The Fair Warning Tour was a concert tour by hard rock band Van Halen in support of their fourth studio album Fair Warning.
Tour by Van Halen | |
Location | North America |
---|---|
Associated album | Fair Warning |
Start date | May 12, 1981 |
End date | October 25, 1981 |
No. of shows | 81 |
Van Halen concert chronology |
Background
editThe tour began with two to three night performances with the band being focused on performing only in North America.[1] The June 11, 12 and 13 shows in Oakland were filmed, creating music videos for "Unchained", "So This is Love?" and "Hear About It Later", though Roth stated in an interview that the two nights of filming were a disaster and the footage from the third show had to be scrapped as a result.[2] The band concluded their tour as an opening act for two shows with the Rolling Stones at Tangerine Bowl on October 24 and 25.[3][4]
Reception
editDon Adair from The Spokesman-Review gave the performance he attended in Spokane a positive review. He began his review, stating that Van Halen was music to be enjoyed on the most elemental levels, citing it as flashy, showy, brazen hormone rock and that it was pointless to pass judgement on Van Halen. He acknowledged the stage design, adding that there was follow-spots lighting the band from the rear of the stage with others from out front and around the drum stand - noting it as the drum kit lit up like an encounter from the third kind. He continued on the speakers hanging from the coliseum's ceiling and front wall of the building adjacent to the stage with amplifiers behind the band, comparing it to a mountain range in aluminum. He would criticize the acoustics though as it did muddle Eddie Van Halen's playing. He praised David Lee Roth as still having the moves and hitting home with unerring accuracy, but had criticized his voice as being only average, stating his trademark squeal should have been forgotten long ago. He concluded his review, stating that the sold out audience got what they paid for.[5]
Jim Bruce from The Windsor Star who attended the Cobo Arena show in Detroit, opening his review, noting on how all three of the shows that had sold out had translated to 50,000 fans aged between 15 and 25, with tremendous amounts of emotion given when the band had arrived on stage to which he described their entrance as if they appeared in a blaze of flashing light, adding that he thought Armageddon had arrived. He praised all four of the members in the band, citing them as proven master musicians - also referring to Eddie Van Halen as exceptionally fine lead guitarist. He concluded his review, stating that the audience at the conclusion of the show left with smiles on their faces instead of chips on their shoulders.[6]
Jennifer Towell from The Montreal Gazette opened her review, noting on how the band showed everything in agreement to a banner fans made which declared: "Disco Sucks". She added that the noise level wasn't no accident as the band had brought more than 100 speakers to produce the sound that in comparison, had outblasted any record banned on the regular family stereo. She praised Eddie and Alex's musical accompaniment, saying it was the perfect complement to Roth's "sexually immodest gyrations".[7]
Setlist
edit
Songs played overall
Encore
|
Typical set list
Encore
|
Tour dates
editBox office score data
editDate (1981) |
City | Venue | Attendance | Gross | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
July 12 | Madison, United States | Coliseum | 8,346 | $71,886 | [9] |
July 14 | Pittsburgh, United States | Civic Arena | 13,374 | $129,052 | [10] |
July 16 | New Haven, United States | Coliseum | 9,832 | $92,640 | |
July 20–22 | Philadelphia, United States | Spectrum | 36,339 | $355,380 | [11] |
July 24–25 | Boston, United States | Garden | 24,200 | $249,946 | |
July 28 | Indianapolis, United States | Market Square Arena | 15,500 | $126,250 | [12] |
August 19 | Lakeland, United States | Civic Center | 10,000 | $95,000 | [13] |
August 29 | Cincinnati, United States | Coliseum | 9,897 | $98,679 | [14] |
August 30 | Nashville, United States | Municipal Auditorium | 9,055 | $80,603 | |
August 31 | Birmingham, United States | Civic Center | 9,542 | $82,978 | [15] |
September 1 | Memphis, United States | Coliseum | 10,369 | $98,506 | |
September 4 | Jackson, United States | Coliseum | 8,297 | $78,822 | |
October 2 | Austin, United States | Frank Erwin Center | 17,617 | $104,734 | [16] |
October 15 | Tulsa, United States | Assembly Center | 7,157 | $67,458 | [17] |
October 18 | St. Louis, United States | Checkerdome | 14,082 | $127,395 |
Personnel
edit- Eddie Van Halen – guitar, backing vocals, keyboards
- David Lee Roth – lead vocals, acoustic guitar
- Michael Anthony – bass, backing vocals, keyboards
- Alex Van Halen – drums
References
editCitations
edit- ^ Christopher 2021, p. 70.
- ^ Christopher 2021, pp. 70–71.
- ^ Gerard, Eric (October 24, 1981). "These fans came to get satisfaction". St. Petersburg, Florida: The Evening Independent. p. 12-A. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
- ^ "Rolling Stones Set Second Concert After Sellout". Daytona Beach, Florida: Daytona Beach Morning Journal. October 3, 1981. p. 2D. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
- ^ Adair, Don (June 1, 1981). "Van Halen: They got what they paid for". Spokane, Washington: The Spokesman-Review. p. 15. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
- ^ Bruce, Jim (July 11, 1981). "Rock concert more ritual than music". Windsor, Ontario: The Windsor Star. p. C5. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
- ^ Towell, Jennifer (August 6, 1981). "Loyal fans knew their Van Halen". Montreal, Quebec: The Montreal Gazette. p. 43. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
- ^ "Van Halen Tour: 1981". vharchives.com. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
- ^ "Top Box Office". Billboard. Vol. 93, no. 29. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. July 25, 1981. p. 37. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
- ^ "Top Box Office". Billboard. Vol. 93, no. 30. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. August 1, 1981. p. 40. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
- ^ "Top Box Office". Billboard. Vol. 93, no. 31. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. August 8, 1981. p. 41. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
- ^ "Top Box Office". Billboard. Vol. 93, no. 32. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. August 15, 1981. p. 35. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
- ^ "Top Box Office". Billboard. Vol. 93, no. 35. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. September 5, 1981. p. 45. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
- ^ "Top Box Office". Billboard. Vol. 93, no. 36. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. September 12, 1981. p. 52. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
- ^ "Top Box Office". Billboard. Vol. 93, no. 37. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. September 19, 1981. p. 43. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
- ^ "Boxscore". Billboard. Vol. 93, no. 41. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. October 17, 1981. p. 38. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
- ^ "Boxscore". Billboard. Vol. 93, no. 43. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. October 31, 1981. p. 86. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
General sources
edit- Christopher, Michael (2021). Van Halen: The Eruption and the Aftershock. Lanham, Maryland: Backbeat. ISBN 9781493062102.