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Van Halen’s 1995 ‘Balance’ Tour

On March 11th, 1995, Van Halen kicked off the Balance Tour!

Van Halen’s 1995 tour—in support of the  Balance  album—was dubbed the “Ambulance Tour” by Eddie because of the hip and neck injuries sustained by himself and brother Alex. Despite those health concerns, this was another massive year for the band. Like their three previous albums, Balance debuted at #1, and the tour lasted 131 shows and grossed well over 30 million dollars. This would be the group’s last tour with Sammy Hagar on vocals until 2004, when he briefly rejoined the band for the 2004 reunion tour and the  Best of Both World’s greatest hits CD.

The updated stage show was elaborate—and expensive. Bringing living room comfort to a country of couch potatoes, the band added a new element to their stage show on this tour: the Jumbotron. Initially Alex’s idea, this was the band’s first time touring with a video production. The Jumbotron was a giant screen, similar to a television set, located above Alex. This was only the second time the setup had been used in arenas. Barbara Streisand was the first to use it in this manner. A six-man video team using four operating cameras and three point-of-view (POV) cameras, two of which were located on Alex’s drum kit, filmed the band, the crowd, and more, projecting the images onto the giant screen. The MTV-banned “Amsterdam” video was also shown on the Jumbotron. One of the stranger video effects was a projection of Sammy Hagar’s face on a giant dollar bill during “Big Fat Money.”  At the end of each show, the  Balance  album cover twins would appear, saying their goodbyes to the audience.

The band also hired a high-tech Autopilot system so that lights would automatically follow the musicians using infrared and ultrasonic cues. They were the second band, after ZZ Top, to adopt the system–a quantum leap ahead of the lighting stomp pedals Michael Anthony had brought with him from Snake when he joined Van Halen twenty years earlier.

A total of seven stage cameras brought the sweaty details of every performance to the back rows, just like at a sporting event. With short hair, work shirts with name patches, and ripped blue jeans, Van Halen now looked like a bunch of guys who had just finished hanging drywall in the basement and decided to jam a few Top 40 tunes.

Opening Bands

Van Halen had various openers for the U.S. shows. The bands were: Skid Row, Collective Soul, Slash’s Snakepit, Our Lady Peace, and Brother Cane.

Album Promo Tour

During the short European album promotional tour in January, the band played a supposedly secret club show [pro video linked here]  for the Dutch 5150 fan club in Holland. Word leaked, and three thousand fans waited in the cold and snow for hours hoping to catch a glimpse of Holland’s greatest rock export, sympathetically singing “Happy Birthday” to Eddie on his fortieth birthday. The gig was broadcast live over national radio, renewing interest in the band due to the warm intensity of the performance. The band also performed a club show in Milan, Italy [pro video linked here] .

The Tour: First and Second North American Legs 

The tour began March 11th with a sickly spring cough, as flu-stricken Sammy Hagar struggled to make dates. Eddie’s knees wobbled the first night in Pensacola, Florida, as he looked out over a capacity crowd of over nine thousand fans and prepared to play sober for virtually the first time in his career. He found that he liked being aware of the audience and enjoyed the process of coming out of his shell.

Sammy’s ailing throat forced the band to cancel a night in Orlando, Florida, and then three shows in California in early April. Some nights his vocal outages became a boon for fans, like when the band broke from its preordained routine for a ten-minute jam on the longed-for “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love.” Some nights, Eddie would pop into the intros for old unheard ghosts like “Mean Street,” “Romeo Delight,” and even “Runnin’ with the Devil.” He seemed to be chafing at the bit to play original Van Halen classics despite Sammy’s reluctance. Fans definitely wanted to hear them—those first six albums continued to garner multiplatinum sales—and crowds screamed while Eddie teased them.

Eddie continued leaping high, but his moves were increasingly curtailed by a throbbing pain in his hip. Thinking he had taken a bad swivel on the golf course, he underwent CT scans and MRIs. He was diagnosed with an avascular necrosis—a loss of blood supply to his joint that had made the ball joint of his hip collapse. Doctors recommended surgery immediately. Instead, he bought a cane and continued with the tour. “I’m hobbling, yeah,” Eddie said. “It’s from years of hopping around onstage and drinking, not feeling what I’m doing to myself. I’m almost seven months sober now, so the pain is a lot worse.”

Then on April 7, 1995, the Oakland show was canceled after Eddie was arrested at Burbank Airport for boarding a plane with a loaded .25 caliber pistol. “First commercial flight after an eternity of charters,” he said with a shrug, explaining that the gun had become a constant companion after years of stalkers and psychodrama. Eddie went to court, paid a $1,000 fine and was handed a year’s probation.

