This is unreal. Must watch rock n roll history right here. One can't overstate how fresh, authenticate, and talented these guys were in 1978. As pioneers, they totally changed the rules of the game.
@@user-ek4iy5wp4hnot trying to to be pissy lol but eddie pretty much reinvented the sound of the electric guitar im no fanboy of VH but you have to give credit where credit is due when it comes to what eddie did to guitar
@@gball6755 same old soundbite "reinvented" - no, a bunch of kids buying Gutiar Mag with no background in Jazz or other Rock guitarists using ' tapping ' very sparingly way before evh - he had a talent, and some VH I like in small doses - but the band was so uncreative and boring it was mind-numbing after a while - and the stage show was a joke, catering to kids who all want to be on stage and playing air-guitar at home but with empty lives
@@user-ek4iy5wp4h dude it’s fine to dislike a band but u don’t gotta be hateful, their stage presence was a result of them loving what they do, would you rather them just stand there with blank faces? and eddie never claimed to invent tapping, he revolutionized it. every guitar player after Van Halen 1 wanted to be exactly like him, and whether you like it or not there’s a piece of eddie van halen in almost every piece of guitar music since he made his mark on music period.
Thats why he set the kramer down and the Explorer magically appeared after the solo! Man ther dissonance he got out of that cab when was up against the stack! pure beauty!
@@Chef_Jeff69 you are of course correct. I was just trying to remember off the top of my head. I went back and watched believe I was wrong in both accounts as the shark makes an appearance as well!
00:40 On Fire 01:11 I'm The One 04:00 Atomic Punk 06:33 Alex Drum Solo 08:34 Ain't Talkin 'Bout Love 13:24 Eddie Solo / Eruption 17:00 You Really Got Me 22:18 Bottoms Up!
What an absolute gem of a find this video is thank you so much for uploading! This should be in a time capsule so in another 50 or 100 years people can still look back and witness the genius and pioneering masterpiece that this truly is.
Yes, I actually was tripping on acid at the Philly Spectrum when they opened for Black Sabbath. It was over our heads and otherworldly. I love the Magic Mountain bootleg. That raw tone and virtuosity!!!!
Ahhh Young padawine ...Philadelphia Spectrum Coliseum -- Me a very handsome young lad 15 years young --Van Halen opening act for Black Sabbath Never Say Die tour- Can't tell you I remember it all because I was under Gold Colombian spell !! But Yeah !! Awesome !!!
@@COTG666 Not always. I'm speaking from experience. And I don't think that's what Ed or the the rest of the band was into...doing blow while performing on this "debut" tour? Nahh! They were more focused on their craft at this time. There was a lot to be proved and a lot to loose. I'm pretty sure the coke and drinking while performing came later in their career. That's my opinion.
What? I saw them in the clubs many times and ED didn't MOVE as much as do the guitar poses and play with his back to the dudes when he was tapping. After the hiatus and LP recording they had to train him on how to work a big stage and he NEVER looked natural - that stupid scissor kick jump was just not cool; Pete Townshend he wasn't. 👀
@@simoncrawley7430 No, it is truthful. You fanboys are awful. Eddie's hero for example, crushes him and his basic rock riffs, that he repeats, yes, on fire, but it is the same stuff over and over, one trick pony. There are so many styles and great players... ed was just one more on the list. Tapping was around a hundred years before him.
What an amazing arttifact. There was nothing, just no nothing like this before. It was like a burning meteor in the sky, the energy, the 100% velocity and virtuosity that re-lit rock from the edge of obsolescence and irrelevance and started a whole revolution in hard rock and metal. Amazing to see this incandescence
Senior in high school. Fall 1978. One of my classmates gave as his presentation of life changing moments the concert he saw with Van Halen that summer. He then played the first album in class.
@@Dwightpower88 You're probably a Hop Hop poser or Katy Perry fan ,if you think it was just coke.Just in case you never noticed there is a LOT of potent musical skill on that stage not just showmanship fool!
They were great and EVH changed guitar, but rock was far from obsolescence. Boston, Rush, Kiss, Sabbath, AC/DC, et al were also huge and awesome in 1978. Punk was killing it too.
Imagine being Black Sabbath having to go on after that high energy, virtuosity filled, party atmosphere, fun song Van Halen performance! There's no way!
Saw them twice in '78. The first show was just shocking. This was the opener. We had never seen a band this tight and never heard guitar like that. And Roth was almost as incredible as Ed. It's no wonder he has no voice left. I was a huge Sabbath fan but they were an afterthought that night.
I saw the Sabbath/Halen bill in Detroit. VH was the future but Sabbath was great that night as well...Actually in 1978 people didn't really know who they were.
Saw this tour in Milwaukee. I was 18, a big Black Sabbath fan and this was as close to heaven that I could possibly get. At the time lol. DLR really stole the show that night…..
This should be in the Library of Congress in their historic recordings collection. As for Diamond Dave, maybe he did/does have an exaggerated opinion of himself, but what a showman he was. I don't think anyone has been a better front man.
Imagine if Sammy started with the band doing clubs. I’d love to see him try to get a #1 album or a #1 song. These songs and the rest of the album wouldn’t have the same impact even though Eddie would be put Eruption on it. I’m just saying Dave was a good singer and great performer. Also 1984 would have been #1 album but any album would be #2 behind Thriller!
Disco was fine actually - the bomb was dropped on the old generation of rock - zeppelin, sabbath, purple - their days were done. This was the new wave of rock - atomic punks indeed.
Sort of the Nirvana of their time. Not quite the earth shattering impact of ushering in Grunge like Nirvana did, but really close. I remember hearing Van Halen for the first time and saying Wow that's really awesome! And when hearing Nirvana for the first time saying what in the holy f*ck was THAT and how do I get more and nothing will be the same after. Anyway, huge Van Halen fan and this recording is incredible and they sound exactly like their recordings, as they should. Dave and Eddie are some of the best live performers ever existed.
Holy freaking cow! How could any band come on stage and follow a performance like that? Incredible musicianship right off the bat. VH were ready to conquer! That crowd had to know they were witnessing legends in the making.
I saw them for the first time at 15 years old in 1980 and every tour after with DLR so until '84. We stood for the whole show, nobody wanted to sit down...too much energy. So glad to have been born when I was.
