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Michael Anthony is one of the most criminally underrated musicians of his era. Part of this is because he was surrounded by such larger than life personalities like DLR and the generational talent that was EVH, but he was and remains the backbone of what Van Halen sounds like. His backing vocals in particular are simply iconic. I don't think he'll ever get the recognition he deserves on this side of Heaven, but the man is a treasure.

Ed head, here. I was NEVER worried that Joe couldn't cut it. He played parts from Ritchie Blackmore AND Ronnie Montrose, when he was ASKED by those respective bands to play those parts. And his work in Chickenfoot proves he can rise above the fray and make QUALITY sounding heavy rock music. I hope to see/hear more from Satch and Sam. Love these guys.

I WAS THERE! IT WAS AWESOME, JOE WAS AMAZING! I am NOT a guitar player, but a Vocalist. I have seen almost every VH tour since 1979 Nassau coliseum LI NY. But I know the important (to me) Eddie solo parts ingrained in my brain. Joe S. did a great job blending Eddie and his own style, and you could feel the anticipation from the crown during each solo especially early in the show. Nobody was disappointed that I could see around me and there was additional shouts and hell ya's and applause after each solo. I was sitting dead center at the back of the last floor risers, so about 1/2 way in the venue and the sound was Great. Jason was great and held the grooves all night and blasted some awesome fills as well. Micheal A's screams were laser beam high and the harmony's were tight. Kudos to the Keyboard, harmony's and some rhythm guitar by Rai. I would go again in a heartbeat. I will confess I even teared up a few times during crucial Eddie parts where JOE S CRUSHED IT. The Show was almost straight through 2hrs 25 minutes. Not bad for 76 year old Sammy! No long time killer BS speeches, no individual solo's, just song after song, all night log : )

First! Or second, really. I agree. I'd rather see Satriani's interpretation rather than a 100% clone from an unknown player.

I called it a month ago that the haters were too harsh too quick. For goodness sakes Joe’s playing is trustworthy! It’s Satriani!!!!

Thing to remember….we’ve all been trying to recreate Ed’s licks in our bedrooms for years and years. Satch has been creating his OWN music and delivering it with passion, power and precision for 40 years. Just try to imagine Ed, if he had been asked to play Joe’s songs…note for note. Haha. Love them both big time.

I was at the Tampa show. Worth every penny! I didn't go in thinking I needed to hear any VH songs. I just wanted to see Sammy, Michael, Jason and Joe put on a show. That they did.

It warms my withered heart to see Bonzo's face on the kick drum heads. That's badass.

The internet. The place where people can slag off others with more talent and then when they are proven wrong, they apologise like that's ok.

I'm happy to see Sammy and Michael playing together again. Joe is doing a great job and Jason was perfect.

you have to take into consideration that Sammy is 76 years old and still kicking ass, God Bless Sammy Hagar and Mikey, Satch and Jason and the whole Best of all worlds tour

Bonham absolutely has all the DNA of his dad. I have seen him live here in Australia and listened to him backing many great musos, simply sensational. Michael is as good as ever… Sammy’s voice does struggle on occasion… but Satch!!! Oh man what a great player!

Satriani is one of the best rock players of the last 30 years. How dare the internet trolls doubt him

Went to the West Palm and Tampa shows. If you are a fan of the Sammy-era VH, then go out of your way to see this tour. Totally worth it.

I’m so glad you reviewed this the way you did. Joe isn’t Ed. No one is but Joe is pretty damned incredible too. Sammy is attempting to celebrate to music. It was a huge part of his life that he cherished. Doing this for the music and the fans… we should be grateful to hear this again in a live setting.

In response to your thumbnail... Of course you were. Doubting that Joe could pull it off? Hand in your guitar player's identification card.

Never doubt Satch`s technical ability!

Rigs for this tone were the 3rd Power Dragon 100 & Dragon w/d/w 4x12’s :) designed in collaboration with satch for this tour

Satch's live sound is the best! It's so satisfyingly HUGE.

