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Van Halen with Kool and the Gang at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia 3/5/12

Wolfman

By Wolfman
in Other Bands / Music

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Wolfman

Wolfman

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Great show from the start. I really enjoyed Kool and the Gang. Very funky band with some great bass playing and horns. Next up was Van Halen. Just like 2007, they were fantastic. Dave sounded good and Eddie was mind-blowing as usual. He really seemed to be enjoying himself. They played for roughly two hours. Good times!!!

Kool and the Gang

  1. Fresh
  2. Tonight
  3. Emergency
  4. Misled
  5. Too Hot
  6. Hollywood Swingin'
  7. Jungle Boogie
    (With Prince Hakim)
  8. Ladies' Night
  9. Get Down On It
  10. Celebration

Van Halen

  1. Unchained
  2. Runnin' With the Devil
  3. She's The Woman
  4. The Full Bug
  5. Tattoo
  6. Everybody Wants Some!!
  7. Somebody Get Me A Doctor
  8. China Town
  9. Hear About It Later
  10. Oh, Pretty Woman
    (Roy Orbison cover)
  11. Drum Solo
  12. You Really Got Me
    (The Kinks cover)
  13. The Trouble with Never
  14. Dance The Night Away
  15. I'll Wait
  16. Hot For Teacher
  17. Women In Love
  18. Girl Gone Bad
  19. Beautiful Girls
  20. Ice Cream Man
    (John Brim cover)
  21. Panama
  22. Guitar Solo
  23. Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
  24. Jump

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Strider

Strider

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What a strange choice for an opening act........ :huh:

That's almost like having Chaka Khan open up for Ozzy.

Not so strange if you remember how much David Lee Roth loved black culture in the 70s and would mention it in interviews. Plus, there were all sorts of seemingly odd and random concert bills in the 60s and 70s before everything got fragmented, segmented, regimented and segregated.

Besides, Kool & the Gang is an awesome band! Or, at least they were. I have no idea if there's any original members left or if this is one of those shams.

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2bitnogoodjive

2bitnogoodjive

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What a strange choice for an opening act........ :huh:

That's almost like having Chaka Khan open up for Ozzy.

Yeah, musical diversity as prevously mentioned. Also a smart move in that they probably don't have to worry about the opening band blowing them off the stage.

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Rock Historian

Rock Historian

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Yeah, musical diversity as prevously mentioned. Also a smart move in that they probably don't have to worry about the opening band blowing them off the stage.

^ :D Exactly what I was thinking...That makes them look/sound even better if your just there to see Van Halen...and how many Van Halen fans do you really think like Kool and the Gang??? Really.......

Sure, they are a good band for what they are, but it seems like more of a time killer than something to get excited about...How many VH rockers are jumping up and down, doing cartwheels over the opening act? Are they doing the "wave" or a "disco boogie" to "Celebration" and "Ladies Night"? VH must sound monsterous coming on after that..........

And as for diversity, the 60's and 70's were a different time altogether...those days are gone for the most part for all the reasons you mentiond Strider. Not saying it can't exist or shouldn't musically, but that's about the oddest combo of bands on a single concert bill that Ive seen or heard of in many many years......or at least that I acknowledged. And as far as Bill Graham Jahfin, most of those bills were festivals...festivals ARE usually directed towards a diverse crowd. Jazz Fest and Voodoo are some of many examples.

Nothing wrong here with mentioning the obvious as a comment....Yes, it is an odd combo.

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Jahfin

Jahfin

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And as far as Bill Graham Jahfin, most of those bills were festivals...festivals ARE usually directed towards a diverse crowd.

I wasn't referring to festivals. I was referring to concerts he put on at Winterland and similar venues.

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Jahfin

Jahfin

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Im aware of that......that was a different time, different place.

Apparently you weren't aware of that since you mentioned festivals.

Strangest bill I've ever seen: Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band w/the Spinners and Nantucket during Apple Chill Weekend in Chapel Hill in 1978.

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Rock Historian

Rock Historian

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Apparently you weren't aware of that since you mentioned festivals.

You really are something there Mr. Jaf. I mentioned festivals because you threw Bill Graham into the picture...and he was a big promoter of them.......As hard as it must be for you believe, I am aware of his other venues.

