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Van Halen World Vacation Tour

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World Vacation Tour
Tour by Van Halen
Location
  • North America
  • Europe
  • Japan
Associated albumVan Halen II
Start dateMarch 25, 1979 (1979-03-25)
End dateOctober 7, 1979 (1979-10-07)
Legs5
No. of shows108
Van Halen concert chronology

The World Vacation Tour was the second concert tour by American hard rock band Van Halen in support of their second studio album Van Halen II.

Background

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The band began their first full headlining tour in Fresno on March 25, 1979. The band were performing in arenas throughout the United States, where they had performed previously as an opening act.[1] The band was set to perform in Spokane on April 14,[2] but had postponed their show to April 19 due to an illness from one of the band members.[3] The tour was a financial success for the band, aside from the additional costs of having extra lighting and sound equipment.[4] The band had also toured Europe for two weeks[5] and Asia during this tour, playing to larger audiences than they previously had on their first tour.[4][6] The tour concluded on October 7, 1979 with a performance at the Forum in Inglewood where Eddie and Alex lived.[4]

Reception

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Nelson George, a reviewer for the magazine Billboard, gave the performance in New York City on May 12, 1979 a positive review. He opened with the acknowledgement of a sold out young and dedicated crowd as well as recognizing the two studio albums released by the band having also achieved gold. He praised the usage of backlights and colored light combinations, stating that the show despite being in its frenzy was well choreographed and slick with the noting of Roth's energy on stage. However, he criticized the sound based on how Eddie and Michael were washing away the vocals of Roth with the buzzing of their cordless guitars.[7]

Music critic Bob Ross from the St. Petersburg Times, had also gave the band's performance a positive review after attending the Lakeland show, opening with a headline that Van Halen was "irresistibly entertaining". He noted on the excitement from the audience that the band had generated from 6,000 fans. He praised the energy, enthusiasm and simplicity techniques. When talking about Eddie Van Halen, he noted him as interesting a lead guitarist, comparing him to many other rising guitarists from other band in the decade. Commenting on Eddie's abilities during the show, he said the feedback never faltered, and his performance was a reminder that great rock music is fun, super-tight and never pompous. Ross concluded his review, agreeing with bassist Michael Anthony that Van Halen shouldn't change the basic sound the band developed.[8]

Posting his review in the Leader-Post, Mike McVean gave the Regina, Saskatchewan performance he attended a positive review, opening that the 5,750 euphoric fans in attendance weren't disappointed - which ranged from 12 to 18 year olds having compared them to being like cattle going to the slaughterhouse. He noted that the band had put on a "cranium-splitting show" which featured a minimum of definition and clarity of lyric and a maximum of energy throughout the performance, sticking to what the show was about as he cited: "heavy metal hard rock". He praised both the quality of Eddie Van Halen's guitar work and David Lee Roth's vocals, comparing them to being a Robert Plant-style presence but criticized that the guitar riffs and leaps were of much relevance stating that one brick does not make a wall of sound.[9] Concert attendee Verna Mogk was very disappointed with McVean's review, stating that they did not feel like a cow being led to the slaughterhouse, and did not appreciate being referred to that way. They noted on the fantastic musical abilities of the band with evidence of the loud applause the audience gave to them, remarking that McVean should check with his family physician for migrane relief after his "cranium-splitting" comment, with hopes the band did not read the review he made, following an "excellent and entertaining show".[10]

However, Ted Drozdowski from the Morning Record and Journal gave the New Haven performance a negative review, opening his review with stating the band was miserably poor in concert with the simple statement: "Van Halen stinks!" He stated that the band was very disorganized and immature with no sense of timing, featured a hate-inspired stage presence as well as noting on an ugly light show. Despite the stage show was he quoted as "sad", he stated that the band was nowhere near the quality and perfection of their studio recordings. He criticized that the band was trying to be a copy of Led Zeppelin, with the band's lack of intelligence preventing even a mediocre copy. Having noted on the various issues that the band members had, as well as Roth's performance, comparing him to a prancing fool who behaved like a headless chicken, he also referred to Eddie Van Halen's guitar playing, also accusing him of cheating to achieve his claim to fame. He concluded his review, stating it was a terrible performing band and a waste of the price on a concert ticket.[11]

