Van Halen, Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, TN - 04/27/2012

Wow, was that bad. A train wreck. The worst is that I had such high hopes for finally seeing a band that I truly, deeply love. As one can see from the photo, we were sitting in the cheap seats, which didn't help. It was about 90-something degrees in the venue, which was strike two. But the sound ... oh, it was a low end morass of nothingness wherein I often couldn't tell what song was being played.

Our friends and I did start the evening with a lovely dinner at the Wild Hare, which continues to impress on most every level. We then headed over and enjoyed a nice stroll down Broadway into the venue.

But then it all fell apart ... the seats, the heat, the sound ... I should definitely accept by now that if I'm going to some big show like this, I've got to spring for great tickets or just not go at all. I'm spoiled like that. I thought with an opening one-two punch like "Unchained" and "Runnin' With the Devil" that I could get past the terrible-ness of some of the aforementioned issues, but it never coalesced. And the new songs ... so, soooo bad. I felt some hope during the riff for "Dance the Night Away" and some awe when Eddie flawlessly pulled off the "Hot for Teacher" intro, but then everything would sag in on itself again, with bad David Lee Roth-isms galore, a terrible video stage show that looked pretty paltry compared to most shows of this size these days, and (did I mention this already?) insufferable sound.

Why oh why? I should have just appreciated them for the greatness that they once were rather than try to relive it today. Note to self - when the Stones or the Sex Pistols or the Stone Roses come rumbin' through, think twice before going all in.

It probably didn't help, either, that I was running the half-marathon a few hours later and had that in the back of my mind the whole time. But wow ... colossal reunion tour fail ...

For the sake of posterity, the setlist (we left during the guitar solo):
Unchained
Runnin' With the Devil
She's the Woman
Romeo Delight
Tattoo
Everybody Wants Some!!
Somebody Get Me a Doctor
China Town
Hear About It Later
Oh, Pretty Woman
Drum Solo
You Really Got Me
The Trouble with Never
Dance the Night Away
I'll Wait
Hot for Teacher
Women In Love
Girl Gone Bad
Beautiful Girls
Ice Cream Man (preceded by a loooong video montage of DLR's dogs ... seriously)
Panama
Guitar Solo
Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
Jump