It's an odd combo (VH and Kool) -that's about as far as it should go...but i know it would KILL you to admit that without going back and forth first, or making this a game of trivial knowledge from 40 years ago......does it really ever get anywhere? I wonder how many of your 9,000 post are a result of this sort of engagement with another member.

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Strider

Strider

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You know I am starting to get annoyed and offended at this assumption that if you like a hard rock band such as Van Halen or Led Zeppelin, then you shouldn't like funk or disco.

And let's clear one thing up right now: Kool & the Gang was not disco. They are funk, R & B...not disco. They've been around since before the disco craze of the 70s.

As for this insistence that Van Halen and Kool & the Gang is a strange match...someone likened it to Chaka Khan opening for Ozzy(in which case, I prefer Chaka to Ozzy Has-been)...I refer you to the fact that Van Halen used to cover Kool & the Gang songs back in their club days.

Van Halen is a PARTY BAND...Kool & the Gang is a PARTY BAND! What's not to love? I'm looking at that setlist for Kool & the Gang and I am thinking that's a sweet set! If today's audiences can't get down with that, they're even more racist and lame than I thought.

I give MAJOR props to Van Halen for picking a fun and interesting band to open the tour for them. It's better than picking some tired old dreary "classic rock" losers like Styx, Journey, Boston, Deep Purple, Chicago, Hootie and the Blowfish, Foreigner, Bon Jovi, Ted Nugent, Lynyrd Skynyrd, .38 Special, ad nauseum.

Or some fellow LA Sunset Strip veterans like Motley Crüe, Quiet Riot, Warrant, blah blah blah.

None of the above bands, as presently consituted, are fit to share the same stage as Kool & the Gang, let alone Van Halen. I have a feeling many people seeing this Van Halen tour are going to be surprised how much they enjoy Kool's set. They can bring the funk and bring the party for sure!

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Rock Historian

Rock Historian

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You know I am starting to get annoyed and offended at this assumption that if you like a hard rock band such as Van Halen or Led Zeppelin, then you shouldn't like funk or disco.

And let's clear one thing up right now: Kool & the Gang was not disco. They are funk, R & B...not disco. They've been around since before the disco craze of the 70s.

As for this insistence that Van Halen and Kool & the Gang is a strange match...someone likened it to Chaka Khan opening for Ozzy(in which case, I prefer Chaka to Ozzy Has-been)...I refer you to the fact that Van Halen used to cover Kool & the Gang songs back in their club days.

Van Halen is a PARTY BAND...Kool & the Gang is a PARTY BAND! What's not to love? I'm looking at that setlist for Kool & the Gang and I am thinking that's a sweet set! If today's audiences can't get down with that, they're even more racist and lame than I thought.

I give MAJOR props to Van Halen for picking a fun and interesting band to open the tour for them. It's better than picking some tired old dreary "classic rock" losers like Styx, Journey, Boston, Deep Purple, Chicago, Hootie and the Blowfish, Foreigner, Bon Jovi, Ted Nugent, Lynyrd Skynyrd, .38 Special, ad nauseum.

Or some fellow LA Sunset Strip veterans like Motley Crüe, Quiet Riot, Warrant, blah blah blah.

None of the above bands, as presently consituted, are fit to share the same stage as Kool & the Gang, let alone Van Halen. I have a feeling many people seeing this Van Halen tour are going to be surprised how much they enjoy Kool's set. They can bring the funk and bring the party for sure!

Getting a little too serious there over nothing are you Strider??? I you read what I origianally posted, I said it was strange combo....I said nothing about being against it..or the belief of being diverse....diversity is good, it's just strikes me as an odd thing. It was brought to my attention from someone (quite a few) that are not even members here...their reaction was the same as mine....just isn't a common thing to see. Has VH always had this sort of act open? I would guess not.

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Strider

Strider

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^^^That's better than their opening act for the 1984 tour: the horrid and wretched Autograph.

Rock Historian, in regards to being racist, I wasn't specifically referring to you. I agree that Jahfin went a little overboard about the festival thing, but I think he's just trying to illustrate how much more open people were to genre-mixing concert bills back then than today.

It's really not that far from "Dance the Night Away" to "Ladies Night", in my opinion.

Maybe Dave could pop in during Kool's set and they could do a mash-up of "Ladies Night" and "Ladies Night in Buffalo"?!?

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Rock Historian

Rock Historian

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^^^That's better than their opening act for the 1984 tour: the horrid and wretched Autograph.

