Frontman

 
    It was a great day, I got a pick, a T-shirt and I got to watch most of it. These days they have all moved on in their own direction. Sammy & Michael have went their way to join forces with Chad Smith and Joe Satriani to form the supergroup, Chickenfoot. As for Van Halen, they went on to reunite with David Lee Roth, which is what everybody wanted all along, more drama ensued, naturally, it is Diamond Dave. As for who would fill in on bass now that Michael is with Sammy? None other than Eddie Van Halen's son, Wolfgang! That's right! Turns out, after all these years,...the cradle will rock. 

Ticketstub for Van Halen's very last visit to The Garden, night 1 of 2.