Van Halen Summer Tour 2004

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The Van Halen Summer Tour 2004 was a North American concert tour by hard rock band Van Halen. It was the band's first tour since 1998, and saw the return of Sammy Hagar who left in 1996. Bassist Michael Anthony officially left Van Halen at this point, though nothing was announced until his replacement in 2006 by Wolfgang Van Halen.

[edit] History

In 2004, Van Halen reunited with Sammy Hagar, their vocalist from 1985-1996. They decided to release a new compilation double album featuring three new songs on it as their first move. This was followed by a reunion tour, featuring these new songs among others on the set list. The new songs were "It's About Time", "Up For Breakfast", and "Learning to See". Initially 28 dates were announced, but this was extended to 80 across 5 months - all of which were performed.

The tour included many controversies, and ultimately afterwards Hagar decided to leave Van Halen. Michael Anthony, long time bassist for the band (performing with them until 2000 when they went on hiatus, but still officially a member of the band in 2004) was hired as a touring musician but not a 'real' band member, being paid a reduced commission. Initially the Van Halen brothers didn't want him on the tour at all, but Hagar insisted. Hagar also accused Eddie Van Halen of drinking far too much on the tour, despite Eddie's denials.

The tour grossed almost $55 million, and Pollstar listed Van Halen in the top 10 grossing tours of 2004. However, Rolling Stone revealed that promoters did not actually profit from the tour, losing money. This was largely attributed to overpriced tickets of up to $250 slowing down ticket sales. Concerts were met with (usually) positive reviews from critics and fans, though some did notice Eddie's alcohol abuse. Wolfgang Van Halen, Eddie's young son, would join the band for rhythm guitar during the instrumental "316". In 2006 Wolfgang joined Van Halen properly, replacing Anthony on bass.

Increasingly as the tour went on, reports of Eddie's alcohol abuse cropped up in reviews. In the band's first Chicago show, Eddie tripped over his guitar cable multiple times. Eighteen times it actually became unplugged, and a guitar tech had to chase Eddie around the stage keeping things together. Eddie later stopped in the middle of a guitar solo, lying down and simply saying "I'm sorry folks, I done run outta gas". Eddie did however, recover and finish the solo. The other major event occurred on the final date of the tour, when Eddie finished the set by smashing his guitar and running off stage.

The tour was made up of three legs, with the first two being in the United States (with the exception of a single date in the first leg in Toronto), and the third was a mixture of American and Canadian dates. By playing a date in Puerto Rico, Van Halen became the first rock act to ever play at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum, one week after the venue's inauguration.

The tour was extended repeatedly, leading to a "Summer" tour lasting until late November. This was not originally planned.

[edit] 2004 Tour Dates

^[1]

[edit] First North American leg (USA)

• June 11, 2004: Greensboro, NC - Greensboro Coliseum
• June 13, 2004: Hershey, PA - Hersheypark Stadium
• June 14, 2004: Buffalo, NY - HSBC Arena
• June 16, 2004: Philadelphia, PA - Wachovia Center
• June 17, 2004: Philadelphia, PA - Wachovia Center
• June 19, 2004: Worcester, MA - Worcester Centrum
• June 20, 2004: Worcester, MA - Worcester Centrum
• June 22, 2004: East Rutherford, NJ - Continental Airlines Arena
• June 23, 2004: East Rutherford, NJ - Continental Airlines Arena
• June 25, 2004: Washington D.C. - MCI Center
• June 26, 2004: Albany, NY - Pepsi Arena
• June 28, 2004: Hartford, CT - Hartford Civic Center
• June 29, 2004: Pittsburgh, PA - Post-Gazette Pavilion
• July 01, 2004: Indianapolis, IN - Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
• July 02, 2004: Cleveland, OH - Gund Arena
• July 03, 2004: Toronto, ON - Air Canada Centre
• July 06, 2004: Louisville, KY - Freedom Hall
• July 07, 2004: Columbus, OH - Value City Arena
• July 09, 2004: Grand Rapids, MI - Van Andel Arena
• July 10, 2004: Detroit, MI - Joe Louis Arena
• July 11, 2004: Auburn Hills, MI - The Palace of Auburn Hills
• July 19, 2004: Chicago, IL - United Center
• July 20, 2004: Chicago, IL - United Center
• July 22, 2004: St. Paul, MN - Xcel Energy Center
• July 23, 2004: Green Bay, WI - Resch Center
• July 25, 2004: Oklahoma City, OK - Ford Center
• July 26, 2004: Kansas City, MO - Kemper Arena
• July 28, 2004: St. Louis, MO - Savvis Center
• July 29, 2004: St. Louis, MO - Savvis Center
• July 31, 2004: Omaha, NE - Qwest Center
• August 01, 2004: Denver, CO - Pepsi Center
• August 03, 2004: Salt Lake City, UT - Delta Center
• August 05, 2004: Phoenix, AZ - America West Arena
• August 06, 2004: Las Vegas, NV - Mandalay Bay Events Center
• August 07, 2004: Las Vegas, NV - Mandalay Bay Events Center
• August 10, 2004: San Jose, CA - HP Pavilion
• August 11, 2004: Sacramento, CA - ARCO Arena
• August 13, 2004: Oakland, CA - Oakland Arena
• August 14, 2004: Fresno, CA - Save Mart Center
• August 16, 2004: Anaheim, CA - Arrowhead Pond
• August 17, 2004: San Diego, CA - Coors Amphitheater
• August 19, 2004: Los Angeles, CA - Staples Center
• August 20, 2004: Los Angeles, CA - Staples Center