As the tour continued, Valerie remained a supportive presence, popping in with four-year-old Wolfgang in tow to announce the latest findings she’d dug up as a mole digging through Van Halen’s various AOL chat rooms—one of the first places for Van Halen chatter on the internet. One day, while the family was driving together, Van Halen’s “Hot for Teacher” came on the radio. “I said `Wolfie, that’s Daddy,'” Eddie laughingly told the Albany Times-Union. “He said, `It sounds like Daddy playing guitar, but who’s that singing? That doesn’t sound like Sammy.'”

Alex shaved his impressive facial hair, but his drum solo still included a routine of him playing alongside a prerecorded video of himself on the giant screens–still wearing what looked like a paste-on Groucho moustache. That quirk in the otherwise seamless shows gave a glimpse into the perverse humor of Alex’s world. He displayed his superiority wordlessly, banging out hailstorms of Latin-style percussion on the world’s loudest drums.

A $10,000 big-screen nature video for “Eagles Fly”—a ballad from Hagar’s 1987 I Never Said Goodbye album—became a nightly set piece. Sammy started slowly playing guitar by himself, and then the band joined him to create the big finish. “You throw another guitar player out there and Eddie’s not used to that,” Sammy told Guitar. “When I start playing I mean it, and he feels that. I say, `Come on, motherfucker, you can kick my ass but you’re going to have to kick it good.’ It makes him play, and I like that aspect.”

Cutting back on his ritual pre-show bourbon, Michael Anthony began incorporating Bach fingerstepping phrases into his lengthy bass solo. He now had a Tabasco bass in his arsenal, but like the Jack Daniel’s instrument, the copyright holders got wind and ruined the innocent spirit of the tribute. Tabasco asked him for the bass to hang near their headquarters at the Hard Rock Cafe in New Orleans. They paid for Mike to build a new one, but to his chagrin the graphics weren’t as inspired the second time around. He remained the most easygoing member of the band, always flashing his 1977 smile. “I calm down once I’m onstage,” Mike told Guitar. “Audiences are different. It’s almost like meeting somebody famous for the first time–you start out nervous and then calm down.”

A new addition, former Night Ranger, Montrose, and Sammy Hagar band keyboardist Alan Fitzgerald, lurked in a dark tent off to the side of the stage, triggering prerecorded samples of special effects like strings, gongs, and bells. He also cued the keyboard lines for “Jump” and “Right Now” so Edward would be free to play guitar.

Sammy couldn’t be faulted for sharing some personal insight, but Van Halen’s audience hardly expected the world’s foremost sires of hard cock arena rock to lecture them about sensitivity. It seemed a little too late for Van Halen—especially after the F.U.C.K. album had strapped its male sexuality to the front of a locomotive and rammed it home.

European Leg

Believe it or not, this tour featured the band opening for Bon Jovi on the European leg of their tour. The reasoning behind this move was that the band needed to broaden their European fan base. What better way to do it then play alongside Bon Jovi, who are downright huge in Europe?  As opposed to the years of untouchable success they’d experienced in the United States, Van Halen were becoming a nonentity across the Atlantic, performing fewer than twenty dates in the past ten years. When they appeared with Roth on German and Italian television during their early years, the gaudy high kicks and smiling faces had impressed the dour Continental rock audiences, but in recent years Van Halen suffered for its lack of loyalty to the European rock community.

During the European trek with Bon Jovi, Alex was shocked when a fan asked after a concert if they had any other records besides Balance. “The tour is a rock and roll band and a bunch of posers together,” he told a German paper. “We indeed play the same venues Bon Jovi plays, but we simply wanted to play in front of as many people as possible. The sad thing about it is that he, Bon Jovi, tries to get some credibility out of it.”

Hoping to make their return to Europe a low-stress adventure, Van Halen only made problems for themselves. “That was pretty much a mess,” Mike later agreed. “We came away with a big following, but trying to handle Mr. Bon Jovi became a bit stressful after a while. He even complained to our manager that we wouldn’t come out after our set and watch his band play.”

The May 1995 open-air appearance with Bon Jovi in Eddie’s birthplace of Nijmegen was plagued by a Sammy Hagar wardrobe malfunction. Unfortunately, Sammy wore of an Ajax soccer jersey—representing the effete rival team from Amsterdam. Sammy’s gesture was about as welcome as a Chicago Bears jersey would be in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

A plethora of other bands also shared the bill on Van Halen’s European dates, including Thunder, Ugly Kid Joe, Crown of Thorns, Slash’s Snakepit, The Pretenders, Otto, Little Steven, Bad Moon Rising, and others.

