Van Halen kicked off its 2012 North American tour on Saturday night in Louisville, Kentucky, treating fans to a 22-song set list that featured a handful of songs from the new A Different Kind Of Truth album, most of the hits and classic tracks one would want, and a few rare gems that have not been played live for decades.
Launching the show with "You Really Got Me" and "Runnin' With The Devil" -- just like they did on their 2007/2008 world tour -- Van Halen delivered the goods on a simple, streamlined stage with a massive video screen behind them that flashed footage of the band as well as other visual imagery.
Ultimate Classic Rock wrote that lead singer David Lee Roth, roaming the stage with a headset microphone, was in "strong voice throughout," while the Van Halens -- guitarist Eddie, bass player Wolfgang and drummer Alex -- performed "with precision and fire all night."
Four songs were featured from the new disc: "She's The Woman," "Tattoo," "China Town" and "The Trouble with Never."
A surprise treat for fans was the inclusion of two long-unperformed songs from 1979's Van Halen II, "Women In Love" and "Outta Love Again." On the other hand, tracks played on the 2007 tour like "Atomic Punk," "Jamie's Cryin'," "So This Is Love" and "And The Cradle Will Rock" were left off the list this time.
Van Halen plays Atlanta April 19th and Charlotte April 25th.
SIDE NOTES
The opening night set list of Van Halen's tour was:
"You Really Got Me"
"Runnin' With The Devil"
"She's The Woman"
"Romeo Delight"
"Tattoo"
"Everybody Wants Some!!"
"Somebody Get Me A Doctor"
"China Town"
"Mean Streets"
"Pretty Woman"
Drum Solo
"Unchained"
"The Trouble With Never"
"Dance The Night Away"
"I'll Wait"
"Hot For Teacher"
"Women In Love"
"Outta Love Again"
"Beautiful Girls"
"Ice Cream Man"
"Panama"
Guitar Solo
"Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love"
"Jump"
Legendary and infamous pot smoker Paul McCartney claims that he's finally given up marijuana after 48 years, due to his eight-year-old daughter by Heather Mills, Beatrice. McCartney, who along with the other Beatles, was turned onto grass by Bob Dylan during the "Fab Four's" 1964 North American tour, told Rolling Stone that he's done toking up: "I did a lot, and it was enough. I smoked my share. When you're bringing up a youngster, your sense of responsibility does kick in. Enough's enough."
McCartney has had a substantial record over the years for being busted for the demon weed. His first two arrests came in 1972 -- once after being mailed pot while tour in Sweden with Wings, and again later that year for growing pot on his Scottish farm. At the time McCartney told authorities that he had been given seeds by fans and was unaware that they would "come up illegal."
A North Carolina dad has become a YouTube hit after filming his response to a Facebook post by his daughter. Tommy Jordan posted a video on Wednesday that showed him reading his daughter's post to the camera.
Newly released as an exclusive digital download is the Rolling Stones' Hampton Coliseum: Live 1981. The concert, which was recorded on Keith Richards' 38th birthday on December 18th, 1981 in Hampton Roads, Virginia, was the final show of the Stones' 1981 North American trek in support of their chart-topping Tattoo You album. The live set -- which features the band's entire performance -- is available for only $4.99 to subscribers of Google Music, via Android Market. The show, which has been available for years both on soundboard vinyl and CD, was videotaped and shown live on early pay per view cable in 1981, with the Stones utilizing the footage numerous times over the years.
Highlights on The Rolling Stones' Hampton Coliseum: Live 1981 include: "Under My Thumb," "Shattered," "Let's Spend The Night Together," "Waiting On A Friend," "Let It Bleed," "You Can't Always Get What You Want," "Hang Fire," "Start Me Up," "Jumpin' Jack Flash," and "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction," among many others.
