Van Halen 2007–2008 North American Tour

The Van Halen 2007–2008 Tour was a North American concert tour occurring in the fall of 2007 and winter and spring of 2008 for hard rock band Van Halen. It was Van Halen's first tour since 2004 (which itself was the band's only tour since 1998), and the first one with original singer David Lee Roth since he left the band in 1985. Roth was with the band from 1974 to 1985, when the band rose to prominence.

Van Halen 2007–2008 North American Tour

Tour by Van Halen
Location	North America
Start date	September 27, 2007 (2007-09-27)
End date	July 3, 2008 (2008-07-03)
Legs	4
No. of shows	76 played, 25 postponed, all rescheduled
Van Halen concert chronology

The tour was originally going to be a fifty date summer tour in 2007 due to the massive success, selling out in almost every city played the tour was Van Halens highest grossing tour to date. When rescheduled, it was announced as a twenty-five date tour in Winter 2007. Gradually, dates were added, bringing it up to forty dates. In November 2007, the band announced an extension of the tour into 2008, eventually adding thirty-four new dates to the tour, bringing the total up to seventy-four, ending in April . Ultimately, the tour was then re-branded as the "Van Halen 2007–2008 North American Tour". A number of dates were postponed in early March, due to a reported illness Eddie Van Halen appeared to be suffering from.^[1]

History

A Van Halen tour with Roth was rumoured for months beforehand, and there had been discussions about a reunion with him for years (in part fueled by Roth's first public attempt at a reunion with Van Halen going wrong) but with no success. "Ed and Al hated that guy," noted Sammy Hagar. "Really hated him. I would never have believed they'd get back together."^[2] Three times in 2000–2001, Roth entered the 5150 studio (Eddie Van Halen's personal recording studio) with the Van Halen brothers to jam.

An angle to the tour was that Eddie Van Halen's 16-year-old son Wolfgang Van Halen was the new bassist; the first time any slot other than the vocalist had changed since 1974. This offended many fans because original bassist Michael Anthony was not asked to be a part of this reunion. Wolfgang was a mere 16 years old at the time. However the tour sold well, selling out several dates. Initially 25 dates across the USA/Canada were announced, but 50 more were added due to the demand.^[3]

The tour started on September 27, 2007 and finished on July 3, 2008 with a total of 76 dates. The band's last tour, with Sammy Hagar in 2004 (against which this tour was compared directly), was originally set to be 50 dates and was extended to 80.

Ky-Mani Marley, son of reggae artist Bob Marley, opened each show bar the final two during the first three legs of the tour.^[4] R&B singer Ryan Shaw announced that, beginning on February 22, he would be the opening act for the remainder of the tour.^[5] Shaw began to tour with the band starting with the Las Vegas show on April 19.

The tour was officially named the "Van Halen Fall 2007 Tour" during early announcements. A "Merry Christmas" message on the Van Halen website referred to the "2007 tour", with no new title given for the 2008 leg. The website merely stated, "As Van Halen readies for a much needed holiday break, it's back on the road in 2008 to continue the tour." Extra dates were added repeatedly, and all postponed dates were made up for at later stages, with no information on if the "2007 tour" actually had a scheduled ending.

Ultimately, the tour grossed over $93 million,^[6] the band's most profitable to date.^{[citation needed]}

Setlist

Van Halen perform at Air Canada Centre in Toronto, October 12, 2007.

1. "You Really Got Me" (The Kinks cover)
2. "I'm the One"
3. "Runnin' with the Devil"
4. "Romeo Delight"
5. "Somebody Get Me a Doctor"
6. "Beautiful Girls"
7. "Dance the Night Away"
8. "Atomic Punk"
9. "Everybody Wants Some!!"
10. "So This Is Love?"
11. "Mean Street"
12. "Oh, Pretty Woman" (Roy Orbison cover)
13. Alex Van Halen drum solo
14. "Unchained"
15. "I'll Wait"
16. "And the Cradle Will Rock..."
17. "Hot for Teacher"
18. "Little Dreamer"
19. "Little Guitars"
20. "Jamie's Cryin'"
21. "Ice Cream Man" (John Brim cover)
22. "Panama"
23. Eddie Van Halen guitar solo" [and "Eruption", "Spanish Fly", "Cathedral", "Women in Love..." (Intro), and "316"]
24. "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love"

Encore

25. "1984" and "Jump"

Information

• "Little Guitars" (Dropped from the setlist after the second leg.)