Third and Fourth North American Legs 

Back in the States, the remaining dates had their share of highlights. In Minneapolis, a coterie of bald, chanting monks wearing red gowns, hailing from Gyuto Tantric University, opened the show with the hypnotic drones leading to “The Seventh Seal.” The Toronto show was recorded for a pay-per-view performance. To reward their crew for putting up with movie cameras, lights, and the extra labor, the band rented a boat and took their hardworking road dogs for a cruise around Lake Ontario.

In Denver, the crew began setting up as usual for an outdoor show. The forecast called for snow, in September—and for once, the weatherman was correct. The band performed through a pounding snowstorm , trading snowballs with the audience. Hagar slipped and fell on his ass. By the time they were done, nine inches of white stuff covered the city. Then on October 6, Van Halen were inducted into Hollywood’s Rock Walk, for their “significant contribution to the evolution of Rock and Roll as a universal art form.”

Yet in the view of many observers, management was milking Van Halen, forcing them to continue to work when they needed time apart and rest—especially Alex who was injured and wearing a neckbrace.

The band finished its tour with two dates in Hawaii in early November 1995. Hagar married his girlfriend , model Kari Karte, on November 29.

USA Harvest

The band continued collecting food for USA Harvest, asking for fans to bring canned food to concerts. Donations far surpassed the contributions from 1993, totaling over 360,000 cans. The Presidential Points of Light Foundation had celebrated the charity in 1994. Now for their ongoing efforts Van Halen were invited to the White House by President Clinton. Against all advice, they declined. “I don’t dig the guy,” Hagar told [Van Halen magazine]  The Inside . “I didn’t vote for the guy and I certainly wouldn’t vote for him again. The only thing I’ll say good about Clinton is that I like what he’s doing to the cigarette companies. No one’s ever fought those people before. “

Michael Anthony 

Mike added a nod to J.S. Bach’s “Toccata and Fugue” in D minor (recognized by many as the macabre organ piece from the Phantom of the Opera) to his bass solo on this tour. His bass setup included five Music Man 4-string basses; two in metallic gold, two transparent red, and one sunburst. Each was outfitted with a 2TEK bridge designed by Anthony and Linn Ellsworth and were otherwise stock with the exception of an added thumb rest and the removal of the three-position pickup selector switches (the pickups were hardwired for series-only operation). All the basses were strung with Ernie Ball Hybrid Slinky strings, gauged .045 to .105. Rig-wise, Michael used three racks of gear. The first housed Samson UR-4 and UR-5D wireless receivers. His main rack consisted of two Ampeg SVT-Pro preamps, a Bradshaw switching system, a Custom Audio Electronis 3+ Tube Preamp (for the bass solo), two Roland SDE-3000 digital delays (set to 579 and 279 milliseconds), two Boss SE-70 multi-effects units (for distorted flange), and an Ampeg SVT-3000 power amp (used as a spare). The third rack housed three Ampeg SVT-300 300-watt mono tube amps; two power a pair of Ampeg SVT810Es each, and the third was a spare. He also kept some standby units from previous tours including an ADA flanger, an Electro-Harmonix Bass Micro-Synth, a Colorsound fuzz, and a Roland DC-30 chorus/echo unit.

Prior to the start of the tour, Mike teamed up with Peavey and tried out a CyberBass, a bass-to-MIDI controller that connects to a rackmount sound module. The CyberBass was a precursor to a similar concoction known as a MidiBass. He considered using it during his bass solo, but didn’t for unknown reasons.

Alex Van Halen

Alex drank a homemade garlic and carrot drink each night before taking the stage, that had a tendency to leave a rather garlicky-smell all around him and his drum kit. This practice made Alex the butt of many jokes. His solo featured a segment where he played against a recording of himself, showering the crowd with a rather Latinesque treat.

Edward Van Halen

Ed brought “Franky” out on the tour during the first leg, but ended up not using it for unknown reasons. Eddie also played one of his Ernie Ball Music Man guitars from time to time, which had black electrical tape covering the Music Man logo, probably due to the fact that he was now endorsing his new Peavey Wolfgang line. Early in the tour, Eddie began to experience intense pain in his hip, which was later diagnosed as Avascular Necrosis. It was common to see him standing relatively still for most of these shows, even sitting on a red, white and blacked striped stool on more than one occasion. By tour’s end however, he was much more active, either getting used to the pain or doing a hell of a job masking it. His solo featured several Roth-era song teasers including the verse section to “Mean Street” and the intro to “Runnin’ with the Devil”, as well as a nod to the 5-note communication sequence from the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The final leg of the tour featured the guitarist following in Alex’s footsteps: he also played against a recording of himself.