Saw this concert in Seattle at the coliseum in 78 with several friends.... still remember it to this day. Eddie was on fire, newly emerged guitar slinging one of a kind player that blew us away. Ahhh the 70's
Saw this show in Jacksonville Fl, they opened for Sabbath...1978. Saw them less than a year later headlining after VH II released...1979, again in Jacksonville Florida. Both shows were epic.
This is magic. Even then Dave was singing at the top of his range and out of breathe. A credit to the guys skill that's he was able to do that as long as he did. Thanks for posting this gold
Entertaining was a must, but actually singing was optional for Dave lol Literally...he goes long parts of songs where he's not singing at all😆 (but when he does, he sounds great!)
I don't give a shit who says what about Dave Roth back then he was f.cking amazing as a frontman and his screams were reminiscent of Ian Gillian! The band were smoking tight! THANK YOU for uploading this classic rock gold!
Hardly! Ed cringed when Malmsteen showed on the scene, not meant to favor either one, just saying. Both were blatant egotists. Iommi (Black Sabbath), same tour, could smoke Ed, but he always had class. . . . . Ed, never did. -Witchbreed
@@Cluless02 You're wrong, other guitarists had to step-up their game after EVH came on the scene. You see a ton of mimicking from late 1970s thru the 1980s from other guitarists.
Saw them multiple times between 78 and 83....and many afterwards, but that first 5 years was like nothing youve ever seen on Rock guitar...their best ever no question
Imagine you are an aspiring guitar player, into Rainbow, Uriah Heep etc., and then in some concert the opening band's guitar player rips you a new one, and you cannot remember how you made it home save and sound. Plus... you cannot tell anyone about it, because no one would believe you. Gee. What marvelous footage!
I missed the 70s shows, but finally got to see this supernova of a band in Huntsville AL in 81 - there is NOTHING that can compete with this band in their prime - they were and are unmatched - I still get the chills when I see this - count yourself very lucky to be alive for this!
The infancy to the Van Halen Invasion, leaving all sorts of "wtf's??!!!" on faces all over the planet. And THIS is why it didn't take long for no headlining act wanting to follow them as the warm up band. King Edward... wow.... thank you for all the wonderful, ferocious and jaw-dropping music that made all of our ears happily bleed with great pleasure and go up in smoke with intense volume. I know I speak for many, but we miss you sorely. May you always shred in peace.
Fucking love this. Saw my 1st concert when I was 14 years old in 1977 and which was Led Zeppelin at Madison Square Garden. Second concert was Black Sabbath in 1978 with an unknown opening band called Val Halen. I saw this exact tour and dropped my first hit of LSD at that show. It blew my mind. At age 61 still digging my rock n roll🤘. Thanks for the video. You rock!!!👊
My first concert was Led Zeppelin in 1977 also! In Oakland California. Day on the Green. July, Sat. 23rd & Sun. 24th. I saw the Sunday show. That’s wild. Both of us, our first concert; and it’s Led fuckin Zeppelin! One on each coast. ALSO, I was 14 and now 61 as well. Damn! Long lost brothers! HA! Anyway, Cheers to you & yours!
Diamond Dave is all in! His vocals are absolutely the best! People are judging Dave about his vocals now and I get it, but when you look at the past and have been following him as I have you can appreciate where he has begun . Thank you to whoever the taper was and the editor for who put this all together! so appreciated! Long live VH!!
There is lots of room on the floor. I would have thought it would be completely packed but they were just getting going on the way to become the biggest rock band of the 80's. RIP EVH. Gone but never forgotten. Thanks for the vid!
The show hadn’t started yet in that footage. Remember, lots of people mingled in the lobby/outside,,bought-shirts etc. before the show started. Concerts were a social event.
@@glengamble526 Valid point. Were they opening for Black Sabbath? That's kind of a weird team up but it was the early days. Party rock meets the masters of metal. Heh.
@@alienresearchlabTheir first major support slot on a world tour - Sabbath "Never say die" tour.I'm from Belfast, but went over to see them in Sabbath's hometown Birmingham, England.This support band swaggered on to about 4ft of stage space (Bill Ward's kit was huge) and blew the minds of everybody there!🤘
Thank you 🙏. A few years ago I kept trying to watch this but the quality was so bad. I hope more of these concerts are upgraded to HD which I didn’t know was possible for these recordings . it looks AMAZING . Thank you again !!!
Edward was playing the yellow/black when I saw them and I remember him making me wince in pain but it was so unbelievably good. One of the best shows I have ever been to. 1978 I was 16. I started playing guitar that year.
1978 Van Halen footage is incredible historic footage. To think a few months earlier they were a bar band. I always wondered what a vh 1978 show looked like , incredible!thank you for this post
The first time I saw them was in Detroit in '82...was the diver down tour. It was a life changing concert. Nobody to this day has put on a show like the younger original VH. Eddie was a legend
Awesome thanks for posting this, I mean bro this was what 77?, no one had EVER heard of seen ANYTHING like this they were the true innovators Ed was the real deal and Dave was the ultimate front man! Like thousands of other guitarists Ed and Michael Shienker were huge influences on me as a guitarist RIP Edward!! 🤘🏼🎸
Dave was a force of nature, driven by the fire of youth, and he kept trying to do a version of that physical stage act as he got old. It couldn't work forever. But we'll always have clips like this at least. I wish there were more, but thanks for posting it.
Damn?? I have enjoyed this Hell Raising Concert to the Max! I'm Fkn 65 and sure do remember when Van Halen came aboard the Kick Ass Rock Scene in 78! I was 17 at the time. They were The Mighty Van Halen with out a doubt! When VH hit the Stage hang on Bro's and Sis's!! I never got to see them. I lived in Bham Ala but had gotten married and had Twins so that cancelled stuff for a little bit! Can't say enough about that Band and thanks for that killer Music y'all delivered! 😊. I'm still sad about Ole Play the PISS OUTTA OF THAT GUITAR 🎸! RIP Eddie! 🎸💥🎶🔥😐🇺🇲
Absolutely blown away by how awesome they were. I was only 8 years old when they came town with Black Sabbath and my aunt went to this concert in Fresno. I was a rock n roll addict even as a young child and when the first VH record came out in 78, I was hooked on them. ever since. At 54, still loving the mighty Van Halen as always!!
