Van Halen 2007–2008 North American Tour
# Van Halen 2007–2008 North American Tour

The Van Halen 2007–2008 Tour was a North American concert tour occurring in the fall of 2007 and winter and spring of 2008 for hard rock band Van Halen. It was Van Halen's first tour since 2004 (which itself was the band's only tour since 1998), and the first one with original singer David Lee Roth since he left the band in 1985. Roth was with the band from 1974 to 1985, when the band rose to prominence.

The tour was originally going to be a fifty date summer tour in 2007 due to the massive success, selling out in almost every city played the tour was Van Halens highest grossing tour to date. When rescheduled, it was announced as a twenty-five date tour in Winter 2007. Gradually, dates were added, bringing it up to forty dates. In November 2007, the band announced an extension of the tour into 2008, eventually adding thirty-four new dates to the tour, bringing the total up to seventy-four, ending in April . Ultimately, the tour was then re-branded as the "Van Halen 2007–2008 North American Tour". A number of dates were postponed in early March, due to a reported illness Eddie Van Halen appeared to be suffering from.

## History

A Van Halen tour with Roth was rumoured for months beforehand, and there had been discussions about a reunion with him for years (in part fueled by Roth's first public attempt at a reunion with Van Halen going wrong) but with no success. "Ed and Al hated that guy," noted Sammy Hagar. "Really hated him. I would never have believed they'd get back together." Three times in 2000–2001, Roth entered the 5150 studio (Eddie Van Halen's personal recording studio) with the Van Halen brothers to jam.

An angle to the tour was that Eddie Van Halen's 16-year-old son Wolfgang Van Halen was the new bassist; the first time any slot other than the vocalist had changed since 1974. This offended many fans because original bassist Michael Anthony was not asked to be a part of this reunion. Wolfgang was a mere 16 years old at the time. However the tour sold well, selling out several dates. Initially 25 dates across the USA/Canada were announced, but 50 more were added due to the demand.

The tour started on September 27, 2007 and finished on July 3, 2008 with a total of 76 dates. The band's last tour, with Sammy Hagar in 2004 (against which this tour was compared directly), was originally set to be 50 dates and was extended to 80.

Ky-Mani Marley, son of reggae artist Bob Marley, opened each show bar the final two during the first three legs of the tour. R&B singer Ryan Shaw announced that, beginning on February 22, he would be the opening act for the remainder of the tour. Shaw began to tour with the band starting with the Las Vegas show on April 19.

The tour was officially named the "Van Halen Fall 2007 Tour" during early announcements. A "Merry Christmas" message on the Van Halen website referred to the "2007 tour", with no new title given for the 2008 leg. The website merely stated, "As Van Halen readies for a much needed holiday break, it's back on the road in 2008 to continue the tour." Extra dates were added repeatedly, and all postponed dates were made up for at later stages, with no information on if the "2007 tour" actually had a scheduled ending.

Ultimately, the tour grossed over $93 million, the band's most profitable to date.

## Setlist

* "You Really Got Me" (The Kinks cover)
* "I'm the One"
* "Runnin' with the Devil"
* "Romeo Delight"
* "Somebody Get Me a Doctor"
* "Beautiful Girls"
* "Dance the Night Away"
* "Atomic Punk"
* "Everybody Wants Some!!"
* "So This Is Love?"
* "Mean Street"
* "Oh, Pretty Woman" (Roy Orbison cover)
* Alex Van Halen drum solo
* "Unchained"
* "I'll Wait"
* "And the Cradle Will Rock..."
* "Hot for Teacher"
* "Little Dreamer"
* "Little Guitars"
* "Jamie's Cryin'"
* "Ice Cream Man" (John Brim cover)
* "Panama"
* Eddie Van Halen guitar solo" [and "Eruption", "Spanish Fly", "Cathedral", "Women in Love..." (Intro), and "316"]
* "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love"

Encore

* "1984" and "Jump"

### Information

* "Little Guitars" (Dropped from the setlist after the second leg.)