Rock Historian, I wasn't specifically referring to you. I agree that Jahfin went a little overboard about the festival thing, but I think he's just trying to illustrate how much more open people were to genre-mixing concert bills back then than today.

I can agree with that statement....and the key words are "back then". VH in 2012 is not 1969 or 77'. The reasons you gave above ( fragmented, segmented, regimented and segregated) all all good examples of why it seems odd when someone does it these days.....You can't compare what happened 40 years ago on a regular basis to this minute example. It may break peoples hearts to admit this, but VH are not the most diverse band in their own right, which is another reason I find it off the wall.

I could totally undersatnd a band like Zeppelin (or another versatile example) who's own music is such a variety on it's own, having such a different opening act. I can't say the same for VH's music as it is pretty much a "one trick pony" in terms of their normal output. Besides Ky-Mani Marley (Bob's son)in 2007, I'd like to see what their supporting acts were in the last 20 years since.

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Strider

Strider

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^^^Well, before seeing the reunion tour in 2007, I hadn't seen Van Halen since 1988 when they were on the Monsters of Rock tour...and I only went to that to see Metallica. I was through with Van Hagar by that point; we left 4 songs into their set...around the time Michael went into his dull bass solo.

To be honest, Van Halen audiences have always been brutal to their opening acts, throwing shit and in some cases forcing them from the stage...and for good reason. Warner Bros. chose some pretty piss-poor acts to open for Van Halen.

1978 doesn't count as VH was the opening act that year...or they were part of festival bills.

But from 1979 on to 1984 when they were headliners, they had best-forgotten bands like Screams, After the Fire, G-Force, Talas, Autograph, and the Fabulous Poodles as openers.

Kool & the Gang is the coolest opening act they've ever had.

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Jahfin

Jahfin

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You really are something there Mr. Jaf. I mentioned festivals because you threw Bill Graham into the picture...and he was a big promoter of them.......As hard as it must be for you believe, I am aware of his other venues.

It's an odd combo (VH and Kool) -that's about as far as it should go...but i know it would KILL you to admit that without going back and forth first, or making this a game of trivial knowledge from 40 years ago......does it really ever get anywhere? I wonder how many of your 9,000 post are a result of this sort of engagement with another member.

I never said it wasn't an odd combination, I even mentioned Ky-Mani Marley as the opening act for their previous tour as an example. As for the diversity Bill Graham brought to the rosters he put together, my original statement apparently wasn't clear enough for you so I clarified further by saying I meant the Winterland shows (as well as other venues where he booked the artists) so that you would understand that I wasn't referring to festivals specifically. I always thought that was a very admirable trait regarding Bill Graham. Even as strange as some of those bills may seem in 2012, it still makes sense to see artists as diverse as the Grateful Dead, Sun Ra and Miles Davis all on the same bill. Even the Dead paired with the Who may have seemed strange to some even though they were both rock n' roll bands.

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Strider

Strider

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^^^Let me know if you need more butter and salt for your popcorn, dazedcat. ;)

According to these articles I just read in the Boston papers, it was Dave's idea to have Kool & the Gang open.

http://news.bostonherald.com/entertainment/music/general/view/20220309kool_addition_to_vh_tour/srvc=home&position=also

http://bostonglobe.com/arts/2012/03/09/high-five-robert-kool-bell/bdn9oGlFVRJKXgzsMVM9YL/story.html

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Walter

Walter

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I am looking forward to catching Kool...., I otherwise would never see them - so it's an added bonus to the night. Kinda like when RHCP took Snoop Dogg on the road with them a few years back. Btw, Alice In Chains opened for Van Hagar when we saw them back in '92. I wasn't able to get in to see Marley the last time VH toured as we were coming back from a Daytona race on Valentine's Day - great day that was! I've never heard that about EVH, but then again I usually don't pay attention to what he says (or his brother for that matter).

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dazedcat

dazedcat

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Honestly speaking I've always been a huge fan of musical diversity. I've never liked genre radio programming because it's limiting.

With that said, this pairing makes little sense to me. Sorry but it just doesn't.

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Wolfman

Wolfman

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Honestly speaking I've always been a huge fan of musical diversity. I've never liked genre radio programming because it's limiting.

With that said, this pairing makes little sense to me. Sorry but it just doesn't.

It works though. Trust me. I had a good time!

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