Personnel

Van Halen

• David Lee Roth – lead vocals
• Eddie Van Halen – lead guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
• Wolfgang Van Halen – bass guitar, backing vocals
• Alex Van Halen – drums, percussion

Support acts

• Ky-Mani Marley
• The Tragically Hip
• Passafire
• Ryan Shaw

Tour dates

Date[7][8]	City	Country	Venue
Leg 1 – North America
September 27, 2007	Charlotte	United States	Charlotte Bobcats Arena1
September 29, 2007	Greensboro		Greensboro Coliseum
October 1, 2007	Philadelphia		Wachovia Center
October 3, 2007
October 5, 2007	Uncasville		Mohegan Sun Arena
October 7, 2007	Toronto	Canada	Air Canada Centre
October 10, 2007	Cleveland	United States	Quicken Loans Arena
October 12, 2007	Toronto	Canada	Air Canada Centre
October 14, 2007	Indianapolis	United States	Conseco Fieldhouse
October 16, 2007	Rosemont		Allstate Arena
October 18, 2007	Chicago		United Center
October 20, 2007	Detroit		Joe Louis Arena
October 22, 2007	Auburn Hills		The Palace of Auburn Hills
October 24, 2007	Minneapolis		Target Center
October 26, 2007	Kansas City		Sprint Center
October 28, 2007	St. Louis		Scottrade Center
October 30, 2007	Boston		TD Banknorth Garden
November 1, 2007	Washington, D.C.		Verizon Center
November 3, 2007	East Rutherford		Meadowlands Arena
November 6, 2007	Worcester		DCU Center
November 8, 2007	Uniondale		Nassau Coliseum
November 10, 2007	Montreal	Canada	Centre Bell
November 13, 2007	New York City	United States	Madison Square Garden
November 15, 2007	Toronto	Canada	Air Canada Centre2
November 20, 2007	Los Angeles	United States	Staples Center
November 23, 2007	Glendale		Jobing.com Arena
November 25, 2007	San Diego		Cox Arena
November 27, 2007	Sacramento		ARCO Arena
November 29, 2007	Fresno		Save Mart Center
December 1, 2007	Portland		Rose Garden Arena
December 3, 2007	Seattle		KeyArena
December 5, 2007	Vancouver	Canada	GM Place
December 7, 2007	Calgary		Pengrowth Saddledome
December 9, 2007	Edmonton		Rexall Place
December 11, 2007	Calgary		Pengrowth Saddledome
December 14, 2007	Los Angeles	United States	Staples Center
December 16, 2007	San Jose		HP Pavilion at San Jose
December 18, 2007	Anaheim		Honda Center
December 20, 2007
December 22, 2007	Oakland		Oracle Arena
December 28, 2007	Las Vegas		MGM Grand Garden Arena
December 30, 2007
Leg 2 – North America
January 22, 2008	Oklahoma City	United States	Ford Center
January 24, 2008	San Antonio		AT&T Center
January 26, 2008	Dallas		American Airlines Center
January 28, 2008	Houston		Toyota Center
January 30, 2008	North Little Rock		Alltel Arena
February 1, 2008	Denver		Pepsi Center
February 4, 2008	Omaha		Qwest Center
February 6, 2008	Des Moines		Wells Fargo Arena
February 8, 2008	New Orleans		New Orleans Arena
February 10, 2008	Atlanta		Philips Arena
February 12, 2008	Sunrise		BankAtlantic Center
February 14, 2008	Orlando		Amway Arena
February 16, 2008	Jacksonville		Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena
February 18, 2008	Tampa		St. Pete Times Forum
