Van Halen was my first concert.
I was a 15-year old no-goodnik and concerts were a way to escape parental supervision and enjoy the good things in life – cheap pot, cheap beer, and painfully loud rock and roll.
I remember wearing that concert t-shirt for years. I’m not sure why, but it was important to have the “baseball t-shirt” style with the 3-quarter sleeves.
I stopped listening to Van Halen when David Lee Roth left the group. I was not a Hagar fan. In fact, by the time Hagar joined up I probably wasn’t much of a Van Halen fan. Women and Children First was the last album of theirs I ever bought.
It’s hard to believe Eddie was only 10 years older than me. When I was a 15-year old doofus whipping my long hair to his guitar solos, he was a 25-year old rock god.
If you want a taste of that experience, here’s a bootleg taken from the same tour.
It’s hard to watch a video like the one below, and not think of Spinal Tap, but it sure meant a lot to me when I was younger and dumber than today.
Adios, Eddie. Thanks for rocking my teenage heart.