Hide Your Sheep Tour

The Hide Your Sheep Tour was a 1982-83 concert tour by the American hard rock band Van Halen in support of their fifth studio album Diver Down.

The tour began as a North American-only event with dates scheduled from July 14 to December 11, 1982. The band subsequently accepted an offer to make their South American debut with a month of dates dubbed the No Problem Tour. After that wrapped up, the band concluded the tour with a May 29, 1983, performance in San Bernardino, California, where they headlined "Heavy Metal Day" of the US Festival with Ozzy Osbourne, Judas Priest, Scorpions, Quiet Riot, Triumph, and Mötley Crüe. They were paid a record-setting $1.5 million for a single performance at the US Festival.

During this tour, Eddie Van Halen began to use Kramer guitars under an early-1982 endorsement deal, one with a custom double neck. He also tested Floyd D. Rose's early double locking tremolo system, which was modified to include fine tuners at the recommendation of Eddie Van Halen, culminating in the double-locking Floyd Rose tremolo with fine tuners released in 1983.

Relations between the members of the band were beginning to hit an all-time low due to the constant partying, which resulted in the band arguing with one another and creating grudges.

Reception Pete Bishop from the Pittsburgh Press gave Van Halen's performance a mixed review. He praised Roth’s vocals but said he gave an "obnoxious, disgusting exhibition" that the band did not need. He reported pre-show problems and that during the show some fans climbed onstage while others threw objects on stage. He praised the entertainment as in best physical rock 'n' roll tradition. He also praised the lighting, such as the strobe lights at the base of Alex Van Halen's drum platform, but criticized the audio, saying that Roth's vocals were drowned in a muddle of bass and drums that made it almost impossible to recognize songs.

Dave Stuckrath from the Lakeland Ledger gave the performance he attended in Lakeland a poor rating, opening his review by stating that the band was more spectacle than music. He criticized the set as being poorly paced and uneven - only to be saved by their pyrotechnic lighting effects. He also added about the deafening wall of sound which rendered the music and lyrics meaningless than their records. He noted that a Van Halen concert was flashy but was musically and emotionally empty, having to rely on gimmicks and Roth's usage of obscene words and gestures. According to Stuckrath, they did nothing but "degrade rock 'n' roll's past, including that there was nothing original about their music and behavior. He concluded his review, saying that the audience had missed the opening acts which he said were the most entertaining part of the evening. The paper later published a letter by Candy Blank, a fan at the concert, who slammed Stuckrath's criticism, said the crowd was hardly bored, and called the music "fantastic".

Tour dates + List of 1982 concertsDateVan Halen Tour Dates CityCountryVenueJuly 14, 1982AugustaUnited StatesAugusta Civic CenterJuly 16, 1982GreensboroGreensboro ColiseumJuly 17, 1982CharlotteCharlotte ColiseumJuly 18, 1982ColumbiaCarolina ColiseumJuly 20, 1982KnoxvilleKnoxville Civic ColiseumJuly 22, 1982BirminghamJefferson Civic CenterJuly 23, 1982JacksonMississippi ColiseumJuly 24, 1982BiloxiMississippi Coast ColiseumJuly 27, 1982NashvilleNashville Municipal AuditoriumJuly 29, 1982TrotwoodHara ArenaJuly 30, 1982LouisvilleFreedom HallJuly 31, 1982Fort WayneAllen County War Memorial ColiseumAugust 3, 1982RockfordRockford MetroCenterAugust 4, 1982Des MoinesVeterans Memorial AuditoriumAugust 6, 1982St. LouisCheckerdomeAugust 7, 1982Kansas CityKemper ArenaAugust 8, 1982OmahaOmaha Civic AuditoriumAugust 10, 1982Saint PaulSt. Paul Civic CenterAugust 11, 1982MadisonDane County Veterans Memorial ColiseumAugust 13, 1982DetroitCobo ArenaAugust 14, 1982August 15, 1982August 17, 1982MilwaukeeMECCA ArenaAugust 18, 1982Green BayBrown County Veterans Memorial ArenaAugust 19, 1982ChicagoUIC PavilionAugust 21, 1982RichfieldRichfield ColiseumSeptember 1, 1982PortlandPortland Memorial ColiseumSeptember 2, 1982SeattleSeattle Center ColiseumSeptember 3, 1982VancouverCanadaPacific ColiseumSeptember 5, 1982FresnoUnited StatesSelland ArenaSeptember 7, 1982PhoenixArizona Veterans Memorial ColiseumSeptember 9, 1982InglewoodThe ForumSeptember 10, 1982September 11, 1982September 14, 1982Daly CityCow PalaceSeptember 15, 1982September 17, 1982Las VegasAladdin TheatreSeptember 19, 1982El PasoEl Paso County ColiseumSeptember 21, 1982Oklahoma CityMyriad Convention CenterSeptember 22, 1982TulsaTulsa Assembly CenterSeptember 23, 1982HoustonThe SummitSeptember 24, 1982September 25, 1982ShreveportHirsch Memorial ColiseumSeptember 26, 1982CasperCasper Events CenterOctober 7, 1982New HavenNew Haven ColiseumOctober 8, 1982New York CityMadison Square GardenOctober 9, 1982SyracuseCarrier DomeOctober 11, 1982LandoverCapital CentreOctober 12, 1982October 19, 1982PhiladelphiaSpectrumOctober 20, 1982October 22, 1982WorcesterWorcester CentrumOctober 23, 1982October 24, 1982October 26, 1982TorontoCanadaMaple Leaf GardensOctober 27, 1982MontrealMontreal ForumOctober 30, 1982RoanokeUnited StatesRoanoke Civic CenterOctober 31, 1982HamptonHampton ColiseumNovember 1, 1982PittsburghPittsburgh Civic ArenaNovember 3, 1982AtlantaOmni ColiseumNovember 5, 1982CincinnatiRiverfront ColiseumNovember 6, 1982LexingtonRupp ArenaNovember 7, 1982ChattanoogaUTC ArenaNovember 13, 1982UniondaleNassau ColiseumNovember 14, 1982East RutherfordBrendan Byrne ArenaNovember 15, 1982November 18, 1982DallasReunion ArenaNovember 19, 1982November 20, 1982AustinFrank Erwin CenterNovember 22, 1982San AntonioSan Antonio Convention CenterNovember 24, 1982Valley CenterKansas ColiseumNovember 26, 1982Baton RougeRiverside CentroplexNovember 28, 1982MobileMobile Municipal AuditoriumNovember 29, 1982HuntsvilleVon Braun Civic CenterNovember 30, 1982AshevilleAsheville Civic CenterDecember 2, 1982MemphisMid-South ColiseumDecember 4, 1982Johnson CityFreedom Hall Civic CenterDecember 5, 1982RaleighReynolds ColiseumDecember 7, 1982LakelandLakeland Civic CenterDecember 9, 1982Pembroke PinesHollywood Sportatorium December 10, 1982December 11, 1982JacksonvilleJacksonville Coliseum

