Tokyo Dome Live in Concert (2015)
Disc One
1. Unchained
2. Runnin' With the Devil
3. She's the Woman
4. I'm the One
5. Tattoo
6. Everybody Wants Some!
7. Somebody Get Me a Doctor
8. China Town
9. Hear About It Later
10.(Oh) Pretty Woman
11.Me & You (Drum Solo)
12.You Really Got Me
Disc Two
1. Dance the Night Away
2. I'll Wait
3. And the Cradle Will Rock
4. Hot For Teacher
5. Women in Love
6. Romeo Delight
7. Mean Streets
8. Beautiful Girls
9. Ice Cream Man
10.Panama
11.Eruption
12.Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
13.Jump
It was bound to happen eventually. After decades of public feuds, messy breakups, and equally messy reunions, Van Halen finally brought David Lee Roth back into the fold. They even managed to release a new studio album and embark on multiple world tours. I say “managed” because, with the egos involved, nothing in Van Halen ever comes easy. This was a band that always embodied rock and roll at both its absolute best and its absolute worst.
Thankfully, this live set captures much of the best of the Roth-fronted years. No pointless covers clutter the tracklist, and the obligatory solos are mercifully kept in check — Alex’s drum feature runs under three minutes, Eddie’s guitar workout clocks in at just under nine. Critics have been quick to pounce on Roth for losing much of his vocal range over the past three decades, but that’s a bit unfair. Yes, he’s lost a step, but the change is more jarring because we haven’t heard him with the band in so long. If he’d been singing with Van Halen consistently all these years, the contrast wouldn’t be as stark. Think of Geddy Lee from Rush: his voice has declined too, but since Rush essentially never stopped touring since 1974, the difference feels less dramatic.
Then there’s the absence of Michael Anthony. It wouldn’t be Van Halen without Eddie being mad at a former bandmate, and Anthony was unceremoniously replaced by another family member — Eddie’s son, Wolfgang. Maybe it’s my non-musician’s ear, but I can’t say I notice a huge difference in the bass tone (overdubbing, perhaps?). What I do miss is Anthony’s soaring high harmonies, both live and on record. That vocal glue is gone, and it’s noticeable, though it doesn’t sink the whole ship.
Even excusing those two issues, something here still feels missing. Part of it is simply that Van Halen, no matter how tight they play, can never recapture the raw, unfiltered energy of the early ’80s. Back then, a Van Halen show was a masterclass in raunchy, booze-soaked spectacle. If you missed seeing them in that era, you missed one of rock’s purest excesses. Age changes everything — as one female fan once put it, “David Lee Roth was incredibly sexy in 1984. Now he looks like your perverted uncle who you hope you don’t have to sit next to at Thanksgiving dinner.” That’s… about right.
Onstage banter has always been Roth’s calling card, but here it comes off as forced. In Tokyo, he peppers the set with shouted Japanese phrases and his usual mix of dirty jokes and winking bravado, but it lands awkwardly. Maybe the language barrier blunts it, but that just raises the question: why record this in Tokyo at all? The same act might have played better to a hometown crowd.
Still, the band itself sounds strong. Roth may be diminished, but Alex and Eddie remain in top form. Maybe the problem is mine — maybe I’m just getting older. By the time we hit the encore and Eddie launches into Eruption, I’m more ready for the house lights than another shred-fest. If there’s truly an unreleased early-’80s Van Halen show sitting in the vault, I’d take that over a recording of a recent show any day.
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