The III Tour was a
concert tour
A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often, concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific ...
by American
hard rock
Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...
band
Van Halen
Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1973. Credited with restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene, Van Halen was known for their energetic live performances and the virtuosity of their guit ...
, in support of their eleventh studio album, ''
Van Halen III''. It is the only concert tour to feature vocalist
Gary Cherone.
Background
Despite positive critical reviews, the tour underperformed commercially by Van Halen standards, and capped the band's general decline after the early 1990s. It would be their last tour until 2004.
In a change from Sammy Hagar-era tours, Gary Cherone – who had grown up a big fan of the band – was willing to include material from both previous Van Halen vocalists. Due to both differing vocal styles and personal animus between himself and
David Lee Roth
David Lee Roth (born October 10, 1954) is an American rock singer. Known for his wild and energetic stage persona, he was the lead vocalist of the hard rock band Van Halen for three stints: from 1974 to 1985, during 1996, and from 2006 to when ...
, Hagar had allowed only a few Roth-era classics into the set lists while he sang for Van Halen. Cherone's voice was deeper than Hagar's, making it more suited to Roth songs, yet he possessed enough vocal range to perform Hagar songs as well. Thus, of the 19 full songs performed on the tour, 10 were from the Roth era, and 4 from the Hagar era, the remaining 5 pertaining to ''III'' (since Roth rejoined Van Halen in
2007
2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year.
Events
January
* January 1
**Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
, no Hagar-era material ever graced the setlists again). "It may have looked odd on paper but it actually worked live," Cherone told
KNAC
KBUE (105.5 FM, "Que Buena 105.5/94.3 FM") is a commercial radio station licensed to Long Beach, California, that serves the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It is owned by Estrella Media and airs a Regional Mexican radio format. Studios an ...
. "I made a concerted effort to do the old Van Halen tunes that Sammy was not doing. I wanted to do the deep cuts… we did songs their fans had not heard in years."
However, dissatisfaction with the new album and the band's troubles in 1996 (arguments over Hagar's sudden departure, followed by a brief reunion with Roth that also ended abruptly) led to the tour's low popularity.
Grunge
Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock Music genre, genre and subculture that emerged during the in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, particularly in Seattle and Music of Olympia, Washington, O ...
had changed the face of rock music, and Van Halen's fame – which had endured due to their heritage – took a big hit with Hagar's departure.
A 15-date European tour planned for the end of May and June had to be cancelled after four shows only due to Alex Van Halen's injury. The band also cancelled all of their 4 September dates in Brazil and Puerto Rico.
The April 20 show in Sydney, Australia was recorded live for an MTV special, ''Live from the 10 Spot''. It aired on May 1, 1998.
Setlist
#"
Unchained"
#"Without You"
#"
One I Want"
#"
Mean Street"
#"
When It's Love"
#"
Fire in the Hole"
#"
Why Can't This Be Love"
#"
Romeo Delight"
#"Alex Van Halen Drum Solo"
#"
Dance the Night Away"
#"
Feel Your Love Tonight"
#"
Humans Being"
#"
Somebody Get Me a Doctor"
#"Year to the Day"
#"Eddie Van Halen Guitar Solo"
#"
Right Now"
#"
Ain't Talkin' Bout Love"
Encore 1
#
"Josephina"
#"Panama
Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...
"
#" Jump"
Encore 2
#"I'm the One"
Tour dates
Box office score data
Personnel
* Eddie Van Halen
Edward Lodewijk Van Halen ( , ; January 26, 1955 – October 6, 2020) was an American musician. He was the guitarist, keyboardist, backing vocalist and primary songwriter of the rock band Van Halen, which he founded with his brother Alex V ...
– guitar, backing vocals
* Michael Anthony – bass, backing vocals, keyboards
* Alex Van Halen
Alexander Arthur Van Halen ( , ; born May 8, 1953) is an American musician who was the drummer and a co-founder of the rock band Van Halen, which was formed in 1972 by Van Halen and his younger brother Eddie Van Halen, Eddie under the name "Ma ...
– drums
* Gary Cherone – lead vocals
Additional musician
* Alan Fitzgerald
Francis Alan Fitzgerald (born July 16, 1949) is an American musician. A multi-instrumentalist, he is best known as the second bassist of Montrose and as keyboardist for Night Ranger. He has also performed with Gamma, and former Montrose bandma ...
– keyboards
References
External links
Van-Halen.com
– The official Van Halen website
Van Halen NewsDesk
{{Van Halen
1998 concert tours
Van Halen concert tours