+ List of 1983 concertsDateCityCountryVenueJanuary 14, 1983CaracasVenezuelaPoliedro de CaracasJanuary 15, 1983January 16, 1983January 21, 1983São PauloBrazilGinásio do IbirapueraJanuary 22, 1983January 23, 1983January 26, 1983Rio de JaneiroGinásio do MaracanãzinhoJanuary 27, 1983January 29, 1983Belo HorizonteMineirãoFebruary 1, 1983Porto AlegreGigantinhoFebruary 2, 1983February 5, 1983MontevideoUruguayCilindro MunicipalFebruary 11, 1983Buenos AiresArgentinaEstadio Obras SanitariasFebruary 12, 1983May 29, 1983DevoreUnited StatesGlen Helen Pavilion

Box office score data +List of box office score data with date, city, venue, attendance, gross, referencesDate(1982)CityVenueAttendanceGrossJuly 14Augusta, United StatesCivic Center7,779$79,755July 16Greensboro, United StatesColiseum11,498$119,443July 17Charlotte, United StatesColiseum12,610$126,153July 18Columbia, United StatesCarolina Coliseum9,940$98,922July 20Knoxville, United StatesColiseum9,752$99,531July 22Birmingham, United StatesJefferson Civic Center16,000$166,000July 24Biloxi, United StatesMississippi Coast Coliseum14,941$153,890July 30Louisville, United StatesFreedom Hall17,601$150,602July 31Fort Wayne, United StatesColiseum9,000$84,455August 3Rockford, United StatesMetro Centre8,110$99,275August 4Des Moines, United StatesMemorial Auditorium10,625$99,695August 11Madison, United StatesDane County Coliseum10,100$94,601August 17Milwaukee, United StatesMECCA Arena8,500$85,293September 1Portland, United StatesColiseum11,000$136,275September 2Seattle, United StatesSeattle Center Coliseum14,906$149,136September 3Vancouver, CanadaPacific Coliseum11,748$145,789September 5Fresno, United StatesSelland Arena7,200$69,615September 7Phoenix, United StatesColiseum15,800$165,900September 9–11Inglewood, United StatesForum43,212$520,717September 14–15San Francisco, United StatesCow Palace29,000$325,123September 23–24Houston, United StatesSummit34,096$321,099October 7New Haven, United StatesColiseum9,900$111,719October 8New York City, United StatesMadison Square Garden16,258$206,896October 9Syracuse, United StatesCarrier Dome30,128$301,280October 19–20Philadelphia, United StatesSpectrum29,401$300,474October 22–24Worcester, United StatesCentrum32,636$364,642October 26Toronto, CanadaMaple Leaf Gardens14,399$173,358October 30Roanoke, United StatesCivic Center11,000$120,744October 31Hampton, United StatesColiseum13,800$144,438November 5Cincinnati, United StatesRiverfront Coliseum12,360$131,383November 7Chattanooga, United StatesUTC Arena9,823$98,621November 13Uniondale, United StatesNassau Coliseum13,909$182,103November 14–15East Rutherford, United StatesBrendan Byrne Arena35,888$454,122November 20Austin, United StatesFrank Erwin Center13,232$131,016November 22San Antonio, United StatesConvention Center13,081$126,799December 2Memphis, United StatesMid-South Coliseum10,162$106,115December 7Lakeland, United StatesCivic Center10,000$107,446December 9–10Miami, United StatesHollywood Sportatorium21,921$246,611December 11Jacksonville, United StatesMemorial Coliseum11,628$127,271

Personnel Eddie Van Halen – guitar, backing vocals David Lee Roth – lead vocals, acoustic guitar Michael Anthony – bass, backing vocals Alex Van Halen – drums

References Notes

Citations

General sources