That's what the bumper sicker says: "I can barely see the road"... in Dave's words, these Van Halen concerts are so hot that one will have dificulties seeing the road.

These guys are sober and rocking like hell... I must say that as a reporter, my accreditation request was never replied to and I was denied the use of my cameras... I had to them cameras with a PR (my deep thanks to Rich Trella) as the Wachovia Center doesn't have a place where you can leave values or forbidden objects...and also I had to watch the show from the floor, with a purchased ticket.

Other than this fact, the show was nothing short of amazing... Edward played an immense show, Dave was himself (a big surplus is that he now can exchange the leading role with the rest of the guys, may they be Edward, Alex or Wolf... that made the show much much better as everyone was really happy about being given the spotlight. That didn't overshaddowed the leading man... it just enriched the show !!!

Again, like in 1998 tour concert in Sacramento, a fan (named mogwai73) was amidst the crowd and was able to make a report and send some photos.

"Forget the opening act... it was too poor to mention (other than saying the vocalist was the offspring of the great Bob Marley). People didn't clap and still they came back for an encore... as everyone was in a hurry to see them out and watch/listen to Van Halen.

And then, the opening guitar riff to "You Really Got Me" sounds... Edward is entering the stage with his new sunburst Wolfgang (by Fender) that has '#2' written in a sticker on the back of the guitar and the adrenaline boosts.

Next is "I'm the one" where Dave presents Van Halen as "three quarters original, one quarter inevitable" and, as if it needed confirmation, the audince was his. By the end of this song, Wolfgang was on the highest part of the stage, sending hi-fives and interacting... the boy is still shy, but performs flawlessly (both vocally and instrumentally). And after the song was over, he grinned and started the repeated low note that intros to "Runnin' With The Devil".

This song is a long favourite, as it was one of the first songs that had some air-time, back in old 1978. After that, the high speed riff of "Romeo Delight" left the audience delighted... duh!

Just after this song, Dave came up front to the edge of the stage, muttered some words and yelled: "somebody give me a doctor!" to what Eddie responded with the guitar and the audience took off in unison. This song ended in a spectacular way with David singing some blues lines and Dave answering note-for-note... and then they quickly jumped to "Beautiful Girls", a song that Dave closes with a kiss.

Then, "Dance The Night Away" and "Atomic Punk" were sung but by the end of this latter one, Dave started making sounds like an engine starting and choking (really good) to which Eddie replied with the guitar... at the third attempt/duel, Dave had to quit and said smiling "I can't beat that!" which made Eddie (and the whole crowd) laugh and they moved on to "Everybody Wants Some". In succession, they played "So This Is Love?", "Mean Street" (with Dave singing in a low voice, saving himself for the rest, I guess) and "(Oh!) Pretty Woman".

After these, it's Alex's time in the spotlight... and does he play !... After the usual impossible stuff that he comes up with (and also noting that he repairs some off-tempo moments by Dave and Ed), he played some 2 minutes of a piece that had a guitar/synth musical background; it wasn't perfectly clear to me, as the overall (and especially the kick-drum was too loud), but it was a nice touch.

After "Unchained", a song where Dave carried some huge (supposedly heavy) chains around his neck, they played "I'll Wait" (pre-recorded synth) with Eddie playing a black and yellow Charvel EVH Series with "Phila" written bellow the bridge. And then, "...And The Cradle Will Rock", he switched again to another red, white and black Charvel with "Truth" written in capitals just below the bridge. This song ended with Dave saying:"Have you seen Wolfie's grades?" to what the kid just had to smile !!!

Then, the intro to "Hot For Teacher", a favourite and the song itself in high tempo. The beat goes down after that as they head into "Lil' Dreamer".

Another special moment occurs when Ed plays his new Frankenstein replica for "Little Guitars" with Wolf playing a black & yellow striped bass (in turn of his blue, white and black one, similar to Ed's baby). After Janie's crying, it's Dave's time on the spotlight.

He grabs an acoustic guitar, plays some notes of the E-chord and recalls the time when "...the band rehearsed in the VH's garage, which was smaller than today's AVH drums...". Also that he lived in the suburbs and "...there was an ice-cream truck passin' by sometimes... and "...it was that time that a certain Pink Floyd record was bought and the cover of it served to roll up joints...". After that and some other jokes/comments, he started what everybody knew was coming... "Ice Cream Man".

On "Panama", Edward grabbed a cowboy hat from one of the guys that was inside the ring and Dave mentioned that the bumper sticker (available for sale just ouside) read "I can barely see the road". And then, the stage was left empty for Ed's moment.

Unlike 2004 (when I saw then in Sacramento, Edward played flawlessly and started the solo with the intro of "Women In Love" (tapped harmonics). Then, he pointed to Wolf's spot (left empty by then) and proceeded into "316"... then "Eruption", "Cathedral" (wonderful sound and 101% perfect volume knob swelling), "Spanish Fly" and everything else that Eddie has accoustumed us to. Ten minutes later we were left jaw-dropped and amazed.

Then, it was "Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love" as the closing song. But it couldn't end there... after some (serious) yelling and clapping, they were back in the stage with the synth intro (properly named "1984") to their greatest moment... might as well "Jump", which Ed played with his Frankenstein. It was, by far, the best and longest setlist that I ever heard from them... and the most high-energy concert that the boys ever produced. And I've watched in every tour they made since 1995... wwwwwwwoooowwwwww...".

Thanks to mogwai73. The setlist is:

You Really Got Me
I'm the One
Runnin' with the Devil
Romeo Delight
Somebody get me a Doctor
Beautiful Girls
Dance the Night Away
Atomic Punk
Everybody wants some
So this is love
Mean Street
(Oh!) Pretty Woman
[ Drum solo ]
Unchained
I'll Wait
...And the Cradle will rock
Hot for teacher
Little dreamer
Little guitars
Janie's crying
Ice cream man
Panama
[ Guitar solo ]
Ain't talkin' 'bout love

1984
Jump

I wish I could be there again on the 3rd to watch them again...