Summer Tour 2004 (Van Halen)

The Van Halen Tour 2004 was a North American concert tour by hard rock band Van Halen. It was the band's first tour since 1998 and saw the return of lead singer Sammy Hagar who left the band in 1996 on bad terms.

Van Halen Tour 2004
Tour by Van Halen
Start dateJune 11, 2004
End dateNovember 19, 2004
Legs3
No. of shows80 played
Van Halen concert chronology

History

In 2004, Van Halen reunited with Sammy Hagar, their second vocalist from 1985–1996. The original plan was to release a full-length album, titled The Best of Both Worlds. It would have featured the instrumentals from the aborted second album with Gary Cherone, with Hagar on vocals. This plan was abandoned because Ed, in the condition he was in, could only complete three of the tracks. They decided to release a new compilation double album featuring those three new songs on it as their first move. This was followed by a reunion tour, featuring these new songs among others on the set list. The new songs were "It's About Time", "Up for Breakfast" and "Learning to See". Initially 28 dates were announced, but this was extended to 80 across five months – all of which were performed.

The tour included many controversies, some leading to Hagar's permanent departure following the tour. Michael Anthony, longtime bassist for the band (performing with them until 2000 when they went on hiatus, but still officially a member in 2004) was hired as a touring musician but not a 'real' member, being paid a reduced commission. Initially the Van Halen brothers didn't want him on the tour at all, but Hagar refused to tour without him. Hagar also accused Eddie Van Halen of drinking far too much, despite Eddie's denials: "It was horrible to know a person that was in that kind of shape."[1]

The tour grossed almost $55 million and Pollstar listed Van Halen in the Top 10 grossing tours of 2004. However, Rolling Stone revealed that promoters did not actually profit from the tour, losing money. This was largely attributed to overpriced tickets of up to $250 slowing down ticket sales. Concerts were met with (usually) positive reviews from critics and fans, though some did notice Eddie's alcohol abuse. Wolfgang Van Halen, Eddie's young son, would join the band for rhythm guitar during the instrumental "316". In 2006, Wolfgang joined Van Halen permanently, replacing Anthony on bass.

Throughout the tour, reports of Eddie's alcohol abuse cropped up in reviews. In the band's first Chicago, Illinois show, Eddie tripped over his guitar cable multiple times. 18 times it actually became unplugged and a guitar tech had to chase Eddie around the stage keeping things together. Eddie later stopped in the middle of a guitar solo, lying down and simply saying "I'm sorry folks, I done run outta gas". Eddie did however, recover and finish the solo. The other major event occurred on the final date of the tour, in Tucson, Arizona, when Eddie finished the set by smashing his guitar, sending shrapnel into the audience and running off stage.

The tour consisted of three legs, with the first two being in the United States (with the exception of a single date in the first leg in Toronto), and the third was a mixture of American and Canadian dates. By playing a date in Puerto Rico, Van Halen became the first rock act to ever play at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum, one week after the venue's inauguration.

The tour was extended repeatedly, leading to a "Summer" tour lasting until late November. This was not originally planned.

There were rumors that the tour would expand to Europe, Asia and South America into 2005. However, the idea was shot down, particularly because Hagar was dissatisfied with the band dynamics – Eddie did not like all the promotion for Hagar's Cabo Wabo business in the tour, and while travelling, the Van Halen brothers were on one jet and Hagar and Anthony in another to avoid fights.[2] To date, neither Hagar nor Anthony has performed with Van Halen again.

Setlist

Typical Setlist

  1. "Jump"
  2. "Runaround"
  3. "Humans Being"
  4. "Up for Breakfast"
  5. Bass Solo
  6. "Somebody Get Me a Doctor"
  7. Poundcake"
  8. "It's About Time"
  9. Drum Solo
  10. "Top of the World"
  11. "Unchained"
  12. "Why Can't This Be Love"
  13. "Eagles Fly"
  14. "Deeper Kinda Love"
  15. "Learning to See"
  16. "Best of Both Worlds"
  17. Guitar Solo
  18. "Dreams"
  19. "Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love"
  20. "Right Now"
  21. "You Really Got Me"
  22. "Panama"
  23. "When It's Love"
  24. "Runnin' with the Devil" (occasionally with Michael Anthony on vocals)
  25. "The Seventh Seal" (occasionally)
  26. "Finish What Ya Started" (occasionally)

Personnel

Tour dates

[3]