Setlist

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  1. "Light Up the Sky"
  2. "Somebody Get Me a Doctor"
  3. Alex Van Halen drum solo
  4. "Runnin' with the Devil"
  5. "Dance the Night Away"
  6. "Beautiful Girls"
  7. "On Fire"
  8. Michael Anthony bass solo
  9. "You're No Good"
  10. "Jamie's Cryin'"
  11. "Fools" (Intro) and "Feel Your Love Tonight"
  12. "Outta Love Again"
  13. "Ice Cream Man"
  14. "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love"
  15. Eddie Van Halen guitar solo, "Spanish Fly" and "Eruption"
  16. "You Really Got Me"

Encore

  2. "Bottoms Up!"
  3. "Growth", "Atomic Punk"

Tour dates

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List of concerts, showing date, city, country and venue
Date City Country Venue
North America
March 25, 1979 Fresno United States Selland Arena
March 26, 1979 Redding Redding Civic Auditorium
March 27, 1979 Central Point Compton Arena
March 29, 1979 Missoula Adams Field House
March 30, 1979 Caldwell O'Connor Field House
March 31, 1979 Logan Smith Spectrum
April 3, 1979 Tacoma UPS Memorial Field House
April 5, 1979 San Rafael Marin Veterans Memorial Auditorium
April 6, 1979 San Jose San Jose Performing Arts Theater
April 7, 1979
April 8, 1979 Los Angeles Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
(California World Music Festival #2)[12]
April 10, 1979 Reno Centennial Coliseum
April 12, 1979 Seattle Seattle Center Arena
April 13, 1979
April 14, 1979 Spokane Spokane Coliseum
April 16, 1979 Portland Jantzen Beach Ice Arena
April 17, 1979
April 18, 1979 Vancouver Canada Pacific Coliseum
April 19, 1979 Spokane United States Spokane Coliseum
April 21, 1979 Boulder Balch Fieldhouse
April 22, 1979
April 24, 1979 Kansas City Kansas City Music Hall
April 26, 1979 Chicago Aragon Ballroom
April 27, 1979
April 28, 1979 St. Louis Checkerdome
April 29, 1979 Indianapolis Market Square Arena
May 1, 1979 Detroit Detroit Masonic Temple
May 2, 1979
May 3, 1979 Kalamazoo Wings Stadium
May 5, 1979 Cincinnati Riverfront Coliseum
May 6, 1979 Louisville Louisville Gardens
May 7, 1979 Pittsburgh Stanley Theatre
May 8, 1979 Toledo Toledo Sports Arena
May 9, 1979 Buffalo Buffalo Memorial Auditorium
May 11, 1979 Washington, D.C. Warner Theatre
May 12, 1979 New York City Palladium
May 13, 1979 Boston Orpheum Theatre
May 15, 1979 Toronto Canada Maple Leaf Gardens
May 16, 1979 London London Gardens
May 17, 1979 Syracuse United States Manley Field House
May 18, 1979 Rochester Rochester Community War Memorial Arena
("Don Kirshner's Rock Concert")
May 19, 1979 Philadelphia Spectrum
May 30, 1979 Atlanta Fox Theatre
May 31, 1979 Charlotte Charlotte Coliseum
June 1, 1979 Norfolk Scope Arena
June 2, 1979 Raleigh Carter–Finley Stadium
(June Jam)
June 4, 1979 Knoxville Knoxville Civic Coliseum
June 5, 1979 Birmingham Boutwell Memorial Auditorium
June 7, 1979 Memphis Mid-South Coliseum
June 8, 1979 Little Rock Barton Coliseum
June 9, 1979 Dallas Cotton Bowl