If you were a VH fan in 78 you were ahead of the pack. I heard their demos in early 78 and could't believe it. I saw the Sabbath/VH tour and people were going crazy by the end of VH set...But Sabbath came out and did the job. But it took VH about 2 years to really get the fans. in 79 They still were playing the smaller venues in Detroit like Masonic Temple and not Cobo Hall..
They dropped their debut album in early 1978, so this show was seven months later. I dunno, but I remember the buzz about Van Halen was huge. But I was only 11, so perhaps it took older folks a while to catch it.
This footage was incredible so much energy and a new wave of guitar playing had begun and Edward was the leader the sound and video are incredible on this thank you for sharing if only we could go into a real time machine to see the show with the historic Echoplex in the bomb
I'm impressed by how much these songs sound like the album (or even better.) Lit AF in 78! No guitarist had played like that before. 16:00 - 18:00 history was made.
It's hard to explain to people that weren't alive when VH broke how earth shattering they were. What Ed did was a mystery. We had never heard anything like it. I suspect that is how Hendrix must have been at the time he came out.
I listened to this twice consecutively. Played it through my Bluetooth speaker, it was 30 minutes of in-your-face rock and listening to the beast guitar playing of EVH. This was a treat. Thank you!
When the Sellend Arena opened the crowd rushed the door. This smaller kid in front of us was getting crushed and was turning purple. So we lifted him up so he could breathe. Has fate would have we ran in to him before the show. He yells out, those are the dudes that saved me. Good times!!!
What an absolute gem of a find this video is thank you so much for uploading! This should be in a time capsule so in another 50 or 100 years people can still look back and witness the genius and pioneering masterpiece that this truly is. There has never truly been any match or anyone that really even comes close to Edward Van Halen.
The greatest rock band ever. This is when diamond Dave could actually sing for the most part. He was a great front man. Edward was just starting to show the world how great he was. Michael Anthony, tremendous underrated background vocalist, and a damn good bass player. A monster on drums. May you rest in peace Edward I was there for the beginning of your career until the very end and I’m just hoping that maybe I’ll be lucky enough to meet you on the other side
I was completely a junky when this album came out. My friend from junior high said come over I just bought a new album my dad seen. I went there and ran home and begged on my knees and cried and begged for my mom to go and take me to get it. This was bigger then KISS
I started playing guitar @ 13 in 1983 cause of EVH. I would listen to VH albums thinking Eddie was from another planet. Watching this @ 55 yrs old proves he was from another planet. RIP my guitar hero. Wow what a talent
I was a bellhop at a hotel in Austin Tx from 1978-1980. Van Halen stayed there and I met and talked with the guys in the band. Alex and Michael were just regular guys, Eddie was shy and introverted and Dave was already the Diva that you expect him to be.
Edward Van Halen had one of the best ears for guitar tone ever. Which is completely insane because he should have been deaf standing face to face with that many 4x12 cabs cranked to face melting volume. Long Live The King !!!
I'm in the mid balcony upper right to the left of Eddie. I went to see Black Sabbath, I had no idea about Van Halen. I was mesmerized! I saw them again in 1979...first ten dollar concert ticket.
This was the most incredible show I ever saw! Opened for Sabbath in Philadelphia…..one of the few life changing moments I can recall…especially at 15 years old! It was like getting hit by a Mac truck!
This is pure awesomeness. I remember when that first VH album came out. My friend down the street got it. we played it when i went over. We played it over and over. I wish i had made it to the live show. They were so good live.
“Hey sit your ass down, man!” I wonder if that dude could’ve ever imagined that his standing up and cheering for the best opening act in history, was going to actually BLOCK history from being recorded. Can’t blame him. Who could stay seated for that?
I was 11when they broke the mold. I was a paperboy and I remember delivering in the dark starting at 4AM. This album was playing like a soundtrack in my head. lol. Good times.
Ozzy has said that it was the moment he knew that Black Sabbath was past its expiration date. Of course, that wasn't entirely true at all....but he felt their greatness for sure......
It must have been mind blowing to be front row at that concert. My first concert was VH on the 1984 tour. I was 13 and went with my older brother. Autograph was the opener but VH owned everything at that time. I wish I had a time machine sometimes and these videos are about as close as we can get to one. Anyway, Thank you Alex, Michael, Dave, and Eddie for all the great music and memories. RIP Eddie 🎸
For what it’s worth, I had pretty in-depth conversations with two guys who’d seen this tour, one in Jacksonville, Florida and one in Pittsburgh, and they both thought Sabbath put on a better performance. Now, a big part of that reaction, as one of these guys (Jacksonville) pointed out, was that the audience knew Black Sabbath’s material already and that was the band they came to see. The Jacksonville guy said he had not heard Van Halen 1, so it was all unfamiliar territory. Also, as the Jacksonville guy said, Roth was so over the top that it was easy to ask yourself “is he trying to be a rock singer or is this all a big joke to him?” But they both acknowledged that Eddie impressed them as a good guitar player. Me, I would’ve loved to see this tour. I wanted to attend the Jacksonville show but it was on the exact same Saturday night (November 4, 1978) that Queen played the Lakeland Civic Center, and I went to that show, which was insanely good. Also turned out to be the last time Queen played a show in Florida. I wish I had choices like that now.
I remember when their debut album came out in 1978, critics were speculating that multiple guitarists were playing simultaneously because "no one could play that fast" LOL 😂🤣
I remember me and my buddy driving around Houston smoking weed and we saw a bunch of cars and people walking around the music hall. We asked what was going on and they said there was a new kick ass band playing so we parked and got a couple tickets, this it what we saw😂
March 30th, 1979. O'Connor Field House (basically a big concrete bunker) Caldwell, ID. Their fifth stop on their first world headline tour. I was 16. Between the people throwing empty beer bottles from the roof, to the overturned car next to the entrance, we knew we were in for a night. The hightlight was when a tube amp exploded behind the stack of speakers stage right. After the obligatory "WTF WAS THAT!" moment, Alex kicked off a ~10 minute drum solo while the roadies grabbed an amp from the warm up band and hooked everything up. Needless to say, the party proceeded with even more enthusiasm.