The full tracklist to The Rolling Stones - Hampton Coliseum: Live 1981:
"Under My Thumb"
"When The Whip Comes Down"
"Let's Spend The Night Together"
"Shattered"
"Neighbours"
"Black Limousine"
"Just My Imagination"
"20 Flight Rock"
"Going To A Go-Go
"Let Me Go"
"Time Is On My Side"
"Beast Of Burden"
"Waiting On A Friend"
"Let It Bleed"
"You Can't Always Get What You Want"
Band Intros
"Little T&A"
"Tumbling Dice"
"She's So Cold"
"Hang Fire"
"Miss You"
"Honky Tonk Women"
"Brown Sugar"
"Start Me Up"
"Jumpin' Jack Flash"
"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"
This hangover recovery kit is a surefire way to reboot the body after too much fun.
· Mineral Water
Water is going to be the best thing to treat your hangover. A big reason you feel horrible is because the alcohol dehydrated your body. Drinking water before, during and after boozing will always help. What happens when your stomach is too queasy for even water? Try sipping carbonated mineral water. The bubbles will help ease your nausea.
Recommendation: Anything that contains sodium and potassium, two things alcohol causes you to lose.
· Sports Drinks
Replenishing fluids after a night of drinking combats dehydration, and it helps mitigate the effects of byproducts left in the stomach. Non-caffeinated, non-carbonated sports drinks replace sodium, glycogen, potassium, and other minerals lost to alcohol's diuretic effect.
Recommendation: Try one that is low in sugar and calories.
· Body Wash
When you finally pull yourself from the bed, nothing will make you feel better in the morning than a shower with refreshing body wash. It's important not to smell like keg beer for too long between the sheets. The water and fragrant soap will wash off the toxins you've been sweating, not to mention last night's ugly memories.
Recommendation: Get something that will clean and exfoliate.
· Eggs
The protein in eggs provides the body with needed energy. Eggs also contain large amounts of cytosine, a chemical that breaks down a hangover.
Recommendation: Go organic. Happy chickens lay better eggs and you don't want any weird growth hormones in your body.
· Fruit
Bananas will help replenish lost electrolytes and potassium, as well as lay a healthy base in your queasy stomach. The water and natural sugar in fruit are easier on your stomach than processed foods are. The fructose also increases the body's energy.
Recommendation: Fruits like oranges, bananas, kiwis and grapefruit are great for replacing vitamin C, which will help boost your immune system.
· Painkillers
Acetaminophen, found in Excedrin, is great for pain, but has been shown to cause liver damage. Painkillers with caffeine will reduce the size of the pounding blood vessels, lessening the pounding in your head, but caffeine is a diuretic, which will further dehydrate you. So use items with caffeine sparingly.
Recommendation: Alka-Seltzer. Its active ingredient is aspirin. It does have some caffeine, so don't drink coffee when taking it.
It was 10 years ago today (November 29th, 2001) that George Harrison died after a long battle with cancer, at age 58. Harrison, the first of the Beatles to embrace Eastern philosophies and culture, will also be remembered for his humanitarian efforts, such as his 1971 Concert For Bangladesh for famine relief. His wordas and music are highlighted on Classic Albuns A to Z playing now!
Thursday marks 35 Thanksgivings ago (November 25th, 1976) that the Band played its most famous concert. Billed as The Last Waltz, the show at Winterland in San Francisco featured the group, along with an all-star guest list, in what became the farewell performance of the original quintet.
Among the friends on the bill that night were Eric Clapton, Neil Young, Van Morrison, Ringo Starr, Ron Wood, Ronnie Hawkins, Dr. John, Muddy Waters, Neil Diamond, Emmylou Harris, Joni Mitchell, and the Staple Singers.
The death of the Doors' Jim Morrison may be reinvestigated by police. According to the new book, The End: Jim Morrison, by Sam Bernett, a French-born former New York Times journalist and friend of Morrison's in Paris, Morrison actually overdosed on heroin in the bathroom of the Rock & Roll Circus club in Paris during the early hours of July 3rd, 1971. Rolling Stone quoted Bernett as saying that Morrison scored the heroin and disappeared into the club's bathrooms: "About half an hour later, a cloakroom attendant came up to me and told me someone was locked in one of the cubicles and wasn't coming out. I got a bouncer to smash the door down."