• Big Fat Money

The band grossed a staggering $32.7 million in support of Balance . Other top grossing acts for the year included the Eagles with $56.6 million, the Grateful Dead, R.E.M. and Page & Plant.

Typical Set List:

• Right Now [or Seventh Seal]
• Why Can’t This Be Love
• Top of the World  [sometimes]
• Runaround [sometimes]
• The Seventh Seal
• Mine All Mine
• Can’t Stop Lovin’ You
• Feelin’
• Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love
• Guitar solo
• You Really Got Me
• One Way To Rock
• Poundcake [sometimes]
• Don’t Tell Me [sometimes]

This Balance tour page was written by VHND,  contributing writer CJ Chilvers and Ian Christe, author of   Everybody Wants Some: The Van Halen Saga.  Photos from VHND’s archives.

Below, watch the inaugural show of the ‘Balance’ tour — Pensacola, Florida 3/11/95!

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The Story of Van Halen’s Injury-Plagued ‘Balance’ Tour

Early 1995 found Van Halen heading back out on the road with a No. 1 album on the chart — a position that had become fairly common for the band over the previous decade. But as they started the tour in support of their Balance LP on March 11, it wasn't exactly business as usual.

For starters, neither Alex nor Eddie Van Halen were in peak physical condition when the band played the first date in Pensacola, Fla.

Over the course of what they'd jokingly refer to as the "Ambulance" tour, Eddie coped with growing pain in his hip — the result of soon-to-be-diagnosed avascular necrosis, which would result in replacement surgery in 1999 — while Alex had to wear a neck brace in order to play through three ruptured vertebrae.

And physical problems weren't the only ones brewing for the band behind the scenes: Relations between Eddie and singer Sammy Hagar were strained during the making of Balance , and they didn't get any better on the road, partly due to what Hagar later described as an increasingly fraught conflict between himself and new manager Ray Danniels, who took over Van Halen's affairs after the death of Ed Leffler, their manager since 1985.

According to Hagar, one difference of opinion with Danniels stemmed from the manager's eagerness to arrange for a Van Halen greatest-hits record — a suggestion Hagar initially laughed off, saying best-of compilations were for acts whose careers had dried up.

Watch Van Halen Perform at Toronto in 1995

Hagar didn't realize it at the time, but this would prove to be a major sticking point – as would his recent decision to contribute some new recordings to his own solo greatest-hits compilation, Unboxed . The Balance tour would be his last with the band until an ill-fated reunion attempt in 2004.

In the meantime, Van Halen soldiered on. Some major changes loomed, but they delivered on the Balance tour in every way that mattered, carrying on through an itinerary of more than 130 shows that kept them moving around the globe until early November.

The dates definitely had their share of memorable highlights, including a Sept. 20, 1995, stop in Denver that coincided with a freak snowstorm and left the band slipping around onstage while engaging in playful snowball fights with the fans.

Danniels would later be accused of looking to make an easy buck out of the band's back catalog, but he also had an eye toward expanding their global fan base, arranging for Van Halen to open for Bon Jovi during the European leg of the tour in a successful effort to take advantage of that band's massive overseas popularity. (In the States, Van Halen remained the headliners, topping an evolving bill that included openers Skid Row , Our Lady Peace and Collective Soul.)

In the end, if the tumult waiting for the band added more than a bit of sad irony to the title of the album they were promoting, the Balance tour also delivered more than a few reminders of why they were one of the biggest rock bands on the planet — including the final grosses, which came in at more than $30 million. At the end of an era, with doctors and lawyers waiting in the wings, Van Halen still brought the house down.    

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More From Ultimate Classic Rock

Van Halen; Collective Soul

A Van Halen tour stop is always one of the concert season's most eagerly awaited events -- especially in Los Angeles -- and with good reason: Fans who packed the Forum on Tuesday night were treated to a red-lined, fifth-gear rock 'n' roll performance devoid of pretense and posturing, and one that further cemented Van Halen's reputation.