Outstanding capture of such unbridled enthusiasm and reckless abandons! The groovy "Bottoms up" guitar solo and outro at the end of the show! A glimpse of what was to floor us next by The Mighty Van Halen!
Seen Van Halen at 'Day on the Green#3 in Oakland 1978 Eddie blew everyone away with his "extended play" version of Eruption and rattling the whole stadium!
Back in these days I was really more of a Rush and Kinks fan - never really a Van Halen fan so to speak. HOWEVER, I don’t think there are enough compliments possible to explain the amazement generated by King Edward. Even I forget how ground breaking and innovative he was at, what 21?, in 1978 - there are many outstanding guitarists, but when it comes to Rock and Hard Rock, nobody eclipses the innovation, tone, playing style and insane influence Edward Van Halen is responsible for….to state otherwise is patently absurd. I’m still blown away 46 years later….incredible.
![Van Halen - Live in Fresno 1979 [watermark removed & upscaled to HD]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/PtxY3Y5hl2A/mqdefault.jpg)
My name is ruben Rodriguez, I was there , they opened up for Black Sabbath , it was a great show and the times were very different than today
Seen this same show in San Antonio Texas they totally blew Sabbath of the stage.
You get laid? lol
I remember this I was there too
my name is gustavo, but you can call me gus
@@jesuspi3ce My name is Mudd. I wasn't there but I'm still enjoying this video. Nice to meet you Gus and ruben Rodriguez.
Who ever filmed this with sound is the greatest person on earth ! They did have 8mm sound camera's Sankyo Sound XL-60S Super-8 Film Movie Camera 1978
for this era? It's amazing@@michaelraub9351
@@michaelraub9351 Really ? how old are you 15 LOL !
This is mind-blowing!!!! Atomic Punk fucking blows the roof off!
@@michaelraub9351 Mcfly …. It was 1978 raw recording
8mm film spliced together with the soundboard recording I believe. Its an awesome job!
This is unreal. Must watch rock n roll history right here. One can't overstate how fresh, authenticate, and talented these guys were in 1978. As pioneers, they totally changed the rules of the game.
What exactly did VH pioneer again? Hmmm? Fanboy over-the-top.
@@user-ek4iy5wp4hnot trying to to be pissy lol but eddie pretty much reinvented the sound of the electric guitar im no fanboy of VH but you have to give credit where credit is due when it comes to what eddie did to guitar
@@gball6755 same old soundbite "reinvented" - no, a bunch of kids buying Gutiar Mag with no background in Jazz or other Rock guitarists using ' tapping ' very sparingly way before evh - he had a talent, and some VH I like in small doses - but the band was so uncreative and boring it was mind-numbing after a while - and the stage show was a joke, catering to kids who all want to be on stage and playing air-guitar at home but with empty lives
@@user-ek4iy5wp4h dude it’s fine to dislike a band but u don’t gotta be hateful, their stage presence was a result of them loving what they do, would you rather them just stand there with blank faces? and eddie never claimed to invent tapping, he revolutionized it. every guitar player after Van Halen 1 wanted to be exactly like him, and whether you like it or not there’s a piece of eddie van halen in almost every piece of guitar music since he made his mark on music period.
@@gball6755 nobody is being 'hateful' - stick to the topic
The greatest accomplishment of this show is that the floyd rose tremelo didn't even exist yet!😮
Thats why he set the kramer down and the Explorer magically appeared after the solo! Man ther dissonance he got out of that cab when was up against the stack! pure beauty!
He wasn’t with Kramer yet. That was a Charvel body with a CBS style Strat neck. Gibson decal on the headstock BTW
@@Chef_Jeff69 you are of course correct. I was just trying to remember off the top of my head. I went back and watched believe I was wrong in both accounts as the shark makes an appearance as well!
@@richardclark. No worries! Love this old footage. They were on fire back then. 🤘🏼
If we are splitting Hairs that explorer is actually a ibanez destroyer, possibly Aces old one 😊
00:40 On Fire
01:11 I'm The One
04:00 Atomic Punk
06:33 Alex Drum Solo
08:34 Ain't Talkin 'Bout Love
13:24 Eddie Solo / Eruption
17:00 You Really Got Me
22:18 Bottoms Up!
With a snippet of "Bottoms Up" right at the end of it, too.
Thanks, I will add that!@@chriscampbell9191
What an absolute gem of a find this video is thank you so much for uploading! This should be in a time capsule so in another 50 or 100 years people can still look back and witness the genius and pioneering masterpiece that this truly is.
This comment should be pinned for the setlist ;)
1978. Can you imagine witnessing that EVH solo back then? What a seminal moment vs everything else out there. Mind blowing.
It blew our minds. Everyone was looking at each other in complete disbelief. There was just no relating the sounds to anything we had heard before.
Yes, I actually was tripping on acid at the Philly Spectrum when they opened for Black Sabbath. It was over our heads and otherworldly. I love the Magic Mountain bootleg. That raw tone and virtuosity!!!!
I didn’t see this tour but I saw them in ‘79 and it was what you would imagine it to be.
And then you are Black Sabbath and you have to go onstage after this.
Ahhh Young padawine ...Philadelphia Spectrum Coliseum -- Me a very handsome young lad 15 years young --Van Halen opening act for Black Sabbath Never Say Die tour- Can't tell you I remember it all because I was under Gold Colombian spell !! But Yeah !! Awesome !!!
Sometimes people forget how light on his feet Eddie was… The whole band/show was so physical, virile, athletic, and all in the happiest of ways🤘🏽🤙🏽🤘🏽
Like a Las Vegas stage show
Cocaine helps...
@@COTG666 Not always. I'm speaking from experience. And I don't think that's what Ed or the the rest of the band was into...doing blow while performing on this "debut" tour? Nahh! They were more focused on their craft at this time. There was a lot to be proved and a lot to loose. I'm pretty sure the coke and drinking while performing came later in their career. That's my opinion.
What? I saw them in the clubs many times and ED didn't MOVE as much as do the guitar poses and play with his back to the dudes when he was tapping. After the hiatus and LP recording they had to train him on how to work a big stage and he NEVER looked natural - that stupid scissor kick jump was just not cool; Pete Townshend he wasn't. 👀
Thanks for sharing your groupie experience with Ed and the band.
Eddie was way ahead of everyone and still is. RIP legend
Often imitated, never duplicated. NEVER!