Guy's there's not a lot of old rock legends still out there gigging. Let's enjoy what we have left cause they will be gone sooner than you think

Sammy's voice is still rockin at 76!! C'mon. I know 73 year old's who can't walk much less do what he's doing! Don't be a hater.

Just saw concord California show . It was on par with 80’s shows. Flippin fantastic. Don’t see rock like this in todays age. This guy is 70 something? He inspired me

I just got back home from the show in Concord, California. They all sounded awesome tonight. I never doubted Joe, and he sounded so killer tonight.

Just saw the show in Georgia and Joe used a EVH signature guitar in a few songs.

Sammy sounds amazing!

My wife and I won free tickets to his show in Tampa...rained steady throughout. Loverboy was canceled...we were soaked and turned out to be a great night for music. They were fantastic. So glad we went

I saw the show in Saratoga NY. It was a great show. Joe has been fabulous on guitar for decades. Michael Anthony played with VH for 20 years. Sammy wrote most of the VH songs after Dave left. And the drummer is kin to greatness. Put 5 great musicians together, and you can get a fabulous show. Sammy, Joe and Michael have been playing together for the past 20 years. A little practice and they are back in tune. IN addition, Joe and Sammy were on my bucket list of musicians to see.

Look. If anyone is gonna get Tom Shred’s, Shred like Ed course. Please do 🙌🏻. Because if you’re having some trouble trying to decipher his licks, and just having overall trouble with trying to learn Ed’s techniques. I can’t fathom it enough. Tom’s Shred like Ed course is the go to if you’re trying to overcome that road block. And my condolences go towards Tom himself! I don’t know what I’d do if it weren’t for your help 🙌🏻. Thanks Tom🔥🎸!!!

They all sound great but am blown away with Sammy. Sammy hasn’t lost a step. Sounding great! Very impressive!

Saw them in Tampa in the rain. Tightest band I’d seen in a decade. They CRUSHED

From what I've seen so far these 5 guys are doing a really good job at paying tribute to Van Halen. I went to see Van Halen in 1993 at Birmingham NEC and I can say that if these boys came to the UK with this tour I would 100% go and see them

Van halens era, best years of shred music, thanks for the videos you.re really a talented player its always a pleasure to see you play and learns , loves YJM too.

They must've seen this video. They had a "Celebration" section in Best of Both Worlds tonight in Tampa.

Satriani is a great player and I'm glad to hear he's playing Van Halen without losing himself. I didn't know EVH, but can't help but think he would approve.

I have been a VH fan since the 70's. I could not wait to see the show on Saturday night at West Palm. It far exceed anything I was anticipating!! Everyone was on point!! Satch was amazing as always and his solo's were amazing!! Everyone in the crowd were loving it!!

Agree 100 percent. I don’t want to see an EVH clone. This is Joe paying VH in his own style, while covering the structure and riffs of the song well. A clone would be boring.

Don't forget how hot and humid it is in South Florida in the summer time. It can effect tones of guitars and drums. Not even mentioning the sweat dripping in your eyes and holding the instruments. The second night was Tampa,but had to wait for lightning to pass. Waited it out glad that everyone stayed.

Im going to go see them tonight with my friend i cant wait!

Great comments... While I would have loved to seen yourself and or a Jacob Deraps playing Ed's stuff I can understand why it's Joe. And it's very clear Joe has nothing but admiration and respect for Ed.

Those of us who were listening to Van Halen when it was new, know that post-Van Halen players have a feel for EVH's phrasing. It's a no brainer. Satch and guitarists of our generation have a handle on that. It's the players who came before who would have to work harder. My point is that it's not a revelation that Satch has a complimentary playing style. The last G3 Tour was a masterclass in polish, musicality, and showmanship. Lastly, if it wasn't for VH extrapolating ZZ Top boogies on the early records, there would be no "Satch Boogie."