## Personnel

Van Halen

* David Lee Roth – lead vocals
* Eddie Van Halen – lead guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
* Wolfgang Van Halen – bass guitar, backing vocals
* Alex Van Halen – drums, percussion

Support acts

* Ky-Mani Marley
* The Tragically Hip
* Passafire
* Ryan Shaw

## Tour dates

| Date | City | Country | Venue |
| - | - | - | - |
| Leg 1 – North America ||||
| September 27, 2007 | Charlotte | United States | Charlotte Bobcats Arena |
| September 29, 2007 | Greensboro | United States | Greensboro Coliseum |
| October 1, 2007 | Philadelphia | United States | Wachovia Center |
| October 3, 2007 | Philadelphia | United States | Wachovia Center |
| October 5, 2007 | Uncasville | United States | Mohegan Sun Arena |
| October 7, 2007 | Toronto | Canada | Air Canada Centre |
| October 10, 2007 | Cleveland | United States | Quicken Loans Arena |
| October 12, 2007 | Toronto | Canada | Air Canada Centre |
| October 14, 2007 | Indianapolis | United States | Conseco Fieldhouse |
| October 16, 2007 | Rosemont | United States | Allstate Arena |
| October 18, 2007 | Chicago | United States | United Center |
| October 20, 2007 | Detroit | United States | Joe Louis Arena |
| October 22, 2007 | Auburn Hills | United States | The Palace of Auburn Hills |
| October 24, 2007 | Minneapolis | United States | Target Center |
| October 26, 2007 | Kansas City | United States | Sprint Center |
| October 28, 2007 | St. Louis | United States | Scottrade Center |
| October 30, 2007 | Boston | United States | TD Banknorth Garden |
| November 1, 2007 | Washington, D.C. | United States | Verizon Center |
| November 3, 2007 | East Rutherford | United States | Meadowlands Arena |
| November 6, 2007 | Worcester | United States | DCU Center |
| November 8, 2007 | Uniondale | United States | Nassau Coliseum |
| November 10, 2007 | Montreal | Canada | Centre Bell |
| November 13, 2007 | New York City | United States | Madison Square Garden |
| November 15, 2007 | Toronto | Canada | Air Canada Centre |
| November 20, 2007 | Los Angeles | United States | Staples Center |
| November 23, 2007 | Glendale | United States | Jobing.com Arena |
| November 25, 2007 | San Diego | United States | Cox Arena |
| November 27, 2007 | Sacramento | United States | ARCO Arena |
| November 29, 2007 | Fresno | United States | Save Mart Center |
| December 1, 2007 | Portland | United States | Rose Garden Arena |
| December 3, 2007 | Seattle | United States | KeyArena |
| December 5, 2007 | Vancouver | Canada | GM Place |
| December 7, 2007 | Calgary | Canada | Pengrowth Saddledome |
| December 9, 2007 | Edmonton | Canada | Rexall Place |
| December 11, 2007 | Calgary | Canada | Pengrowth Saddledome |
| December 14, 2007 | Los Angeles | United States | Staples Center |
| December 16, 2007 | San Jose | United States | HP Pavilion at San Jose |
| December 18, 2007 | Anaheim | United States | Honda Center |
| December 20, 2007 | Anaheim | United States | Honda Center |
| December 22, 2007 | Oakland | United States | Oracle Arena |
| December 28, 2007 | Las Vegas | United States | MGM Grand Garden Arena |
| December 30, 2007 | Las Vegas | United States | MGM Grand Garden Arena |
| Leg 2 – North America ||||
| January 22, 2008 | Oklahoma City | United States | Ford Center |
| January 24, 2008 | San Antonio | United States | AT&T Center |
| January 26, 2008 | Dallas | United States | American Airlines Center |
| January 28, 2008 | Houston | United States | Toyota Center |
| January 30, 2008 | North Little Rock | United States | Alltel Arena |
| February 1, 2008 | Denver | United States | Pepsi Center |