Nope. Good guitarist, far from the best. Fanboy adulation getting in the way of taste/common sense.
@@user-ek4iy5wp4h troll alert....
@@user-ek4iy5wp4h That's just such a stupid, stupid thing to say.
@@simoncrawley7430 No, it is truthful. You fanboys are awful. Eddie's hero for example, crushes him and his basic rock riffs, that he repeats, yes, on fire, but it is the same stuff over and over, one trick pony. There are so many styles and great players... ed was just one more on the list. Tapping was around a hundred years before him.
What an amazing arttifact. There was nothing, just no nothing like this before. It was like a burning meteor in the sky, the energy, the 100% velocity and virtuosity that re-lit rock from the edge of obsolescence and irrelevance and started a whole revolution in hard rock and metal. Amazing to see this incandescence
Senior in high school. Fall 1978. One of my classmates gave as his presentation of life changing moments the concert he saw with Van Halen that summer. He then played the first album in class.
It was the coke.
@@Dwightpower88 You're probably a Hop Hop poser or Katy Perry fan ,if you think it was just coke.Just in case you never noticed there is a LOT of potent musical skill on that stage not just showmanship fool!
They were great and EVH changed guitar, but rock was far from obsolescence. Boston, Rush, Kiss, Sabbath, AC/DC, et al were also huge and awesome in 1978. Punk was killing it too.
@@batphink2655 haters gonna hate. Screw em'
😎✌️
Imagine being Black Sabbath having to go on after that high energy, virtuosity filled, party atmosphere, fun song Van Halen performance! There's no way!
I saw this tour,Black Sabbath was on life support for the Never Say Die album Van Halen blew them away!
Black Sabbath were at the end by this time ...they still God fathers of heavy metal
How about Journey trying to play after that set. VH toured with these guys too. Mind blowing for 1978.
A drunken drugged out Ozzy following that?
I saw them open for Sabbath and almost half the audience left after they were done.
Saw them twice in '78. The first show was just shocking. This was the opener. We had never seen a band this tight and never heard guitar like that. And Roth was almost as incredible as Ed. It's no wonder he has no voice left. I was a huge Sabbath fan but they were an afterthought that night.
I saw the Sabbath/Halen bill in Detroit. VH was the future but Sabbath was great that night as well...Actually in 1978 people didn't really know who they were.
Saw this tour in Milwaukee. I was 18, a big Black Sabbath fan and this was as close to heaven that I could possibly get. At the time lol. DLR really stole the show that night…..
@@jody8526937 I was there for the sabbath show in Detroit too! I remember Ed's guitar was mixed real low, a bass heavy mix.
@@viewoftheaskew Am I crazy or did Sabbath put on a great show? Everyone loved VH but Sabbath held their own. Very short VH show.
@@edpoole6700I was there too... Can't remember if it was the Arena or Auditorium. Think it was September or October 1978.
ABSOLUTELY GREAT TO SEE THIS EARLY VAN HALEN CONCERT..
This should be in the Library of Congress in their historic recordings collection. As for Diamond Dave, maybe he did/does have an exaggerated opinion of himself, but what a showman he was. I don't think anyone has been a better front man.
DLR and Robert Plant the two greatest front men in Rock history.
@@JWPCMH, i’m definitely not disagreeing but i would just like to add bon scott. thanks
@@mikebockey4125 Bon Scott & the Volts... ☇🎤🎸😎🤘
Imagine if Sammy started with the band doing clubs. I’d love to see him try to get a #1 album or a #1 song. These songs and the rest of the album wouldn’t have the same impact even though Eddie would be put Eruption on it. I’m just saying Dave was a good singer and great performer. Also 1984 would have been #1 album but any album would be #2 behind Thriller!
@@mikebockey4125 He's in my top 5 for sure.
Van Halen dropped the bomb on disco in 1978. Badly needed and greatly welcomed.
Disco was fine actually - the bomb was dropped on the old generation of rock - zeppelin, sabbath, purple - their days were done. This was the new wave of rock - atomic punks indeed.
Sort of the Nirvana of their time. Not quite the earth shattering impact of ushering in Grunge like Nirvana did, but really close. I remember hearing Van Halen for the first time and saying Wow that's really awesome! And when hearing Nirvana for the first time saying what in the holy f*ck was THAT and how do I get more and nothing will be the same after. Anyway, huge Van Halen fan and this recording is incredible and they sound exactly like their recordings, as they should. Dave and Eddie are some of the best live performers ever existed.
Don't forget.....VH had a couple of disco songs......if your a fan you know which ones .
@@ZenEndurance
Your comment is dependent upon your age and what generation you grew up in.
It's all a matter of reference point ;)
Exactly. Where the heck is my old "disco sucks" t-shirt?
Bless whoever found this absolute treasure.
Imagine trying to follow THAT?! Jesus, they were great. Thanks for posting.
There's no following them lol
DAVE In the early yrs was like a physical embodiment of what V.H. Was all about great times ,awesome music and having fun ..RIP KING EDWARD...
Terrible singer. Period!
YEAH! What Sammy Hagar would NEVER be!!
@@vidsforsquids Bruh he 100% was, Live Without A Net is all the proof you need
nonsense@@wob6776
yeah..... except he screwed up the 2nd song 😂
Holy freaking cow! How could any band come on stage and follow a performance like that? Incredible musicianship right off the bat. VH were ready to conquer! That crowd had to know they were witnessing legends in the making.
I saw them for the first time at 15 years old in 1980 and every tour after with DLR so until '84. We stood for the whole show, nobody wanted to sit down...too much energy. So glad to have been born when I was.
Right there with that....
This is relevant that Van halen killed disco And The beginning of a legacy for years to come
@@markfitzpatrick3760 Yes, VH drove a stake right thru the heart of disco and the world is better off because of it. 👍
Love the camera man at the end….”Hey sit down, I’m trying to illegally record, man!” LMAO
hahahah!
Haha haha, yeah loved that too... 🤣
Wow! He was the King from day one 🤟🤟
FACT
I was 12 years old and remember saying I want to play guitar like him. 46 years later, I still cant! RIP EVH!
I've been playing for 50, and I always say when I can play Hot For Teacher all the way through I'll be a real guitarist.