(Texxas Jam)[13]
June 10, 1979 New Orleans The Superdome
(A Day of Rock 'N' Roll)
Europe
June 14, 1979 Brussels Belgium Forest National
June 15, 1979 Amsterdam Netherlands Jaap Edenhal
June 17, 1979 Düsseldorf West Germany Philips Hall
June 18, 1979 Offenbach Stadthalle Offenbach
June 19, 1979 Munich Circus Krone Building
June 21, 1979 Lyon France Palais des Sports de Gerland
June 22, 1979 Paris Pavillon de Paris
June 25, 1979 Birmingham England Birmingham Odeon
June 26, 1979 Newcastle Newcastle City Hall
June 27, 1979 Manchester Manchester Apollo Theatre
June 28, 1979 London Rainbow Theatre
June 29, 1979
North America
July 5, 1979 Jacksonville United States Jacksonville Exhibition Hall
July 6, 1979 West Palm Beach West Palm Beach Auditorium
July 7, 1979 Miami Miami Jai-Alai Fronton Arena
July 8, 1979 Lakeland Lakeland Civic Center
July 10, 1979 Corpus Christi Corpus Christi Memorial Coliseum
July 11, 1979 Houston Houston Music Hall
July 12, 1979
July 14, 1979 Amarillo Amarillo Civic Center
July 15, 1979 Midland Chaparral Center
July 16, 1979 Austin Austin Municipal Auditorium
July 17, 1979 San Antonio San Antonio Convention Center
July 19, 1979 Wichita Century II Concert Hall
July 20, 1979 Tulsa Tulsa Assembly Center
July 21, 1979 Oklahoma City Gaylord Performing Arts Theater
July 22, 1979 Lincoln Pershing Memorial Auditorium
July 24, 1979 Saint Paul St. Paul Civic Auditorium
July 25, 1979
July 26, 1979 Dubuque Five Flags Arena
July 27, 1979 Springfield Illinois State Armory
July 28, 1979 Trotwood Hara Arena
August 10, 1979 Portland Cumberland County Civic Center
August 11, 1979 Asbury Park Asbury Park Convention Hall
August 12, 1979 New Haven New Haven Coliseum
August 14, 1979 Cleveland Cleveland Music Hall
August 15, 1979
August 17, 1979 Springfield Springfield Civic Center
August 18, 1979 South Yarmouth Cape Cod Coliseum
August 20, 1979 Madison Dane County Veterans Memorial Coliseum
August 21, 1979 Milwaukee Milwaukee Auditorium
August 25, 1979 Oakland Oakland Civic Auditorium
August 26, 1979
Japan
September 3, 1979 Kyoto Japan Kyoto Kaikan
September 5, 1979 Fukuoka Fukuoka Kyuden Kinen Gymnasium
September 7, 1979 Nagoya Nagoya Civic Assembly Hall
September 8, 1979 Kurashiki Kurashiki Civic Cultural Hall
September 10, 1979 Osaka Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium
September 11, 1979
September 13, 1979 Tokyo Nippon Budokan
North America
September 18, 1979 Edmonton Canada Northlands Coliseum
September 19, 1979 Calgary Stampede Corral
September 22, 1979 Regina Agridome
September 23, 1979 Winnipeg Winnipeg Convention Centre
September 25, 1979 Duluth United States Duluth Arena
September 27, 1979 Bismarck Bismarck Civic Center
September 28, 1979 Rapid City Rushmore Plaza Civic Center
September 29, 1979 Billings MetraPark Arena
October 2, 1979 Tucson Tucson Community Center
October 3, 1979 Phoenix Phoenix Exhibition Hall
October 6, 1979 San Diego San Diego Sports Arena
October 7, 1979 Inglewood The Forum