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A Van Halen tour stop is always one of the concert season’s most eagerly awaited events — especially in Los Angeles — and with good reason: Fans who packed the Forum on Tuesday night were treated to a red-lined, fifth-gear rock ‘n’ roll performance devoid of pretense and posturing, and one that further cemented Van Halen’s reputation as the nation’s premier have-a-good-time party band.

The sold-out show — the first of a two-night stand — marked the band’s return to the Southland after a nearly four-year absence and the first tour since the death of their longtime manager Ed Leffler.

Armed with a new Warner Bros. disc, “Balance,” that has sold nearly 3 million copies in less than two months, and with a major tour, the quartet shows no signs of slowing down or diminished popularity.

Although a Van Halen show changes little over the years, and is more often a greatest hits offering peppered with new tracks from its latest disc than a reinvention, the self-effacing yet no-holds-barred presentation makes even the dusty material register as fresh.

Popular on Variety

The laborious solos are still a component of the otherwise exhilarating live perf, but have been trimmed to more tolerable lengths.

The band roared through its best-knowns, including “Round” and “Top of the World,” and lead singer Sammy Hagar — who would later proclaim “Violence Is Out” as a mantra for the ’90s — used the gig to offer an explanation and presentation of “Amsterdam,” during which he blasted MTV for making him alter the drug references in lyrics to make the tune vid-channel suitable.

Less than an hour into the show, the band trotted out its current single, “Can’t Stop Loving You,” a driving, radio-friendly track.

But the show’s galvanizing moments came toward its end, with “Right Now” and “Higher,” the set and show finales, respectively, prompting fans to cause the cavernous venue to rock under the weight of their enthusiasm.

Ironically, the evening’s loudest and most sustained applause came on the heels of Hagar’s pronouncement that Eddie Van Halen was playing his first L.A. show sober.

Large video screens flanking the stage kept the action close for those in the nosebleed seats, while a huge screen backdropped the mammoth stage. Gone, however, is the laser light barrage, signaling a welcomed emphasis on the stage action and music rather than technical advancements.

Hagar sounds as good as ever, though by the two-hour show’s end his voice expectedly thinned in the upper registers.

His trademark yells and banshee screams remained in top form throughout as he tried on every T-shirt offered by fans, without missing a beat or losing the rhythm.

As expected, Hagar’s spotlight solo featured the signature chestnut “When Eagles Fly,” and Eddie’s guitar solo was a display of unbridled and uncompromising riff-mastery.

Michael Anthony’s bass solo was embarrassing and awkward, and Alex’s drum solo offered nothing new, unless you include a non-moving drum riser. (The band has in the past used the solo time to either elevate, rotate or obfuscate the riser during the final moments, but on this night it remained static.)

Opener Collective Soul put forth a valiant effort, warming up a tough L.A. crowd with selections from its debut Atlantic disc, “Hints, Allegations & Things Left Unsaid,” and its latest self-titled album.

The Stockbridge, Ga., natives proved capable of assuming the rock god mantle with straight-ahead, ’70s-eets-’90s fare, and were particularly impressive on “Smashing Young Man.”

The Forum; 14,300 seats; $ 40 top

• Production: Promoted by Avalon Attractions. Reviewed April 5, 1994.
• Cast: Bands: Van Halen: Sammy Hagar, Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen, Michael Anthony. Collective Soul: Ed Roland, Dean Roland, Ross Childress, Will Turpin, Shane Evans.

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1993 Van Halen Tour Dates Right Here, Right Now Tour (1993)

SAMMY HAGAR And MICHAEL ANTHONY's THE CIRCLE To Tour With COLLECTIVE SOUL

Sammy Hagar and THE CIRCLE , the critically acclaimed supergroup featuring Michael Anthony , Jason Bonham and Vic Johnson , has announced plans for a North American tour with COLLECTIVE SOUL this fall. Presented by Sammy 's Beach Bar Rum, the tour kicks off September 10 at the Glen Helen Amphitheater in San Bernardino, California and will take the multi-platinum selling artists throughout the U.S. before their final stop at Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in Maryland Heights, Missouri on September 30. Singer/songwriter Andrew Hagar will also join as a special guest for the fall tour. Tour itinerary follows.