I was sixteen/seventeen when I said that sir lmao I’m 18 😭.. and like you I struggle but hey every day trying is one day closer to perfection
Man after that eruption solo trust me, no one can play like him!
I Mean some can get pretty close!
I started playing when I was 7. Only took me 30 years to play like Eddie.
Ed woulda told you to not copy him and develop your own style.
Saw this concert in Seattle at the coliseum in 78 with several friends.... still remember it to this day. Eddie was on fire, newly emerged guitar slinging one of a kind player that blew us away. Ahhh the 70's
Saw this show in Jacksonville Fl, they opened for Sabbath...1978. Saw them less than a year later headlining after VH II released...1979, again in Jacksonville Florida. Both shows were epic.
This is magic. Even then Dave was singing at the top of his range and out of breathe. A credit to the guys skill that's he was able to do that as long as he did. Thanks for posting this gold
Best I've heard Roth sound live vocally, tbh.
Entertaining was a must, but actually singing was optional for Dave lol Literally...he goes long parts of songs where he's not singing at all😆 (but when he does, he sounds great!)
I don't give a shit who says what about Dave Roth back then he was f.cking amazing as a frontman and his screams were reminiscent of Ian Gillian! The band were smoking tight! THANK YOU for uploading this classic rock gold!
Who is Ian Gillian? Never heard of him...
@@Innerspace100damn please be joking😂
A lot of "Known " guitar players of the era went home cried themselves to sleep after that tour . Long live King Ed !
Hardly! Ed cringed when Malmsteen showed on the scene, not meant to favor either one, just saying. Both were blatant egotists. Iommi (Black Sabbath), same tour, could smoke Ed, but he always had class. . . . . Ed, never did.
-Witchbreed
@@Cluless02🤡
@@Cluless02 You're wrong, other guitarists had to step-up their game after EVH came on the scene. You see a ton of mimicking from late 1970s thru the 1980s from other guitarists.
Saw them multiple times between 78 and 83....and many afterwards, but that first 5 years was like nothing youve ever seen on Rock guitar...their best ever no question
I saw them in 78’ in Michigan…..
UNBELIEVABLE……..!!!
Yes, saw them too. The Roth years were the best. 👍
All was right with the world with these guys around and Eddie playing. Good God he was incredible. What a maestro.
Imagine you are an aspiring guitar player, into Rainbow, Uriah Heep etc., and then in some concert the opening band's guitar player rips you a new one, and you cannot remember how you made it home save and sound. Plus... you cannot tell anyone about it, because no one would believe you. Gee. What marvelous footage!
I can never get enough of these live videos. Makes me miss Eddie even more
I missed the 70s shows, but finally got to see this supernova of a band in Huntsville AL in 81 - there is NOTHING that can compete with this band in their prime - they were and are unmatched - I still get the chills when I see this - count yourself very lucky to be alive for this!
The infancy to the Van Halen Invasion, leaving all sorts of "wtf's??!!!" on faces all over the planet. And THIS is why it didn't take long for no headlining act wanting to follow them as the warm up band. King Edward... wow.... thank you for all the wonderful, ferocious and jaw-dropping music that made all of our ears happily bleed with great pleasure and go up in smoke with intense volume. I know I speak for many, but we miss you sorely. May you always shred in peace.
Fucking love this. Saw my 1st concert when I was 14 years old in 1977 and which was Led Zeppelin at Madison Square Garden. Second concert was Black Sabbath in 1978 with an unknown opening band called Val Halen. I saw this exact tour and dropped my first hit of LSD at that show. It blew my mind. At age 61 still digging my rock n roll🤘. Thanks for the video. You rock!!!👊
My first concert was Led Zeppelin in 1977 also! In Oakland California. Day on the Green. July, Sat. 23rd & Sun. 24th. I saw the Sunday show.
That’s wild. Both of us, our first concert; and it’s Led fuckin Zeppelin! One on each coast. ALSO, I was 14 and now 61 as well. Damn! Long lost brothers! HA! Anyway,
Cheers to you & yours!
@@silentp9933 That's awesome. Your reply made my day!!!
Diamond Dave is all in! His vocals are absolutely the best! People are judging Dave about his vocals now and I get it, but when you look at the past and have been following him as I have you can appreciate where he has begun . Thank you to whoever the taper was and the editor for who put this all together! so appreciated! Long live VH!!
The Roth years were the best. 👍
There is lots of room on the floor. I would have thought it would be completely packed but they were just getting going on the way to become the biggest rock band of the 80's. RIP EVH. Gone but never forgotten. Thanks for the vid!
The show hadn’t started yet in that footage. Remember, lots of people mingled in the lobby/outside,,bought-shirts etc. before the show started. Concerts were a social event.
@@glengamble526 Valid point. Were they opening for Black Sabbath? That's kind of a weird team up but it was the early days. Party rock meets the masters of metal. Heh.
@@alienresearchlabTheir first major support slot on a world tour - Sabbath "Never say die" tour.I'm from Belfast, but went over to see them in Sabbath's hometown Birmingham, England.This support band swaggered on to about 4ft of stage space (Bill Ward's kit was huge) and blew the minds of everybody there!🤘
This is my first time this. It’s incredible
Thank you 🙏. A few years ago I kept trying to watch this but the quality was so bad. I hope more of these concerts are upgraded to HD which I didn’t know was possible for these recordings . it looks AMAZING . Thank you again !!!
Edward was playing the yellow/black when I saw them and I remember him making me wince in pain but it was so unbelievably good. One of the best shows I have ever been to. 1978 I was 16. I started playing guitar that year.
1978 Van Halen footage is incredible historic footage. To think a few months earlier they were a bar band. I always wondered what a vh 1978 show looked like , incredible!thank you for this post
The first time I saw them was in Detroit in '82...was the diver down tour. It was a life changing concert. Nobody to this day has put on a show like the younger original VH. Eddie was a legend
That was my first time seeing them too. Did you go Friday Saturday or Sunday?
Agreed VAN HALEN 78/84 PURE GOLD.......
