Live Nations presents…. Van Halen with special Guests Kool and the Gang in Winnipeg, MB May 13th, 2012.

I have never been, nor will I ever be, a fan of Van Halen but what a great chance to get to see these kings of classic 80’s rock, and I mean who really wouldn’t want to see David Lee Roth and Eddie Van Halen play together again.

Opening the show was Kool and the Gang and what a funktastic soulful way it was to start out the evening. Now Kool and the Gang has been around for a long time in many incarnations, but this particular one only had 2 original members grooving up on stage. Boosting such hits as Get down On It, Jungle Boogie and of course Celebration these guys kept the crowd on their feet the whole time dancing and singing along.

Now for the headline act, Van Halen! This is one of those bands that needs no introduction especially if you grew up in the 80’s I mean even now Van Halen is still seen as a band of rock legends. This particular line up featured original lead singer David Lee Roth, who has returned to the fold. He came out like a hurricane all over the stage and not letting up until the show was over. At times he showed his crazy-ness like when a fan threw a beer cup on stage he stopped the show and said “Come on man don’t throw your f@#king garbage on the stage, throw your girlfriend”

It was evident that Eddie can still rip it up, Wow, he is one talented guitar player. He does not have the flash and flamboyance as Diamond Dave does, but thats why he stays in the background and just purely shreds. I don’t think once he said anything on his mic, he just put his head down and played. That was at a time where people didn’t have to wear an n95 mask to go to a concert, good ol’ times!

Not everything went well though; As much fun as the show was and as well as the band all played there were a few rough patches in the set list that still need to be worked out. The cover of Pretty Woman where Roth seemed to ad lib alot of the lyrics and at times sounded very out of key and off tone. That being said, I guess it’s the magic of going to see a band live; not everything will be perfect, which makes the whole live experience that much more interesting and meaningful. It shows they’re still human. Now that being said the 8000 fans at the MTS centre really appreciated the effort put forth by Eddie and the gang and showed it by coaxing them out for a encore after over an hour and a half in which Van Halen ended with there smash hit JUMP.

All in all, I can conclude it was fun show to go to. I can see the value of seeing one of your favourite bands with the original lead singer, if I were you I would definitely do it if time and budget allowed. Go check out the show it won’t disappoint. If you are looking for alternative way to make money, you might want to consider playing some fun and interactive sports betting games via ufabet เข้าสู่ระบบเว็บตรง.

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