You caught the spirit well Tom! Excellent review! That's maturity! What a beautiful thang to see, one of the geniuses of the guitar, at the age of 67, paying homage to the genius who revolutionized the modern guitar, a rock solid drummer like Bonham bringing weight and swing to this gig, great live keyboards (and vocals) of Thistlethwayte and, needless to say, Sammy and Mike, who despite their age, are always in good shape. Despite all the shit being said, people should, first, see it as a homage; second, to be happy because someone is finally paying tribute to the gigantic EVH and the band itself (something that not even their closest family members/VH members were able to do, whether due to the pain of loss, management incompetence or even greed); third, getting out of this ridiculous scheme of player A would be better than player H. Sammy knows why he asked Satch to tour (probably because Satch is a phenomenal player and a great guy, yes that also counts a lot in this dirty business, besides if you think EVH would play any Satch song exactly the same and with one of his hands tied behind his back, well, you're simply mentally retarded; Furthermore, respect and be content with what is being done: Beware of hatred dedicated to anything in your life. Those who get burned by this kind of worthless feeling are usually the ones who receive the direct impact of it on their own guts (along with the physical illness that comes from it).

To even question a absolute master like satriani is insanity

Joes a beast. No doubt. And to be fair, Eddie did NOT duplicate his own solos in concert. He played around with them a little.

love both Sammy and DLR...I hope Dave shows up and jumps in on a performance of one or 2 of his old songs like they suggested might happen...

Joe's doing exactly what I was expecting from him. Respecting Eddie's music and adding his own twists and style. That's what Eddie did his whole career when played music from the others. 🙌🏻

I love Satch. I bought his first EP on cassette back in the day. WORE OUT "Surfing with the Alien" on cassette. He's doing a great job of interpreting EVH's solo. The one thing I notice, especially on "Good Enough" and "Panama" is he just doesn't play with the same swing and swagger that Eddie does. That's not a criticism, if I wanted to listen to Eddie I'd listen to Eddie. He is just going to sound like Joe Satriani the same way Sammy isn't going to sound like DLR when signing "Panama".

Remember folks its a Sammy Hagar concert. Yes hes playing more VH songs and thats cool Im going next month Im expecting a good concert Not a Van Halen concert.

Mad respect for you Tom and your commentary. I need to go to this concert. Thankyou. Mad respect for Joe Satriani and Sammy, Mike and jason. I feel it was all very respectful of Ed and DLR.. EVH FOREVER.

Joe was given a bit of a thankless task and nice to see someone who understands and give him a bit of credit..Joe is brilliant 👏

Yep - a huge number of arm chair critics were massively scathing and critical of an undeserving Satch during that Stern performance. He never claimed to be an Ed clone and expecting so wasn’t cool. Not real fans IMO.

I was there and so proud of Joe. He kicked butt and he got to play Satch Boogie.

Joe sounded absolutely amazing. His tone and playing were epic.

The thing is, if you watch videos of EVH playing these songs live he never played them the same way twice. He was one of those types that just kept the overall skeleton of the song consistent, but improvized the details on the spot each time. Why should we expect someone else to play the songs note for note the way they were on the albums when EVH himself didn't do that when he played live?

This isn't a tribute. Sammy has said that it isn't. What he did say is this might be the last time you hear Van Halen songs done by anyone who was actually in Van Halen.

Eddie and Satch are both epic guitar talents but as any guitarist will tell you, it's a LOT of effort to play what someone else does naturally. I'm not good at playing other people's stuff, I mean, I can play it but it's difficult, at least for me, to make it sound like them. Electric guitar is so nuanced and top players are SO precise, you only need to mess up a little to screw up a LOT.

I was at that show Loverboy did great also. Over all it was a good show. Sammy and the guys just came out and smashed the tunes back to back hard rock.

Saw them at Blossom in Cleveland and all I can say is THEY FLIPPIN ROCKED!!! I miss Eddie but Satch and Mikey especially were fantastic!!