Sammy Hagar & THE CIRCLE with COLLECTIVE SOUL tour dates:

Sep. 10 - San Bernardino, CA - Glen Helen Amphitheater Sep. 12 - Englewood, CO - Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre * Sep. 14 - Irving, TX - Irving Music Factory ^ Sep. 15 - Sugarland, TX - Smart Financial Centre * Sep. 17 - Clearwater, FL - Coachman Park Sep. 19 - Pompano Beach, FL - Pompano Beach Amphitheater Sep. 20 - St. Augustine, FL - St. Augustine Amphitheatre Sep. 22 - Mashantucket, CT - Foxwoods Resort Casino - Grand Theater Sep. 23 - Wantagh, NY - Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater ^ Sep. 25 - Philadelphia, PA - Mann Center for the Performing Arts Sep. 27 - Toledo, OH - Toledo Zoo Amphitheatre ^ Sep. 28 - Clarkson, MI - DTE Energy Theatre ^ Sep. 30 - Maryland Heights, MO - Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre ^

* Dates with an * do not feature COLLECTIVE SOUL ^ Dates with an ^ are participating in the Live Nation Kickoff To Summer Ticket Promotion with a limited-time $20 ticket offer.

THE CIRCLE released a concert album, "At Your Service" , in May 2015. Recorded live on tour in 2014, this release documents the blistering performance of a band on fire performing hits from Sammy 's four decades of rock ( MONTROSE , solo, VAN HALEN , THE WABORITAS , CHICKENFOOT ) as well as classic tracks from the LED ZEPPELIN catalog.

Speaking to Ultimate Classic Rock , Hagar stated about THE CIRCLE : "I think THE CIRCLE is the band that I want to play with right now. It's the band that I choose to play with over any band. Even CHICKENFOOT is hard, because we only play CHICKENFOOT . So I miss playing 'When It's Love' and 'Right Now' and 'I Can't Drive 55' and 'One Way To Rock' and 'Heavy Metal' and 'Rock Candy' . I miss doing that, as much as I love CHICKENFOOT ."

He continued: " THE CIRCLE is so satisfying that I don't even see a reason to make a record. We have so many great hits that we can choose from our catalog, all of those VAN HALEN hits, all of the Sammy solo, all of those MONTROSE hits, CHICKENFOOT hits, LED ZEPPELIN songs — we have that catalog to choose from for our shows, so to make a record would just be kind of a waste of time. I wouldn't say never, but first I'd like to put together the greatest set list that ever existed in rock 'n' roll, and I think we're pretty close to it right now with the one that we have, but it can even get better. There's a frikkin' goldmine to choose from of songs that I've written and sang in my life."

After his stint as lead singer of MONTROSE , Hagar launched a successful solo career before joining VAN HALEN in 1985. During his time with the band, they notched four consecutive No. 1 albums before breaking up in the mid-'90s.

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Collective Soul

Van Halen & Collective Soul

Rock has become a highly bastardised genre. Combined with all kinds of music like Grunge, Industrial, Metal, and Punk, it has mutated into something new and different. Further, the social trends that forged Rock have also changed leading to the new genres listed above. Rock was about over-indulgence: sex, money, and violence. The violence part currently seems to be dominating in today's angst-ridden groups, but not with Van Halen.

In a show that epitomised what a Rock concert should be, Van Halen blew "the top off" at the Rochester War Memorial in NY. While one should be fair to bassist Michael Anthony, drummer Alex Van Halen, and vocalist Sammy Hagar, and say that they did a good job, it was Eddie Van Halen's amazing guitar work that was responsible for the crowd of approximately ten thousand sounding like twenty.

The most annoying part in their latest release, Balance, is Hagar's vocals. His performance during the concert wasn't anything moving either, especially considering a lot of the songs they performed were from Balance: The Seventh Seal, Can't Stop Lovin' You, Big Fat Money (?), Amsterdam, Aftershock, and Don't Tell Me (What Love Can Do). He, to me, is a screamer without emotion (unlike Ian Gillan). But he is a charismatic frontman for the band, perhaps almost as good as his predecessor, David Lee Roth, and managed to keep the crowd roaring with his antics. These included donning T-shirts, hats, and bras owned by the audience, draping up in banners made by the crowd, recognising fans who followed the band around, asking girls to take their bras off, and even spouting cliches about the Oklahama City bombing. Hagar did have his vocal and guitar moments, however, with a solo performance of Eagles Fly, which I thought was quite moving.

Alex Van Halen's drumming was tight, and the drum solo was well done. Apparently he's a big fan of peanuts.

I thought the bass solo was really cool. Friends of mine who play bass have often made fun of Michael Anthony's style of bass playing, but I was quite impressed with the simple musicality of his solo. It's a pity it lasted only a couple of minutes.