Awesome thanks for posting this, I mean bro this was what 77?, no one had EVER heard of seen ANYTHING like this they were the true innovators Ed was the real deal and Dave was the ultimate front man! Like thousands of other guitarists Ed and Michael Shienker were huge influences on me as a guitarist RIP Edward!! 🤘🏼🎸
'78
Stole my moms car to go see these guys lost my shoe in the parking lot found it after the show I was 14
@@Chrisdrumz 🤘🏼
Dave was a force of nature, driven by the fire of youth, and he kept trying to do a version of that physical stage act as he got old. It couldn't work forever. But we'll always have clips like this at least. I wish there were more, but thanks for posting it.
He got injured doing those stunts too. Even in his more youthful iteration.
This is one of the BEST videos I’ve ever seen on YT. Great moment in rock history for sure!
Jimi and Edward....thank you for the music, memories, and forever changing rock & roll.
Damn?? I have enjoyed this Hell Raising Concert to the Max! I'm Fkn 65 and sure do remember when Van Halen came aboard the Kick Ass Rock Scene in 78! I was 17 at the time. They were The Mighty Van Halen with out a doubt! When VH hit the Stage hang on Bro's and Sis's!! I never got to see them. I lived in Bham Ala but had gotten married and had Twins so that cancelled stuff for a little bit! Can't say enough about that Band and thanks for that killer Music y'all delivered! 😊. I'm still sad about Ole Play the PISS OUTTA OF THAT GUITAR 🎸! RIP Eddie! 🎸💥🎶🔥😐🇺🇲
Absolutely blown away by how awesome they were. I was only 8 years old when they came town with Black Sabbath and my aunt went to this concert in Fresno. I was a rock n roll addict even as a young child and when the first VH record came out in 78, I was hooked on them. ever since. At 54, still loving the mighty Van Halen as always!!
I'm 54 too...right there with ya bro
If you were a VH fan in 78 you were ahead of the pack. I heard their demos in early 78 and could't believe it. I saw the Sabbath/VH tour and people were going crazy by the end of VH set...But Sabbath came out and did the job. But it took VH about 2 years to really get the fans. in 79 They still were playing the smaller venues in Detroit like Masonic Temple and not Cobo Hall..
@@brianwood7237same here! 🤘🏼
I was 11. My cousin went to that concert, so way cool about your aunt.
They dropped their debut album in early 1978, so this show was seven months later. I dunno, but I remember the buzz about Van Halen was huge. But I was only 11, so perhaps it took older folks a while to catch it.
This footage was incredible so much energy and a new wave of guitar playing had begun and Edward was the leader the sound and video are incredible on this thank you for sharing if only we could go into a real time machine to see the show with the historic Echoplex in the bomb
Ya Know .. Ozzy was backstage doing blow.. thinking .. how the fuck are we gonna follow this up!?? lol...
I think I even remember Ozzy saying something like it was a mistake to have them open because they were impossible to follow!!
This band would never have been so big if any four of these dudes were not in it.
I was at that concert! Drove my 73 Charger from P'ville to Fresno with my buddies. My ears are still ringing - even with hearing aids.
I think I lost 40% of my hearing at a VH concert in 1981
@@jonn8163 HAHAHA me too!!! 👍😂🤣
Mike’s backup vocals really filled out their sound and helped Dave sound way better than he actually does. Dude deserved better.
I bought my first car on the day of this show. A 1969 Firebird convertible. I paid $550 for it.
Lol, now a descent seat at a concert would cost u that meanwhile ur concert Tix were probably 10.00? Lol
I'm impressed by how much these songs sound like the album (or even better.) Lit AF in 78! No guitarist had played like that before. 16:00 - 18:00 history was made.
It's hard to explain to people that weren't alive when VH broke how earth shattering they were. What Ed did was a mystery. We had never heard anything like it. I suspect that is how Hendrix must have been at the time he came out.
Eddy was definitely an innovator and those never die
I listened to this twice consecutively. Played it through my Bluetooth speaker, it was 30 minutes of in-your-face rock and listening to the beast guitar playing of EVH. This was a treat. Thank you!
When the Sellend Arena opened the crowd rushed the door. This smaller kid in front of us was getting crushed and was turning purple. So we lifted him up so he could breathe. Has fate would have we ran in to him before the show. He yells out, those are the dudes that saved me. Good times!!!
Holy Shit! Eddie doesn't miss a note. Just amazing.
What an absolute gem of a find this video is thank you so much for uploading! This should be in a time capsule so in another 50 or 100 years people can still look back and witness the genius and pioneering masterpiece that this truly is. There has never truly been any match or anyone that really even comes close to Edward Van Halen.
R.I.P EDDIE THE MOST EXPLOSIVE GUITARIST IN HISTORY.........
This is the best live tone I’ve ever heard from Ed. A love Dave in this, so much energy but not over dramatic.
The greatest rock band ever. This is when diamond Dave could actually sing for the most part. He was a great front man. Edward was just starting to show the world how great he was. Michael Anthony, tremendous underrated background vocalist, and a damn good bass player. A monster on drums. May you rest in peace Edward I was there for the beginning of your career until the very end and I’m just hoping that maybe I’ll be lucky enough to meet you on the other side
OMG, this is rock music being reinvented before our eyes... like the Beatles on Ed Sullivan, simply incredible. Long live EVH!!!
I was completely a junky when this album came out. My friend from junior high said come over I just bought a new album my dad seen. I went there and ran home and begged on my knees and cried and begged for my mom to go and take me to get it. This was bigger then KISS
Bigger than Kiss? I suspect KISS took in more $$$ than VH. They were a freaking money machine in the late '70s.
I started playing guitar @ 13 in 1983 cause of EVH. I would listen to VH albums thinking Eddie was from another planet. Watching this @ 55 yrs old proves he was from another planet. RIP my guitar hero. Wow what a talent
The dude that recorded this is a legend 🤘
Yes, thanks to the bootleg creator and the RUclips poster. Love all around!
Awesome upload thank you! Best quality early vid I've seen!
I was a bellhop at a hotel in Austin Tx from 1978-1980. Van Halen stayed there and I met and talked with the guys in the band. Alex and Michael were just regular guys, Eddie was shy and introverted and Dave was already the Diva that you expect him to be.
This footage is absolutely priceless.
@15:55 Yeah...I'm crying...damn I miss him. Whoever filmed this....THANK YOU and God bless.... :)
Thanx so much for uploading this. It takes me right back to when the first VH album came out and I was never more blown away .