Bernett found Morrison slumped over the toilet, and recalled: "We were certain he'd been snorting heroin because there was foam coming out of his lips as well as blood. He was scared of needles so never injected drugs." A customer, who worked as a medic, went on to proclaim Morrison dead.
Singer Marianne Faithfull was in the club that night, saw what transpired, and was sworn to secrecy. Bernett went on to say, "Marianne never mentioned Jim again. She won't talk about what happened in the club to this day."
Although the statute of limitations of the case ran out in 1994, a civil suit could still be filed. A spokesman for France's Police National told The Mail, "The new evidence will have to be considered."
Steve Harris, the senior VP at the time of the Doors' record label Elektra Records revealed what he knows about Morrison's death -- and also places Marianne Faithfull as a participant that night.
Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band are back on the road and firing on all cylinders. Seger, who'll turned 66 in May, opened the show with his 1978 Stranger In Town classic "Feel Like A Number" and peppered the 24-song set with such favorites as "Old Time Rock And Roll," "Turn The Page," "Hollywood Nights," "Night Moves" "Roll Me Away," "Katmandu," "Against The Wind," "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man," "Her Strut," and "We've Got Tonight" -- along with his legendary rendition of Ike & Tina Turner's "Nutbush City Limits" along with his recent digital singles, Tom Waits' "Downtown Train" and Little Richard's "Hey Hey Going Back To Birmingham." Seger also showed a little early yuletide spirit by including his legendary cover of "The Little Drummer Boy."
Bob Seger's opening night setlist on November 2nd in Ypsilanti, Michigan:
Set One:
"Feel Like A Number"
"Tryin' To Live My Life Without You"
"Fire Down Below"
"Mainstreet"
"Old Time Rock & Roll"
"Downtown Train"
"The Little Drummer Boy"
"Ramblin' Gamblin' Man"
"Real Mean Bottle"
"Travelin' Man"
"Beautiful Loser"
Set Two:
"Nutbush City Limits"
"Come To Poppa"
"Her Strut"
"Hey Hey Going Back To Birmingham"
"We've Got Tonight"
"Turn The Page"
"Sunspot Baby"
"Roll Me Away"
"Katmandu"
First Encore:
"Against The Wind"
"Hollywood Nights"
Second Encore:
"Night Moves"
"Rock And Roll Never Forgets"
AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson has announced that he will head out on a short tour in February 2012 to promote his recently published book, Rockers And Rollers: A Full Throttle Memoir. The singer will recount stories from the book and will be backed onstage by not only a light show and multimedia presentation, but musical accompaniment from Skid Row bassist Rachel Bolan and guitarist Scotti Hill.
The book, which arrived last May, details Johnson's life story through his love of racing and automobiles.
Brian told us that he began writing the book during the recording sessions for AC/DC's last album, 2008's Black Ice: "I just started writing down the little adventures and the funny things that had happened to me and other people with their cars, and I just wrote it down with a pen and a piece of paper. And then I scanned it and I sent it to me friend in London who said, 'You know, hey, this is funny.' So he said, 'Keep on writing.' So I wrote some more and then he sent it to the publishers, and I'll be buggered if they actually accepted it."
AC/DC may launch a world tour in 2013 to celebrate the band's 40th anniversary, but no official plans have been announced yet.
Confirmed dates for Rockers & Rollers: A Full Throttle Evening of Stories and Music with Brian Johnson of AC/DC
(subject to change):
February 7 - Knoxville, TN - Bijou Theatre
February 8 - Atlanta. GA - Center Stage Theatre
February 10 - Raleigh, NC - Lincoln Theatre
