Van Halen Summer Tour 2004

Van Halen Summer Tour 2004
Tour by Van Halen
Start date June 11, 2004
End date November 19, 2004
Legs 3
Shows 80 played
Van Halen concert chronology
III Tour
(1998)		 Van Halen Summer Tour 2004
(2004)		 Van Halen 2007-2008 Tour
(2007)

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 lead singer Sammy Hagar who left the band in 1996 on bad terms.

History

In 2004, Van Halen reunited with Sammy Hagar, their second 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, longtime 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 permanently, replacing Anthony on bass.

Throughout the tour, 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, in Tucson, when Eddie finished the set by smashing his guitar, sending shrapnel into the audience 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.

There were rumors that the tour would expand to Europe, Asia, and South America into 2005. However, the idea was shot down, particularly because Hagar was dissatisfied with the band dynamics - Eddie did not like all the promotion for Hagar's Cabo Wabo business in the tour, and while travelling, the Van Halen brothers were on one jet and Hagar and Anthony in another to avoid fights.[1]

Tour dates

[2]

Date City Country Venue
First North American Leg
June 11, 2004 Greensboro, North Carolina United States Greensboro Coliseum
June 13, 2004 Hershey, Pennsylvania Hersheypark Stadium
June 14, 2004 Buffalo, New York HSBC Arena
June 16, 2004 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Wachovia Center
June 17, 2004
June 19, 2004 Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester Centrum
June 20, 2004
June 22, 2004 East Rutherford, New Jersey Continental Airlines Arena
June 23, 2004
June 25, 2004 Washington, D.C. MCI Center
June 26, 2004 Albany, New York Pepsi Arena
June 28, 2004 Hartford, Connecticut Hartford Civic Center
June 29, 2004 Burgettstown, Pennsylvania Post-Gazette Pavilion
July 1, 2004 Noblesville, Indiana Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
July 2, 2004 Cleveland, Ohio Gund Arena
July 3, 2004 Toronto, Ontario Canada Air Canada Centre
July 6, 2004 Louisville, Kentucky United States Freedom Hall
July 7, 2004 Columbus, Ohio Value City Arena
July 9, 2004 Grand Rapids, Michigan Van Andel Arena
July 10, 2004 Detroit, Michigan Joe Louis Arena
July 11, 2004 Auburn Hills, Michigan The Palace of Auburn Hills
July 19, 2004 Chicago, Illinois United Center
July 20, 2004
July 22, 2004 Saint Paul, Minnesota Xcel Energy Center
July 23, 2004 Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin Resch Center
July 25, 2004 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Ford Center
July 26, 2004 Kansas City, Missouri Kemper Arena
July 28, 2004 St. Louis, Missouri Savvis Center
July 29, 2004
July 31, 2004 Omaha, Nebraska Qwest Center
August 1, 2004 Denver, Colorado Pepsi Center
August 3, 2004 Salt Lake City, Utah Delta Center
August 5, 2004 Phoenix, Arizona America West Arena
August 6, 2004 Paradise, Nevada Mandalay Bay Events Center
August 7, 2004
August 10, 2004 San Jose, California HP Pavilion
August 11, 2004 Sacramento, California ARCO Arena
August 13, 2004 Oakland, California Oakland Arena
August 14, 2004 Fresno, California Save Mart Center
August 16, 2004 Anaheim, California Arrowhead Pond
August 17, 2004 Chula Vista, California Coors Amphitheater
August 19, 2004 Los Angeles, California Staples Center
August 20, 2004
Second North American Leg
September 3, 2004 Atlantic City, New Jersey United States Borgata Events Center
September 5, 2004 Biloxi, Mississippi Mississippi Coast Coliseum
September 9, 2004 Tampa, Florida St. Pete Times Forum
September 11, 2004 Sunrise, Florida Office Depot Center
September 13, 2004 San Juan Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum
September 16, 2004 Jacksonville, Florida United States Veterans Memorial Arena
September 17, 2004 Atlanta, Georgia Philips Arena
September 18, 2004 Cincinnati, Ohio U.S. Bank Arena
September 20, 2004 Moline, Illinois MARK of the Quad Cities
September 21, 2004 Champaign, Illinois Assembly Hall
September 23, 2004 Houston, Texas Toyota Center
September 24, 2004 North Little Rock, Arkansas Alltel Arena
September 25, 2004 Dallas, Texas American Airlines Center
September 28, 2004 San Antonio, Texas SBC Center
September 29, 2004 Lubbock, Texas United Spirit Arena
October 1, 2004 Paradise, Nevada Orleans Arena
October 2, 2004 Albuquerque, New Mexico Journal Pavilion
Third North American Leg
October 19, 2004 Portland, Oregon United States Rose Garden Arena
October 20, 2004 Spokane, Washington Spokane Arena
October 22, 2004 Seattle, Washington KeyArena
October 23, 2004 Vancouver, British Columbia Canada Pacific Coliseum
October 25, 2004 Edmonton, Alberta Rexall Place
October 26, 2004 Calgary, Alberta Pengrowth Saddledome
October 28, 2004 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Credit Union Centre
October 30, 2004 Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg Arena
October 31, 2004 Fargo, North Dakota United States Fargodome
November 3, 2004 Milwaukee, Wisconsin Bradley Center
November 4, 2004 Ames, Iowa Hilton Coliseum
November 6, 2004 Valley Center, Kansas Kansas Coliseum
November 9, 2004 Montreal, Quebec Canada Bell Centre
November 10, 2004 Hamilton, Ontario Copps Coliseum
November 11, 2004 Fort Wayne, Indiana United States War Memorial Coliseum
November 13, 2004 Rapid City, South Dakota Don Barnett Arena
November 14, 2004 Bozeman, Montana Brick Breeden Fieldhouse
November 16, 2004 Nampa, Idaho Idaho Center
November 18, 2004 Tucson, Arizona AVA Amphitheater
November 19, 2004

Setlist

  1. Jump
  2. Runaround
  3. Humans Being
  4. Up For Breakfast
  5. Bass Solo
  6. Somebody Get Me A Doctor
  7. Poundcake
  8. It's About Time
  9. Drum Solo
  10. Top Of The World
  11. Unchained
  12. Why Can't This Be Love
  13. Eagles Fly
  14. Deeper Kinda Love
  15. Learning To See
  16. Best Of Both Worlds
  17. Guitar Solo
  18. Dreams
  19. Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
  20. Right Now
  21. You Really Got Me
  22. Panama
  23. When It's Love
  24. Runnin' with the Devil (occasionally with Michael Anthony on vocals)
  25. The Seventh Seal (Occasionally)
  26. Finish What Ya Started (Occasionally)

References

  1. ↑ MICHAEL ANTHONY Speaks Candidly About VAN HALEN's Past And Future; Blabbermouth, March 17, 2006
  2. ↑ http://www.redrocker.com/old_site/vhtour2004.html Accessed on 30 August 2007

External links