February 20, 2008	Sunrise		BankAtlantic Center
February 22, 2008[9]	Duluth		Gwinnett Arena
Leg 3 – North America
March 3, 2008	Dallas	United States	American Airlines Center
March 5, 2008	Cincinnati		U.S. Bank Arena
March 7, 2008	Raleigh		RBC Center
March 9, 2008	Baltimore		1st Mariner Arena
March 11, 2008	Charlottesville		John Paul Jones Arena
March 13, 2008	East Rutherford		Meadowlands Arena
March 15, 2008	Manchester		Verizon Wireless Arena
March 17, 2008	New York City		Madison Square Garden
March 19, 2008	Hershey		Giant Center
March 21, 2008	Pittsburgh		Mellon Arena
March 24, 2008	Providence		Dunkin' Donuts Center
March 26, 2008	Uncasville		Mohegan Sun Arena
March 28, 2008	Atlantic City		Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall
March 30, 2008	St. Louis		Scottrade Center
April 1, 2008	Columbus		Value City Arena
April 3, 2008	Rosemont		Allstate Arena
April 5, 2008	Grand Rapids		Van Andel Arena
April 7, 2008	Milwaukee		Bradley Center
Leg 4 – North America
April 17, 2008	Reno	United States	Reno Events Center
April 19, 2008	Las Vegas		Mandalay Bay Events Center
April 22, 2008	Cincinnati		U.S. Bank Arena
April 24, 2008	Dallas		American Airlines Center
April 26, 2008	St. Louis		Scottrade Center
April 28, 2008	Milwaukee		Bradley Center
April 30, 2008	Pittsburgh		Mellon Arena
May 2, 2008	Charlottesville		John Paul Jones Arena
May 5, 2008	Raleigh		RBC Center
May 7, 2008	Columbus		Value City Arena
May 9, 2008	Atlantic City		Boardwalk Hall
May 11, 2008	Duluth		Gwinnett Arena
May 13, 2008	East Rutherford		Meadowlands Arena
May 15, 2008	Baltimore		1st Mariner Arena
May 18, 2008	Hershey		Giant Center
May 20, 2008	Uncasville		Mohegan Sun Arena
May 23, 2008	New York City		Madison Square Garden
May 25, 2008	Providence		Dunkin' Donuts Center
May 28, 2008	Manchester		Verizon Wireless Arena
May 30, 2008	Rosemont		Allstate Arena
June 2, 2008	Grand Rapids		Van Andel Arena
Quebec City Summer Festival (2008)
July 3, 2008	Quebec City	Canada	Plains of Abraham

• ^Note 1 David Lee Roth's first show with Van Halen since September 2, 1984.
• ^Note 2 Private BlackBerry Limited show.

References

1. Van Halen scraps more shows amid mystery ailment
2. Elliott, Paul (March 2014). "The best of both worlds". Classic Rock. No. 194. p. 49.
3. http://www.van-halen.com/tour.html Archived 2007-08-20 at the Wayback Machine Accessed on 15 September 2007
4. "Ky-mani Marley to tour with Van Halen". Retrieved 2008-08-02. ^{[dead link‍]}
5. "Van Halen tap R&B singer for support". Retrieved 2008-08-02.
6. "Van Halen Reunion Pays Off". Retrieved 2008-09-18.
7. http://www.van-halen.com/tour.html Archived 2007-08-20 at the Wayback Machine Accessed on 16 November 2007
8. "Van Halen Tour: 2007/2008". www.vharchives.com. Retrieved 2021-01-03.
9. "Van Halen concert postponed, no explanation". inrich.com. 2008-02-23.^{[permanent dead link‍]}

External links

• Van-Halen.com – The official Van Halen website
• Van Halen NewsDesk