Box office score data

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List of box office score data with date, city, venue, attendance, gross, references
Date
(1979) 		City Venue Attendance Gross Ref(s)
April 3 Tacoma, United States UPS Memorial Field House 4,200 $35,158 [14]
April 5 San Rafael, United States Marin Veterans Memorial Auditorium 2,028 $16,974
May 7 Pittsburgh, United States Stanley Theatre 3,697 $30,058 [15]
May 13 Boston, United States Orpheum Theatre 2,000 $28,729
July 10 Corpus Christi, United States Memorial Coliseum 6,113 $45,985 [16]
July 15 Midland, United States Chaparral Center 4,076 $33,581
August 11 Asbury Park, United States Convention Hall 3,946 $35,652 [17]
August 12 New Haven, United States Coliseum 7,400 $60,750
September 27 Bismarck, United States Civic Center 6,119 $52,529 [18]
September 28 Rapid City, United States Rushmore Plaza 6,831 $57,946
September 29 Billings, United States MetraPark Arena 9,151 $77,516

Personnel

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References

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Citations

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  1. ^ Christopher 2021, pp. 51–52.
  2. ^ "Van Halen". Spokane, Washington: The Spokesman-Review. April 1, 1979. p. F3. Retrieved March 10, 2022. The rock group Van Halen, whose first LP sold more than 2 million copies, appear at the Spokane Coliseum at 8 p.m. April 14.
  3. ^ "Van Halen on again". Spokane, Washington: The Spokesman-Review. April 17, 1979. p. 15. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  4. ^ a b c Tolinski 2021.
  5. ^ Christopher 2021, p. 53.
  6. ^ Life: Van Halen. Meredith Corporation. 2020. ISBN 9781547856466.
  7. ^ George, Nelson (May 26, 1979). "Talent in Action: Van Halen, Robert Fleishman & The Strangers". Billboard. Vol. 91, no. 20. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 42. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  8. ^ Ross, Bob (July 10, 1979). "Van Halen concert was irresistibly entertaining". St. Petersburg, Florida: St. Petersburg Times. p. 3D. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  9. ^ McVean, Mike (September 24, 1979). "Van Halen didn't disappoint young fans at the Agridome". The Leader-Post. p. 12. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  10. ^ Mogk, Verna (October 5, 1979). "Disappointed". Regina, Saskatchewan: The Leader-Post. p. 7. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  11. ^ Drozdowski, Ted (August 18, 1979). "Frankly, Van Halen disappointed a bit". Meriden, Connecticut: The Morning Record and Journal. p. A-11. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  12. ^ "L.A. police endorse rock concert; warn no law enforcement change". Lodi, California: Lodi News-Sentinel. March 28, 1979. p. 20. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  13. ^ "What's happening!: Concerts". Mid Cities Daily News. June 8, 1979. p. 2. Retrieved March 10, 2022. Texas World Music Festival. Texxas Jam. Saturday at 1 p.m. Cotton Bowl, Dallas. Gates open at 11 a.m.
  14. ^ "Top Box Office". Billboard. Vol. 91, no. 16. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. April 21, 1979. p. 36. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  15. ^ "Top Box Office". Billboard. Vol. 91, no. 20. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. May 26, 1979. p. 41. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  16. ^ "Top Box Office". Billboard. Vol. 91, no. 30. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. July 28, 1979. p. 42. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  17. ^ "Top Box Office". Billboard. Vol. 91, no. 34. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. August 25, 1979. p. 50. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  18. ^ "Top Box Office". Billboard. Vol. 91, no. 41. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. October 13, 1979. p. 48. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved February 6, 2022.

General sources

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  • Tolinski, Brad; Gill, Chris (2021). Eruption: Conversations with Eddie Van Halen (First ed.). New York, New York: Hachette Books. ISBN 9780306826672.
  • Christopher, Michael (2021). Van Halen: The Eruption and the Aftershock. Lanham, Maryland: Backbeat. ISBN 9781493062102.
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