Eddie Van Halen was a bit more sloppy than I'd have expected him to be, but words cannot even begin to describe his manual dexterity, his technical prowess, and his ability to improvise. All this while playing as casually as reading a newspaper. I sometimes have thought of him as one of the greatest guitarists in the world (second only to Ritchie Blackmore) and sometimes I have had my reservations, but this show buried all such doubts. The guitar solo he played was magnificient. It consisted of a medley of Spanish Fly, Cathedral, 316, and Eruption. This probably was the highlight of the concert for me---a great mix of the old and the new, and all GREAT! EVH's guitar work was also evident in older songs like Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love, Why Can't this be Love, and the cover of the Kinks' You Really Got Me. Unfortunately, there were notable absences from older albums which would've showcased EVH's guitar playing even more, particularly Women and Children First (my favourite VH album).

Collective Soul opened. They played a collection of songs that included stuff from their new album, "simply titled Collective Soul," and their old album, Hints, Allegations, and Things Left Unsaid. They were an appropriate opener for VH, but by the end of the show, they were a distant memory. Their set included the popular radio hit Shine.

Other songs VH played included Run Around, Top of the World, When it's Love, Finish What Ya Started, and the popular Right Now. For the last song, they went back to 1984 with Panama. Van Halen has always delivered fine product and if you go to see them, you'll get exactly what you paid for---a real Rock concert.

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• April 26, 1995 Setlist

Van Halen Setlist at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY, USA

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• The Seventh Seal Play Video
• Big Fat Money Play Video
• Runaround Play Video
• Amsterdam Play Video
• When It's Love Play Video
• Top of the World Play Video
• Bass Solo Play Video
• Aftershock Play Video
• Drum Solo Play Video
• Can't Stop Lovin' You Play Video
• Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love Play Video
• Feelin' Play Video
• Eagles Fly ( Sammy Hagar  song) Play Video
• You Really Got Me ( The Kinks  cover) Play Video
• Guitar Solo Play Video
• Why Can't This Be Love Play Video
• Finish What Ya Started Play Video
• Right Now Play Video
• Panama Play Video
• Dreams Play Video

Edits and Comments

7 activities (last edit by ukj69 , 15 Jan 2024, 00:42 Etc/UTC )

Songs on Albums

• Big Fat Money
• Can't Stop Lovin' You
• Feelin'
• The Seventh Seal
• Top of the World
• Guitar Solo
• Why Can't This Be Love
• Finish What Ya Started
• When It's Love
• Eagles Fly by Sammy Hagar
• You Really Got Me by The Kinks
• Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love

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Setlist History: Van Halen Reunites with David Lee Roth adds Wolf

Nassau veterans memorial coliseum.

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Van Halen Gig Timeline

• Apr 23 1995 Charleston Civic Center Charleston, WV, USA Add time Add time
• Apr 25 1995 Brendan Byrne Arena East Rutherford, NJ, USA Add time Add time
• Apr 26 1995 Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum This Setlist Uniondale, NY, USA Add time Add time
• Apr 27 1995 The Jon Stewart Show New York, NY, USA Add time Add time
• Apr 28 1995 CoreStates Spectrum Philadelphia, PA, USA Add time Add time

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By kslx | september 6, 2022, collective soul’s ed roland reflects on being “the opening band for everybody”.

It’d be hard to beat Collective Soul ‘s collection of tour mates.

The “Shine” rockers have shared the road with artists including Metallica , Aerosmith , Van Halen , The Cranberries and Styx over their 30 years as a band. Speaking with ABC Audio, frontman Ed Roland shares he feels “blessed” to have such an extensive touring history.

“We’re like the opening band for everybody,” Roland laughs.

As for what makes Collective Soul able to fit on so many different kinds of bills, Roland’s explanation is simple: “We’re just a rock ‘n’ roll band.”

“We’ve just never put ourselves where we have to be this sound or this vibe,” he says. “It’s all about that song at that moment — how is this song gonna translate to what makes us feel good?”

Collective Soul now has a new band to add to the roster in Switchfoot , who they’ve been touring with since July. Roland feels his group and the “Meant to Live” rockers share a common “spirit of the music” and “attitude.”

“They take it serious, we take it serious,” Roland says. “It’s just the values of everybody in the band. They’re very family oriented.”

Fittingly, both Collective Soul and Switchfoot are literal bands of brothers. Roland’s brother Dean Roland plays guitar in Collective Soul, while Switchfoot features siblings in frontman Jon Foreman and bassist Tim Foreman .

More than that, though, Roland feels the two bands are both “appreciative of where we are in life.”

“We’re appreciative of people enjoying our music,” he says. “I think that is what bonds us together.”

