First Reaction to Van Halen Eruption Guitar Solo 

Seen =VH= 26 times since 1982 .... EVH forever...

Me too, with the Balance tour, it was so damn good! and all the band too

Me too, same tour (5150), in Cleveland, Ohio. I was probably 16 or 17 too. It was amazing to say the least.

Jealous. My friends and me watched this on VHS at least 500 times. We ate, drank and dreamt VH. I was 8 when this concert was filmed, so it was 89-90 before we devoured it. Still gives me chills.

@@bradmorgan856 Particularly with good headphones on, turning this way up and closing my eyes, it takes me right back:)🤘🙏

Dam right

Spot on. He was inventive and didn't just play scales (some are faster at speed scale runs but become boring and are not musical, let alone inventive).

live without a net. i had it on VCR,

It’s not hyperbole to make that comparison.

❤️

One of? They called him King Edward for a reason. He was the BEST that ever played six strings.

@@fredwerza3478 no Rory Gallagher was no.1.

@@andrewallen3826 nobody knows who Rory was --- everyone in the world knew and admired King Edward

@@fredwerza3478 because Rory didn't play sugar radio friendly music; he played the blues.every top guitarist sites Rory as the daddy.Jimi Hendrix called Rory no 1

So do I brother

Me too- all dusty eyes watching RIP

Kind of makes the fur rise my friend indeed always will and always has ! Rock on !

Yep, I’m 3 yrs behind you, with the exact same mindset.

Your words hit me right in the feels --- I have the same thoughts about Eddie and his effect on my 80's youth

I feel your sincerity through your words and I want to say that my personal relationship (in my heart and soul) with Eddie Van Halen is the same as you expressed. We lost a legend in October of 2020. The "clock stood still" in my mind on October 6, 2020. Fred

Wow! You summed him up so well. Eddie feels like a super cool uncle I never got long to hang with but saw his exploits from afar.

Same with me!

I hear you. He’s the only person other than a family I cried for. He was such a big part of my life. Van Halen’s music is my soundtrack. I miss that dude. 😔🎸☝🏽✊🏽

What 2 tours did you see with DLR?

I saw them at the us festival in 83 And Hollywood bowl 2916

I couldn't agree more! EVH was from another world

You think your so cool…I’m not jelly… 😒

Imagine him and Neil Peart in the same band.

@@OSheaShenanigans Alex Van Halen is no joke either!

@@cherokeeman7140 very true

I saw him when Monsters of Rock came to Spokane, WA. Smallest city on the tour but the concert was amazing! Eddie's guitar solo was incredible!!

I was at the opening show at alpine valley!

Same tour, Oxford Plains Speedway in Maine! I went for Metallica, but was a VH fan also. Torrential rain poured down on us on and off all day with a giant thunderstorm during the Scorpion set with lightning strikes halting the show several times for 30 minutes or so over and over again. The crowd was drenched and getting PISSED and ROWDY at all the delays. The moving swells of the bodies began growing bigger and bigger coming in waves through the crowd carrying us 15 feet in one direction, then a pause, then back in the other direction like we were an angry ocean during a storm. I was 15 and I won't lie, that was a little scary being packed so tight and just being caught in this moving sea of bodies. I remember only being able to take these tiny quick steps in various directions to keep up. Feet and ankles all colliding with each other, stepping on each other's feet, and being afraid of tripping and being dragged under. A promotor came out on stage and attempted to calm the crowd. When he realized he was failing to do so and getting boo'd and middle fingers and F-yous, he stupidly said "well, your not going to get your money back so..." That was the wrong thing to say. The crowd started ripping up the beat up speedway track and bombarding the stage with fist sized chunks of pavement, sending everyone on stage running for cover. It's hard to remember exactly, but I think they sent every security member out into the crowd, dozens of them in yellow rain ponchos, all banded together like Roman soldiers or something. These were BIG dudes, most of them. This actually kind of broke the crowd up a bit. They were grabbing people kinda randomly I guess, and dragging them out of the crowd. Then people in the crowd began getting pissed and regrouped and started fighting security, haha. It was quite a melee for a bit, but eventually it settled down a little and Scorpions came back out and finished their set. Metallica was awesome. Played nonstop even with some lightning. VH was good. Their pyrotechnics we're drenched, so there was none of that, but Eddie was awesome to watch, obviously. Man, such fun memories. I didn't intend to write anywhere near this much but got carried away I guess. Hopefully someone will enjoy reading it.

I was at Monsters of Rock also in 88 in New Jersey!🤘

Sounds like a great memory!

Hi Paul. From memory, the opening track on the album was Running with the devil, followed by the circa 2 minute track eruption..followed by you’ve really got me…the Kinks classic. It’s one of those albums where every track is quality. I saw Van Halen supporting Black Sabbath…before they were famous..dare I say they were nearly as good as Sabbath?

@@birminghamchris9377 A few contemporary accounts of that support slot with Sabbath suggest Van Halen blew them offstage. There were probably nights when this was the case, but I never saw that tour (unfortunately).

I have heard the accounts (I wasn't born then) but yeah, that Eddie wouldn't face the audience and do his solos, and people were just blown away at what he was doing. and they also weren't able to see it.

@@birminghamchris9377 I used to listen to Running with the Devil every night on my way home while still in high-school in the 70s. 8 track no less.

Derek, It sadly took his passing for me to realize how much he meant to me. 8 months before his death, my wife asked me what I wanted for my Birthday. My choices were, The new Charvel, or an EVH watercolor reprint worth a 1/4 of the price of the guitar. No hesitation. EVH print. I was in a meeting with my CEO , I got a text from my Sis telling EVH had passed. I lost my shit right there in the meeting. I came home, started going through all my stuff, and realized I had carrying aroud EVH posters for 40 years!! Started listening to Van Halen tracks and playing guitar. Never knew how many VH songs I knew. He has always been with me wether I realized it or not. Now, I'm still broken that he's gone.