This tour will be legendary. It will be talked about until the end of time. This may be the last time we will ever see real music being played at this level. This is it. Go see them if you can.

Just saw the show in Toronto and its a must see to all the VH fans.

This lineup needs to put out an album :)

All one should say is THANK-YOU for doing this tour and keeping rocknroll alive! Big time VanHalener here from Mumbai India, keep rocking on! This tour rocks! Satch is killing it

? so if i tell you to play something you never played before you should be able to play it instantly?? right

They Rocked the shit outta Toronto last night!!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ in Joe we trust!!! 🎸 🔥

Saw them in Alpharetta Georgia they killed it bought my tickets as soon as the tour was announced all of them were on point great music to honor Eddie and did it well and the show is very loud !!!🎸🎤🥁

I saw them on Sunday in Tampa. First I’m a huge satriani fan and obviously a van Hagar guy(Diamond Dave is overrrated). I don’t think there is anyone else more qualified than Satriani for this mission. He wasn’t trying to be an Eddie clone. He respectfully played EVH riffs as close as it gets. Yet you could see and hear it was Satriani. Joe himself explained that many of Eddie’s riffs simply cannot be reproduced by anyone other than EVH himself, therefore he did what he was supposed to do, honor EVH’s work. I liked Joe before and now like him even more. Outstanding work, so proud of these guys. Mike? Don’t even have to go there. He’s the man. Sammy doesn’t look or sound 78. Overall best concert ever. Would love to see them again. Rock on 🤘

West 🌴 Palm ! WE ROCKED !

This is the most exciting tour I have seen in ages. I have seen all these guys except Bonham at least twice, in VH, Chickenfoot and solo (Joe) and this smokes.

I saw them in Charlotte just a week ago. Sammy's vocals were better than in this video. I couldn't believe it. You could tell he had figured out how to lean on not just Michael at the right moments but Rai, too. Rai was an excellent choice to add and looked like he was loving it. Bonham was absolutely thunderous. AND, I finally got to see Satch in person! BTW, I didn't know much about the band members of Loverboy, though we all know their hits. Paul Dean is a total pro - complete mastery of his tone and instrument. Nothing flashy (who wants to try to go crazy with Satch following?) but rock solid. HUGE HANDS. He plays his bar chords with his thumb over the neck to the damn B string. He doesn't do it for effect, either, His hands are just that big. I didn't know much about him so I googled him. The dude is 78. Incredible. As an old-ass guitar player, myself, I just thought he was well worth mentioning.

Nice! Love that you show some empathy and understand the context of the live situation even though you are very good player urself. Lets spread the LOVE!!!

Drop Dead Legs was the AC/DC inspired song per Eddie.

Been a big Satriani fan since '87, never strayed from being one even after the Stern Show, and I kept saying to the naysayers after "just watch, just wait". Sure enough, this video and the many more that are going to show up after will re-verify the Master Musician Satch is. So happy he's not playing "note-for-note" but playing in the "spirit" of Eddie. EVH Forever!!! Satch Forever!!!

Saw em in VA Saturday.. was blown away! Michael Anthony and Sammy brought the vocals, Joe did a great job as did Jason... big shoes to fill!

Tom - you did a great review explaining each person’s input within this band! Will check out your Ed course.🎉

It's ALL about feel! If Satch doesn't feel it he isn't going to play it. Satch expressed that he did not listen to Van Halen in prior days because he wanted to have his own sound. Kudos! Now he has learned Van Halen tunes in a short time and is not just pulling it off but rippin'. My personal opinion is that I would rather hear the tunes played the way Eddie played them because of Ed's genius structure and phrasing is like none other and feels fucking amazing. When Satch plays them, if he changes the notes or chord and can pull off an amazing feel then EPIC! As I have been listening to various clips of the shows I feel that Satch hits and misses but mostly hits. With Sam and Satch' connection I don't really see another option that Sam could have gone with for the guitar part. With another guitarist would the show be any better? I don't believe so. I would take more stage presence but besides that I'll take the SATCHMAN! 👍

Saw them at Blossom Music Center in Cleveland, OH. They were awesome and did a great job with the VH songs! Jason and Joe seemed to fit right in.