Edward Van Halen had one of the best ears for guitar tone ever. Which is completely insane because he should have been deaf standing face to face with that many 4x12 cabs cranked to face melting volume. Long Live The King !!!
I thought I went back in this precious time.. thank you 🙏🏼
I'm in the mid balcony upper right to the left of Eddie. I went to see Black Sabbath, I had no idea about Van Halen. I was mesmerized! I saw them again in 1979...first ten dollar concert ticket.
This was the most incredible show I ever saw! Opened for Sabbath in Philadelphia…..one of the few life changing moments I can recall…especially at 15 years old! It was like getting hit by a Mac truck!
Este concierto de 1978 de VAN HALEN es oro puro !!!!!
The greatest band ever. Thank you Dave, Edward,(R.I.P) Alex and Michael for being the soundtrack for the rest of my life!
This is pure awesomeness. I remember when that first VH album came out. My friend down the street got it. we played it when i went over. We played it over and over. I wish i had made it to the live show. They were so good live.
Saw them in 1981. That was my FIRST concert ever. I was in the 8th grade. Life changing experience for sure
“Hey sit your ass down, man!” I wonder if that dude could’ve ever imagined that his standing up and cheering for the best opening act in history, was going to actually BLOCK history from being recorded.
Can’t blame him. Who could stay seated for that?
In those days it was Saturday Night Live Disco,then Eddie made it Straturday Night Live,goodbye disco,and polyester suits,hello rock guitar again
I was 11when they broke the mold. I was a paperboy and I remember delivering in the dark starting at 4AM. This album was playing like a soundtrack in my head. lol. Good times.
Same. I was 11 in '78 with a paper route - the Van Halen debut exploding everywhere!
this is why Eddie was nicknamed "King Edward." He was the king of guitar players.
Imagine being Black Sabbath having to follow that. No fucking way.
Ozzy has said that it was the moment he knew that Black Sabbath was past its expiration date. Of course, that wasn't entirely true at all....but he felt their greatness for sure......
You had to have been around to fully appreciate what it was like to hear/see eddie for the first time in 1978. Ill never forget it.
It must have been mind blowing to be front row at that concert. My first concert was VH on the 1984 tour. I was 13 and went with my older brother. Autograph was the opener but VH owned everything at that time. I wish I had a time machine sometimes and these videos are about as close as we can get to one. Anyway, Thank you Alex, Michael, Dave, and Eddie for all the great music and memories. RIP Eddie 🎸
How they blew BS away as the opener on this tour night after night is epic and speaks to how truly at the top of their game VH was from the beginning.
Didn't blow them away at Anaheim Stadium, even though they "parachuted" in. Sabbath ruled that show ;)
For what it’s worth, I had pretty in-depth conversations with two guys who’d seen this tour, one in Jacksonville, Florida and one in Pittsburgh, and they both thought Sabbath put on a better performance.
Now, a big part of that reaction, as one of these guys (Jacksonville) pointed out, was that the audience knew Black Sabbath’s material already and that was the band they came to see. The Jacksonville guy said he had not heard Van Halen 1, so it was all unfamiliar territory.
Also, as the Jacksonville guy said, Roth was so over the top that it was easy to ask yourself “is he trying to be a rock singer or is this all a big joke to him?”
But they both acknowledged that Eddie impressed them as a good guitar player.
Me, I would’ve loved to see this tour. I wanted to attend the Jacksonville show but it was on the exact same Saturday night (November 4, 1978) that Queen played the Lakeland Civic Center, and I went to that show, which was insanely good. Also turned out to be the last time Queen played a show in Florida. I wish I had choices like that now.
I saw them in 1978 in Missoula, Montana. It was incredible show
I remember when their debut album came out in 1978, critics were speculating that multiple guitarists were playing simultaneously because "no one could play that fast" LOL 😂🤣
Eddie accenting each phrase and riff with his body movements is a joy to watch. Furiously into his playing.
I remember me and my buddy driving around Houston smoking weed and we saw a bunch of cars and people walking around the music hall. We asked what was going on and they said there was a new kick ass band playing so we parked and got a couple tickets, this it what we saw😂
UNDENIABLE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE . . AN ATOMIC BOMB ON ROCK&ROLL
THANK YOU for removing the water mark!! It was so intrusive I couldn't watch it before.
Edward playing the Shark guitar after his solo! Yes! 🤘😝🤘
You rarely see him playing that in most photos. I think it's really cool!!!!
March 30th, 1979. O'Connor Field House (basically a big concrete bunker) Caldwell, ID. Their fifth stop on their first world headline tour. I was 16. Between the people throwing empty beer bottles from the roof, to the overturned car next to the entrance, we knew we were in for a night.
The hightlight was when a tube amp exploded behind the stack of speakers stage right. After the obligatory "WTF WAS THAT!" moment, Alex kicked off a ~10 minute drum solo while the roadies grabbed an amp from the warm up band and hooked everything up. Needless to say, the party proceeded with even more enthusiasm.
If you wasnt aware at the time you have no clue how hot they were 78-80 i was 15 in 78 saw them in 80 omg.
VH1 was the first album I ever bought, I was 12, and my world instantly changed.... saw them on the 1984 tour and 5150 tour.
Outstanding capture of such unbridled enthusiasm and reckless abandons!
The groovy "Bottoms up" guitar solo and outro at the end of the show! A glimpse of what was to floor us next by The Mighty Van Halen!
Seen Van Halen at 'Day on the Green#3 in Oakland 1978
Eddie blew everyone away with his "extended play" version of Eruption and rattling the whole stadium!
An audience member in 78-Hey that guitar player is pretty good!
Back in these days I was really more of a Rush and Kinks fan - never really a Van Halen fan so to speak. HOWEVER, I don’t think there are enough compliments possible to explain the amazement generated by King Edward. Even I forget how ground breaking and innovative he was at, what 21?, in 1978 - there are many outstanding guitarists, but when it comes to Rock and Hard Rock, nobody eclipses the innovation, tone, playing style and insane influence Edward Van Halen is responsible for….to state otherwise is patently absurd. I’m still blown away 46 years later….incredible.
it is just phenomenal how good EVH and the rest of the band sounded back then. this is some great video here.
Bob Phillips of Bakersfield filmed this Fresno Show. I know a lot of useless trivia. Thanks Bob!