Thursday, I saw Van Halen live at the United Center in Chicago.  Jenny and I enjoyed it thoroughly.  Its no secret that this time around, David Lee Roth is back!  They played all the old school Van Halen songs, including some that haven't been played awhile like Little Guitars, I'll Wait, Mean Street, Unchained, Dance The Night Away, Ice Cream Man, and more.  David Lee Roth is still quite the performer with his baton twirling, kicks, and dancing.  He also showed off his storytelling skills before playing Ice Cream Man.  Diamond Dave told a story about being at Kenny's, smoking pot, and watching the seeds roll off the Pink Floyd album cover.  Eddie Van Halen was also looking good after being in rehab and he performed awesome as usual.  Alex Van Halen still has his great talent as well, which was obvious during the drum solo.  Wolfgang Van Halen, Eddie's 16-year-old son, played bass and his great moment was when he told Dave, "Gimme A Break" during Unchained.  Wolfie did so well that Michael Anthony wasn't even missed.  But my favorite part of the show was when Dave was waving his red flag during the intro to Jump.  Other highlights of the show include a giant microphone, a blimp, and lots of confetti during Jump!  Overall, the show was great and it was definitely awesome to see the original play together again.  My hope is to see them live again, but I have this feeling this reunion is going to be short lived.  I am glad that I got the chance to catch the show and I can finally put the almost original Van Halen, with Roth, on my belt!

 

Yesterday, I went to see Collective Soul and Live perform at the Congress Theater in Chicago on Milwaukee Street. This concert had to be one of the best shows that I have been to, ever! I had a little trouble at first because I wasn't able to print my ticket anywhere before the show. I finally did get in after they found my name on a list of people who bought tickets for the show. When I walked in there I wasn't thrilled with the fact that it was standing room only and it was very warm inside. However, I found a spot and waited for the show. When the opening act came out, I was fortunate enough to meet a couple of women who asked me who it was on stage. I didn't know but it turned out to be the former lead singer of Tonic.  Since I was by myself the women took me in as their fourth person and I hung with them and the guy they were with.  Meanwhile the guy from Tonic performed well and the few people that were paying attention applauded. When Collective Soul came on, the crowd got more and more packed in. The heat started to rise in the theater and before I knew it, I was in a constant state of sweating. Collective Soul delivered some of their best hits and the crowd and I were yelling and going crazy.  It was pure bliss.  After the lead singer from Collective Soul told everyone, "Tell your friends you saw Collective Soul", they left.  Even though my legs were tired of standing, I wanted more Rock N' Roll as I waited for the final performance, Live.  I thought at that point I had seen the best part of the night but then Live came on and continued what Collective Soul started.  Only by the time they came on, the crowd got even more packed and more crazy and the temperature in that theater only went up.  Live performed and I was very surprised how awesome they were.  I can definitely say that I am now a hard core Live fan!  Overall, the evening was packed with high energy, great music, a die-hard crowd, and the kind of heat that can only be enjoyed at great concert.  I highly recommend seeing these two if possible.  Great show!  Below is the only decent picture I was able to take all night with my camera phone of Ed Kowalczyk of Live.

REO Speedwagon played a mini show on the Chicago river aboard a speed boat this morning. I was at the Merchandise Mart along with many fans and Johnny B. from the Loop. I took many pictures from the Loop bleachers with my camera phone and I will be posting them to my Buzznet page, http://smanofsteel76.buzznet.com/, so check them out. This was definitely a "one of a kind" experience. REO rocked and Johnny B. got the crowd excited. I had fun and getting up this morning at 4:30 was worth it. As far as I could tell the people on the streets around there were having fun too. the sound was a little shaky at first and when they did get it on, I would have preferred it to be louder. Even still, it was fun to see a rock band on the river. Some hits REO played were, Roll With The Changes, Time For Me To Fly, Gloria, and more. Rock on Chicago!