They put on a solid show much respect to Sammy and Mikey for doing this.

I said the same thing on the Howard Stern show videos ... it was early into them rehearsing, and it was just not their venue of expertise. I had ZERO doubts or fears that any of them would fumble this opportunity and I am STOKED to hear how well they are doing this. Yes, I am a VH fan to the core. Yes, thats my tribute rig in the pic. RIP Ed.. Fly high. Hope this tribute exceeds your expectations and you feel the love of your beloved fan base missing your presence over here on this side!

I’d rather see Tom Shreds in this line up instead of Joe. HANDS DOWN. I love Satch....just saw him with Vai. There’s nothing like Satch doing Satch tunes. Only a few can capture the EVH “thang” to the Tee and Tom is one of them.

Saw this show in Saratoga on Monday 7/22 and EVERYTHING about it was awesome! Satriani was awesome and the vocal harmonies were especially great! Jason did sing some of “Celebration” during Best of Both worlds at the show I was at.

It takes a big man to admit when they're wrong, my friend! You're a total legend. I totally agree too, the Mikey vocals are every part of the VH sound as Al's drums and Ed's grooves. And the amount of people who admit I'm wrong, I must be a chuffing giant!

The concept is who are you? Or what are your achievements in the world of music to be in a place to judge satch?

I like this set-up and gig better than the ones from the last tour with DLR. I think this is more about Music. Anyway, I'm a fan of both Zakk and Eddie. And both DLR and Sammy. :-) It's great to have great live music!

Sammy is a badass... he's almost 80!

On the 5150 Tour, Live Without A Net, They played Panama and Ain't Talkin About Love.

Yeah, these guys can still put on an incredible show. I’m one of those people that liked Sammy the best in VH. Of course, I like all VH, but Sam really was the most talented. You mentioned that “Live Without a Net” concert. When it first came out, I got it video tape. I wore it out. It also made me end up buying two Kramers. I was young, I didn’t know that mine were _not_ the same as Ed’s, or even Sam’s. But, back to that 5150 tour. That’s when VH made the most magic. They really showed that they had way more versatility.

Michael shines again.

I am ashamed to admit they were only 2 hrs from my home and didn't get to make it I knew as a huge Satriani fan that once he had a feel for it he would fit perfectly!

Would have loved to see some Zepplin songs on their to pay homage to Bonzo

I have been watching the tribute and to me Sammy Joe and Mike. Are doing a great job it only gets better with time .

I will judge Joe on the outro solo of this song, because it's one of the most kick ass outro solos in history that's good enough EVH outro solo, you should have let that happen friend.

Tom im viewing the yngwie lessons on daily motion any idea what happened to the tabs on trilogy anyway thanks for reuploading them ❤

I really hope they’re filming this tour on high quality cameras so that we can get a better look at the concert with quality sound. As someone who lives in Europe I can’t see the show in person so an official video recording would be really nice.

I met a guitarist a long time ago in a little guitar shop in LA that said he was getting lessons from Joe satriani .....now I realize it was Steve Vai....

It's not bad, but there's something missing with Joe's work here. I think it's that it's to tight. It's too perfect, maybe. I can't put my finger on it, but it's something. It's too clean, maybe? I don't know, but it sounds off to me. It's not bad, but it's missing something.

I sorta wish Steve Vai would have been picked for this

After the Stern performance I was hesitant about this tour but now this has eased my mind so much. Not a money grab. These boys can still do it!!

7:29 that little lick is actually in the song

Just saw them two nights ago in Bristow, VA. They were phenomenal, and I had no doubts about Joe’s playing. It was early in the tour so they were still pretty fresh. I never got the chance to see Van Halen live, but this is as close as I’ll get.

Sammy has said he loves Panama. Said when he first heard it he was mad he didn’t write it.