| February 4, 2008 | Omaha | United States | Qwest Events Center |
| February 6, 2008 | Des Moines | United States | Wells Fargo Arena |
| February 8, 2008 | New Orleans | United States | New Orleans Arena |
| February 10, 2008 | Atlanta | United States | Philips Arena |
| February 12, 2008 | Sunrise | United States | BankAtlantic Center |
| February 14, 2008 | Orlando | United States | Amway Arena |
| February 16, 2008 | Jacksonville | United States | Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena |
| February 18, 2008 | Tampa | United States | St. Pete Times Forum |
| February 20, 2008 | Sunrise | United States | BankAtlantic Center |
| February 22, 2008 | Duluth | United States | Gwinnett Arena |
| Leg 3 – North America ||||
| March 3, 2008 | Dallas | United States | American Airlines Center |
| March 5, 2008 | Cincinnati | United States | U.S. Bank Arena |
| March 7, 2008 | Raleigh | United States | RBC Center |
| March 9, 2008 | Baltimore | United States | 1st Mariner Arena |
| March 11, 2008 | Charlottesville | United States | John Paul Jones Arena |
| March 13, 2008 | East Rutherford | United States | Meadowlands Arena |
| March 15, 2008 | Manchester | United States | Verizon Wireless Arena |
| March 17, 2008 | New York City | United States | Madison Square Garden |
| March 19, 2008 | Hershey | United States | Giant Center |
| March 21, 2008 | Pittsburgh | United States | Mellon Arena |
| March 24, 2008 | Providence | United States | Dunkin' Donuts Center |
| March 26, 2008 | Uncasville | United States | Mohegan Sun Arena |
| March 28, 2008 | Atlantic City | United States | Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall |
| March 30, 2008 | St. Louis | United States | Scottrade Center |
| April 1, 2008 | Columbus | United States | Value City Arena |
| April 3, 2008 | Rosemont | United States | Allstate Arena |
| April 5, 2008 | Grand Rapids | United States | Van Andel Arena |
| April 7, 2008 | Milwaukee | United States | Bradley Center |
| Leg 4 – North America ||||
| April 17, 2008 | Reno | United States | Reno Events Center |
| April 19, 2008 | Las Vegas | United States | Mandalay Bay Events Center |
| April 22, 2008 | Cincinnati | United States | U.S. Bank Arena |
| April 24, 2008 | Dallas | United States | American Airlines Center |
| April 26, 2008 | St. Louis | United States | Scottrade Center |
| April 28, 2008 | Milwaukee | United States | Bradley Center |
| April 30, 2008 | Pittsburgh | United States | Mellon Arena |
| May 2, 2008 | Charlottesville | United States | John Paul Jones Arena |
| May 5, 2008 | Raleigh | United States | RBC Center |
| May 7, 2008 | Columbus | United States | Value City Arena |
| May 9, 2008 | Atlantic City | United States | Boardwalk Hall |
| May 11, 2008 | Duluth | United States | Gwinnett Arena |
| May 13, 2008 | East Rutherford | United States | Meadowlands Arena |
| May 15, 2008 | Baltimore | United States | 1st Mariner Arena |
| May 18, 2008 | Hershey | United States | Giant Center |
| May 20, 2008 | Uncasville | United States | Mohegan Sun Arena |
| May 23, 2008 | New York City | United States | Madison Square Garden |
| May 25, 2008 | Providence | United States | Dunkin' Donuts Center |
| May 28, 2008 | Manchester | United States | Verizon Wireless Arena |
| May 30, 2008 | Rosemont | United States | Allstate Arena |
| June 2, 2008 | Grand Rapids | United States | Van Andel Arena |
| Quebec City Summer Festival (2008) ||||
| July 3, 2008 | Quebec City | Canada | Plains of Abraham |

* ^Note 1 David Lee Roth's first show with Van Halen since September 2, 1984.
* ^Note 2 Private BlackBerry Limited show.
