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.
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.Van Halen scraps more shows amid mystery ailment
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." 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. It was rumored original bassist Michael Anthony had not been asked to be a part of this reunion. However, this rumor was put to rest when, during an interview, Alex Van Halen stated the band reached out to Michael Anthony to invite him to join the tour and make it an official Van Halen Reunion Tour, but none of the phone calls to Anthony were answered, nor did he return any of those unanswered phone calls. Wolfgang, was a mere 16 years old at the time, stepped up to fill the void. 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.http://www.van-halen.com/tour.html Accessed on 15 September 2007
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. R&B singer Ryan Shaw announced that, beginning on February 22, he would be the opening act for the remainder of the tour. 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, the band's most profitable to date.
Support acts Ky-Mani Marley The Tragically Hip Passafire Ryan Shaw
Tour dates + List of 2007 concertsDatehttp://www.van-halen.com/tour.html Accessed on 16 November 2007CityCountryVenueSeptember 27, 2007CharlotteUnited StatesCharlotte Bobcats ArenaSeptember 29, 2007GreensboroGreensboro ColiseumOctober 1, 2007PhiladelphiaWachovia CenterOctober 3, 2007October 5, 2007UncasvilleMohegan Sun ArenaOctober 7, 2007TorontoCanadaAir Canada CentreOctober 10, 2007ClevelandUnited StatesQuicken Loans ArenaOctober 12, 2007TorontoCanadaAir Canada CentreOctober 14, 2007IndianapolisUnited StatesConseco FieldhouseOctober 16, 2007RosemontAllstate ArenaOctober 18, 2007ChicagoUnited CenterOctober 20, 2007DetroitJoe Louis ArenaOctober 22, 2007Auburn HillsThe Palace of Auburn HillsOctober 24, 2007MinneapolisTarget CenterOctober 26, 2007Kansas CitySprint CenterOctober 28, 2007St. LouisScottrade CenterOctober 30, 2007BostonTD Banknorth GardenNovember 1, 2007Washington, D.C.Verizon CenterNovember 3, 2007East RutherfordMeadowlands ArenaNovember 6, 2007WorcesterDCU CenterNovember 8, 2007UniondaleNassau ColiseumNovember 10, 2007MontrealCanadaCentre BellNovember 13, 2007New York CityUnited StatesMadison Square GardenNovember 15, 2007TorontoCanadaAir Canada CentreNovember 20, 2007Los AngelesUnited StatesStaples CenterNovember 23, 2007GlendaleJobing.com ArenaNovember 25, 2007San DiegoCox ArenaNovember 27, 2007SacramentoARCO ArenaNovember 29, 2007FresnoSave Mart CenterDecember 1, 2007PortlandRose Garden ArenaDecember 3, 2007SeattleKeyArenaDecember 5, 2007VancouverCanadaGM PlaceDecember 7, 2007CalgaryPengrowth SaddledomeDecember 9, 2007EdmontonRexall PlaceDecember 11, 2007CalgaryPengrowth SaddledomeDecember 14, 2007Los AngelesUnited StatesStaples CenterDecember 16, 2007San JoseHP Pavilion at San JoseDecember 18, 2007AnaheimHonda CenterDecember 20, 2007December 22, 2007OaklandOracle ArenaDecember 28, 2007Las VegasMGM Grand Garden ArenaDecember 30, 2007
+ List of 2008 concertsDateCityCountryVenueJanuary 22, 2008Oklahoma CityUnited StatesFord CenterJanuary 24, 2008San AntonioAT&T CenterJanuary 26, 2008DallasAmerican Airlines CenterJanuary 28, 2008HoustonToyota CenterJanuary 30, 2008North Little RockAlltel ArenaFebruary 1, 2008DenverPepsi CenterFebruary 4, 2008OmahaQwest CenterFebruary 6, 2008Des MoinesWells Fargo Arena February 8, 2008New OrleansNew Orleans ArenaFebruary 10, 2008AtlantaPhilips ArenaFebruary 12, 2008SunriseBankAtlantic CenterFebruary 14, 2008OrlandoAmway ArenaFebruary 16, 2008JacksonvilleJacksonville Veterans Memorial ArenaFebruary 18, 2008TampaSt. Pete Times ForumFebruary 20, 2008SunriseBankAtlantic CenterFebruary 22, 2008DuluthGwinnett ArenaMarch 3, 2008DallasAmerican Airlines CenterMarch 5, 2008CincinnatiU.S. Bank ArenaMarch 7, 2008RaleighRBC CenterMarch 9, 2008Baltimore1st Mariner ArenaMarch 11, 2008CharlottesvilleJohn Paul Jones ArenaMarch 13, 2008East RutherfordMeadowlands ArenaMarch 15, 2008ManchesterVerizon Wireless ArenaMarch 17, 2008New York CityMadison Square GardenMarch 19, 2008HersheyGiant CenterMarch 21, 2008PittsburghMellon ArenaMarch 24, 2008ProvidenceDunkin' Donuts CenterMarch 26, 2008UncasvilleMohegan Sun ArenaMarch 28, 2008Atlantic CityAtlantic City Boardwalk HallMarch 30, 2008St. LouisScottrade CenterApril 1, 2008ColumbusValue City ArenaApril 3, 2008RosemontAllstate ArenaApril 5, 2008Grand RapidsVan Andel ArenaApril 7, 2008MilwaukeeBradley CenterApril 17, 2008RenoReno Events CenterApril 19, 2008Las VegasMandalay Bay Events CenterApril 22, 2008CincinnatiU.S. Bank ArenaApril 24, 2008DallasAmerican Airlines CenterApril 26, 2008St. LouisScottrade CenterApril 28, 2008MilwaukeeBradley CenterApril 30, 2008PittsburghMellon ArenaMay 2, 2008CharlottesvilleJohn Paul Jones ArenaMay 5, 2008RaleighRBC CenterMay 7, 2008ColumbusValue City ArenaMay 9, 2008Atlantic CityBoardwalk HallMay 11, 2008DuluthGwinnett ArenaMay 13, 2008East RutherfordMeadowlands ArenaMay 15, 2008Baltimore1st Mariner ArenaMay 18, 2008HersheyGiant CenterMay 20, 2008UncasvilleMohegan Sun ArenaMay 23, 2008New York CityMadison Square GardenMay 25, 2008ProvidenceDunkin' Donuts CenterMay 28, 2008ManchesterVerizon Wireless ArenaMay 30, 2008RosemontAllstate ArenaJune 2, 2008Grand RapidsVan Andel ArenaJuly 3, 2008Quebec CityCanadaPlains of Abraham
David Lee Roth's first show with Van Halen since September 2, 1984. Private BlackBerry Limited show.
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
References
External links Van-Halen.com – The official Van Halen website Van Halen NewsDesk