First time I seen this, I was at the show😅😅😅😅. I was at both nights of recording.

@@jeffdavis6715 Oh that's just not right!!! LOL.. Lucky SOB...

Yeah but Jeff, you just wanted to get high and keep listening, you didn't get a PhD in music did you ? ( Same here)

if Jimi had that equipment,what would he had shown us? R.I.P. Eddie

Amen

LOL..no he didn't...There were about 10000 guitarist in that era that were easily as good and most were better...I know; I was there...

@@godbluffvdgg The 10000 were there BECAUSE of EVH you talk utter shit and that 10000 would agree with me %100

@@godbluffvdgg stfu man, no need to throw shitty hate comments, you can´t deny that he was great and really creative, he found new stuff on an already widely explored instrument and had an incredible energy on stage, not everyone can do it. also, name some of that 10000 guitarists, i´m interested

You are one lucky motherfucker man, I was born in ‘94 so I wasn’t alive to experience this musical history. You guys really did have the best music in the 80s, after that, it all went downhill I think after nirvana.

Great quirky version lucky to have seen him 1984 and the reunion tours to the end

You forgot to mention he was also high off his ass on blow too...but nobody was as smashed as Al was. This solo is also pieced together from 2 different nights as well....but still a world changing guitar solo nonetheless

New Halen, instead of New Haven, Connecticut. Hilarious touch from the video.

I believe this night it was New Halen.

@@cdiracingnet Yeah, it's literally on the DVD. They scratch out Haven and write in Halen.

I have the VHS somewhere.

❤️🙏🏻

@@sabina1118 I grew up on Van Halen, Heard Eddy do that solo live in '76(&'15) and a bunch of times since then on the Tube... and I have never heard that version, that was refreshing listened to the whole thing TY👍

I'm so happy somebody finally acknowledged Eddie's genius use of the whammy bar!

@@fredwerza3478 I know, right!? I mean, he was such a genius... He is 99% remembered for the tapping, but come on! He made that whammy bar his bitch! lol

@@alaindesforges well the tapping will always be his calling card --- but he could make that whammy do cool things --- they should rename it the "Eddie Bar"

It was like nothing I’ve ever seen before!!!

This isn't a longer version of Eruption, as you probably know, it's Eruption, Cathedral and Spanish Fly mixed with Mean Street's intro and some improvisation.

@@module79l28 I’ll be honest, I didn’t know that…thank you for the clarification.

@@module79l28 don't forget "316," although it didn't get that name until about 5 years later.

@@Metal_Auditor Don't forget Ed named that after Wolfie's birthday.

Legendary.

Eddie said that Alex Lifeson was better

My great pleasure ❤️

The first time I ever heard this was when I was 17 1978 and my buddy put this record on the turntable and said get ready to be amazed and i said whatever dude like a smart ass 17 year old does and i was amazed and blazed

@@jamiemcbride4226 I remember being woke up by my dad and his buddy one night back in '78 (I was 7)....I sat quietly at the top of the stairs in our house while they both drank a bunch of beers and listened to some music. My dad's friend, John said "hey Mike...I brought this record over for you to hear...you won't believe this band...the guitar player is just AMAZING and plays this unbelievable guitar solo...its just him playing this solo....check THIS out"...*needle drops* and suddenly he cranks it up...its Eruption...and I couldn't believe that one guy was playing something like THAT! I thought to myself...*I wanna play guitar like that someday!!* I'm STILL waiting for that day to come...lol but seriously, I was a fan from that moment on. And learned how to play guitar and keyboards because that's what the great king Edward does....and ALWAYS did it with a smile on his face

@@defhoez449 hey my friend i really enjoyed reading your story brought back a lot of good memories and Eddie van Halen he set the standard with their very first album and he motivated thousands of us to pick up the guitar hard to believe 45 years have come and gone but somethings never change i still love to crank up van Halen and i still jam on the guitar only now my wife will yell turn it down grand pa instead of my mom peace

@@sabina1118 I also really enjoyed watching your reaction to the great EVH. Thank you for sharing with all of us! Fred

I was at both nights

That segment is one of the best. He never used to do "Cathedral" from Diver Down live so seeing him perform it is amazing and frankly one of the hardest to pull off. Taping the strings and then using the volume knob to make it sound like a violin... amazing.

Don't forget the part where Eddie got a drum set and Alex got a guitar - that didn't last long :)

the drummer is Eddie's brother? his actual brother? gtfo

Eddie actually started out on drums --- a lot of people don't know this about him!

Um, yeah . . . . I played in several bands while in school and after graduation - that was in 1976. So I was well aware when Van Halen busted out. I believe he is the one responsible for people learning the 'air guitar'.

Steve Hackett of Genesis was tapping in 1971. On the song Return Of the Giant Hogweed.

@@kyles5513 steve hackett wasnt branching out with technique into different area’s and expanding on it like ed and all the other guys that came after ed

@@knightfall9394 I know. All I said is he was tapping before Eddie was. Most people think Eddie invented tapping.

And Eddie looked up to Alex Lifeson who Eddie said was the best ever

That and the solo for 5150 too! He didn't let the cameras get in the way of his creativity at this show. He stepped up to the plate like no one else.

If you thought Eddie was drunk off his mind in this performance you should watch Slash in far worse states in 1980's & 1990's with Guns N Roses lol

Yes,yes,yes.There is no other guitar player,evan Page,like him.

His guitar was literally an extension of his body, his heart, and his soul --- many people have said this about him

I Can only imagine!! This was outstanding