[edit] Second North American leg (USA)

• September 03, 2004: Atlantic City, NJ - Trump Taj Mahal
• September 05, 2004: Biloxi, MS - Mississippi Coast Coliseum
• September 09, 2004: Tampa, FL - St. Pete Times Forum
• September 11, 2004: Ft. Lauderdale(Sunrise), FL - Office Depot Center
• September 13, 2004: San Juan, Puerto Rico - José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum (first rock band ever at the new facility)
• September 16, 2004: Jacksonville, FL - Veterans Memorial Arena
• September 17, 2004: Atlanta, GA - Philips Arena
• September 18, 2004: Cincinnati, OH - US Bank Arena
• September 20, 2004: Moline, IL - MARK of the Quad Cities
• September 21, 2004: Champaign, IL - Assembly Hall
• September 23, 2004: Houston, TX - Toyota Center
• September 24, 2004: Little Rock, AR - Alltel Arena
• September 25, 2004: Dallas, TX - American Airlines Center
• September 28, 2004: San Antonio, TX - SBC Center
• September 29, 2004: Lubbock, TX - United Spirit Arena
• October 01, 2004: Las Vegas, NV - Orleans Arena
• October 02, 2004: Albuquerque, NM - Journal Pavilion

[edit] Third North American leg (USA/Canada)

• October 19, 2004: Portland, OR - Rose Garden Arena
• October 20, 2004: Spokane WA - Spokane Arena
• October 22, 2004: Seattle, WA - KeyArena
• October 23, 2004: Vancouver, BC - Pacific Coliseum
• October 25, 2004: Edmonton, AB - Rexall Place
• October 26, 2004: Calgary, AB - Pengrowth Saddledome
• October 28, 2004: Saskatoon, SK - Credit Union Centre
• October 30, 2004: Winnipeg, MB - Winnipeg Arena
• October 31, 2004: Fargo, ND - Fargodome
• November 03, 2004: Milwaukee, WI - Bradley Center
• November 04, 2004: Ames, IA - Hilton Coliseum
• November 06, 2004: Wichita, KS - Kansas Coliseum
• November 09, 2004: Montreal, QU - Bell Centre
• November 10, 2004: Hamilton, ON - Copps Coliseum
• November 11, 2004: Ft. Wayne, IN - War Memorial Coliseum
• November 13, 2004: Rapid City, SD - Don Barnett Arena
• November 14, 2004: Bozeman, MT - Brick Breeden Fieldhouse
• November 16, 2004: Boise, ID - Idaho Center
• November 18, 2004: Tucson, AZ - Anselmo Valencia Amphitheater
• November 19, 2004: Tucson, AZ - Anselmo Valencia Amphitheater

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Van-Halen.com - The official Van Halen website
• Van Halen NewsDesk