Collective Soul’s tour with Switchfoot is scheduled through the end of September. Their new album, Vibrating , is out now.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Ed Roland | Collective Soul

Type: Signature Artists

Website: www.collectivesoul.com

Renowned for his passionate vocals, Ed Roland is best known as the frontman and principal songwriter of platinum selling rock band Collective Soul, With seven #1 hits under his belt, Roland also stays busy with his rootsier band Ed Roland & the Sweet Tea Project and has solo projects in the works as well. The producer and two-time Georgia Music Hall of Fame inductee is also a father, an avid golfer, a guitar and art collector and supports various charities in his community.

Early musical influences for the Georgia native were his mother, who played piano in the church, and his father who was the minister of music before he became a minister.  The first record Roland ever bought was Elton John and he says “that’s what got me into rock and roll.”  In 2000, Roland fulfilled a dream of singing with his music idol on Collective Soul’s fifth album, Blender, when he sang duet “Perfect Day” with Elton John.

After finishing high school, Roland studied songwriting and guitar at Berklee College of Music in Boston for one year. He was the lead engineer and producer at Real 2 Reel Studios in Stockbridge, Georgia for eight years.

In 1985, Roland was in a band called The Eddie Band and another band during the late 1980s and early 1990s called Marching Two-Step, which also included future producer and music executive Matt Serletic, future executive Michelle Rhea Caplinger and longtime Collective Soul drummer Shane Evans.

Roland released an indie album called Ed-E Roland in 1991. The album showcased his abilities to compose, record, and produce his own original music.

Roland changed the name of his band to Collective Soul and released Hints, Allegations & Things Left Unsaid in 1993 on a label called Rising Storm. It was a compilation of some of Roland’s songwriting demos created when he worked at Real 2 Reel Studios. This collection eventually caught the attention of a college radio station in Orlando, Florida and several other college radio stations began to play “Shine” and it became an underground hit. The popularity of the song and band was convincing enough that Atlantic Records signed Collective Soul in 1993 to a long-term major label contract. Hints, Allegations, and Things Left Unsaid was re-released worldwide in early 1994. The band experienced a sudden rise from obscurity to fame.

The multi-platinum quintet has been making music for two decades since then and has a catalog of #1 hits under their belts. Collective Soul helped shape and define alternative rock with lots of guitars and attitude. The band is set to release its ninth album on October 2, “See What You Started by Continuing,” with tour scheduled to hit more than 30 cities in the fall.

In 2011, Roland formed Ed Roland & the Sweet Tea Project with a group of friends and musicians.  Named after the drink that is a cultural trademark of the band’s home region, the band began serendipitously when Roland began reconnecting with the rich club and coffeehouse scene in Atlanta. On random nights, he would invite popular local musicians to his house to jam on tunes he had written that reached outside the stylistic jurisdiction of Collective Soul, including “Going to Birmingham,” one of the highlights from their debut album Devils ‘n Darlins that Roland penned on the ukulele. In 2012, the Sweet Tea Project’s cover version of “Shelter from the Storm” was released on Chimes of Freedom: Songs of Bob Dylan Honoring 50 Years of Amnesty International, a four-disc compilation of Bob Dylan covers.‪ The Americana band is set to release a second album in early 2016.

In addition to his two bands, Roland also has solo projects in the works.  He describes his solo music as “lyrically very personal and a little bit more relaxed” than the “guitars and attitude” of Collective Soul and the “more organic, acoustic vibe of Sweet Tea Project.

Roland is also an avid golfer and has been honored to play at some of the most beautiful courses in the world.  Roland played golf for the first time 20 years ago when Collective Soul was on tour with Van Halen.  Eddie Van Halen popped his head into the band’s tour bus and announced, “Tomorrow we are playing golf.”  The game has become a passion for Roland ever since.  Roland insists he plays for fun and to enjoy the company he is with.  His current handicap is 15, while his lowest has been 9. He has played in various tournaments including the Zurich ProAm and the BMW ProAm in Greensboro, SC.

Roland supports various charities and focuses on organizations close to home in Atlanta. In 2013, Ed Roland received the Youth Catalyst Award from Usher’s New Look Foundation. Each year, Roland does a charity event at Christmas at Atlanta’s Eddie’s Attic to support local organizations.

Roland is an avid collector of guitars and currently has a 148 at his home.  His collection is ever-evolving and he has “cheap ones, rare ones and all of the in between ones.” He also collects photography and art.

Roland lives in Atlanta, Ga., with his wife and has two son ages 6 and 17.

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