Date City Country Venue
First North American leg
June 11, 2004Greensboro, North CarolinaUnited StatesGreensboro Coliseum
June 13, 2004Hershey, PennsylvaniaHersheypark Stadium
June 14, 2004Buffalo, New YorkHSBC Arena
June 16, 2004PhiladelphiaWachovia Center
June 17, 2004
June 19, 2004Worcester, MassachusettsWorcester Centrum
June 20, 2004
June 22, 2004East Rutherford, New JerseyContinental Airlines Arena
June 23, 2004
June 25, 2004Washington, D.C.MCI Center
June 26, 2004Albany, New YorkPepsi Arena
June 28, 2004Hartford, ConnecticutHartford Civic Center
June 29, 2004Burgettstown, PennsylvaniaPost-Gazette Pavilion
July 1, 2004Noblesville, IndianaVerizon Wireless Amphitheater
July 2, 2004ClevelandGund Arena
July 3, 2004TorontoCanadaAir Canada Centre
July 6, 2004Louisville, KentuckyUnited StatesFreedom Hall
July 7, 2004Columbus, OhioValue City Arena
July 9, 2004Grand Rapids, MichiganVan Andel Arena
July 10, 2004DetroitJoe Louis Arena
July 11, 2004Auburn Hills, MichiganThe Palace of Auburn Hills
July 19, 2004ChicagoUnited Center
July 20, 2004
July 22, 2004Saint Paul, MinnesotaXcel Energy Center
July 23, 2004Ashwaubenon, WisconsinResch Center
July 25, 2004Oklahoma CityFord Center
July 26, 2004Kansas City, MissouriKemper Arena
July 28, 2004St. LouisSavvis Center
July 29, 2004
July 31, 2004Omaha, NebraskaQwest Center
August 1, 2004DenverPepsi Center
August 3, 2004Salt Lake CityDelta Center
August 5, 2004Phoenix, ArizonaAmerica West Arena
August 6, 2004Paradise, NevadaMandalay Bay Events Center
August 7, 2004
August 10, 2004San Jose, CaliforniaHP Pavilion
August 11, 2004Sacramento, CaliforniaARCO Arena
August 13, 2004Oakland, CaliforniaOakland Arena
August 14, 2004Fresno, CaliforniaSave Mart Center
August 16, 2004Anaheim, CaliforniaArrowhead Pond
August 17, 2004Chula Vista, CaliforniaCoors Amphitheater
August 19, 2004Los AngelesStaples Center
August 20, 2004
Second North American leg
September 3, 2004Atlantic City, New JerseyUnited StatesBorgata Events Center
September 5, 2004Biloxi, MississippiMississippi Coast Coliseum
September 9, 2004Tampa, FloridaSt. Pete Times Forum
September 11, 2004Sunrise, FloridaOffice Depot Center
September 13, 2004San JuanPuerto RicoJosé Miguel Agrelot Coliseum
September 16, 2004Jacksonville, FloridaUnited StatesVeterans Memorial Arena
September 17, 2004AtlantaPhilips Arena
September 18, 2004CincinnatiU.S. Bank Arena
September 20, 2004Moline, IllinoisMARK of the Quad Cities
September 21, 2004Champaign, IllinoisAssembly Hall
September 23, 2004HoustonToyota Center
September 24, 2004North Little Rock, ArkansasAlltel Arena
September 25, 2004Dallas, TexasAmerican Airlines Center
September 28, 2004San Antonio, TexasSBC Center
September 29, 2004Lubbock, TexasUnited Spirit Arena
October 1, 2004Paradise, NevadaOrleans Arena
October 2, 2004Albuquerque, New MexicoJournal Pavilion
Third North American leg
October 19, 2004Portland, OregonUnited StatesRose Garden Arena
October 20, 2004Spokane, WashingtonSpokane Arena
October 22, 2004SeattleKeyArena
October 23, 2004Vancouver, British ColumbiaCanadaPacific Coliseum
October 25, 2004EdmontonRexall Place
October 26, 2004CalgaryPengrowth Saddledome
October 28, 2004SaskatoonCredit Union Centre
October 30, 2004WinnipegWinnipeg Arena
October 31, 2004Fargo, North DakotaUnited StatesFargodome
November 3, 2004MilwaukeeBradley Center
November 4, 2004Ames, IowaHilton Coliseum
November 6, 2004Valley Center, KansasKansas Coliseum
November 9, 2004MontrealCanadaBell Centre
November 10, 2004Hamilton, OntarioCopps Coliseum
November 11, 2004Fort Wayne, IndianaUnited StatesWar Memorial Coliseum
November 13, 2004Rapid City, South DakotaDon Barnett Arena
November 14, 2004Bozeman, MontanaBrick Breeden Fieldhouse
November 16, 2004Nampa, IdahoIdaho Center
November 18, 2004Tucson, ArizonaAVA Amphitheater
November 19, 2004

References
  1. Elliott, Paul (October 2013). "What do you do with $80 million? Anything you want!". Classic Rock #189. p. 48.
  2. MICHAEL ANTHONY Speaks Candidly About VAN HALEN's Past And Future Archived 2008-06-24 at the Wayback Machine; Blabbermouth, March 17, 2006
  3. http://www.redrocker.com/old_site/vhtour2004.html Accessed on 30 August 2007
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