Van Halen returns to Van City

By Jacob Zinn
[contributor]

“V-V-V-Vanama!”

That’s what fans will be chanting at Van Halen’s upcoming Vancouver show on Monday. Everybody wants some, and the California hard rockers are on the road for the first time in five years to make crowds jump and dance the night away!

Fans young and old can expect nothing less than virtuosic perfection from the band – after 40 years, it’s impossible for them to miss a beat.

Following their 2007 reunion tour with original frontman David Lee Roth, the band recorded their first album in 14 years, A Different Kind of Truth – and their first with Roth since 1984’s 1984.

The record yielded the number one single, “Tattoo”, a new favourite mixed in the set list of 20-plus VH classics that includes “Runnin’ with the Devil”, “Unchained” and “Hot for Teacher”.

Van Halen prepared for their extensive 70-date North American tour with months of rehearsals at Los Angeles’ Roxy Theater and a warm-up show at New York City’s Café Wha. They’re almost halfway through, reaching the Pacific Northwest this week and heading east afterward.

Roth will surely cover Roy Orbison’s “(Oh) Pretty Woman” and the Kinks’ “You Really Got Me” with Eddie, Alex and Wolfgang Van Halen on guitar, drums and bass, respectively.

The Wayne’s World worship-worthy Eddie will shred and solo his way through parts of “Eruption” and “Cathedral”, and his older brother Alex will give his drum set a ferocious pounding by the night’s end.

Fans can look forward to the show’s big rock finish, sure to feature a strong vocal performance by Roth before the lights go out and the night is done.

Van Halen burn down the avenue into Vancouver on Monday, May 7. Tickets are on sale through Ticketmaster for $30.00 to $170.00.