Veteran rockers
Van Halen who will hit the stage tonight for their first concert in 22 years with original frontman David Lee Roth at the helm--have booked some more dates for their in-demand roadtrip.
The group--whose lone Boston date sold out in 20 minutes, according to organizers--has added a second show in the region, this time in Worcester, MA, just west of Boston. Meanwhile, sellouts on the Southern California band's home turf have resulted in just-added second nights at Los Angeles' Staples Center and Anaheim's Honda Center.
Tickets for the Worcester show are scheduled to hit the box office tomorrow (9/28), while those for the SoCal rollovers are already on sale. In addition, tickets are scheduled to roll out Saturday for the band's trio of early December performances in Canada. Details are included in the itinerary below.
Tonight,
Van Halen launches its outing with a performance in Charlotte, NC. So far, the group has booked about 40 shows that stretch into late December.
Van Halen's original, Roth-fronted lineup rose to fame in the late '70s and early '80s, but Roth split from the group in 1985 and embarked on a solo career. Sammy Hagar took his place and released four chart-topping albums with the band between 1986 and 1995, but split from the group in 1996. Former Extreme frontman Gary Cherone briefly fronted the band for a lone 1998 album and tour.
After Cherone's 1999 departure, the group lay dormant for about five years, during which time Eddie
Van Halen successfully battled oral cancer, and split from his wife of 20 years, actress Valerie Bertinelli.
In 2004,
Van Halen recorded three new songs with Hagar, which appeared on a best-of compilation, and mounted a reunion tour. That outing ended in another bitter split up between Hagar and guitarist Eddie
Van Halen.
During the three years since that tour ended, rumors have swirled almost non-stop that Roth and the band would reunite; Roth himself was among those fueling the rumors, as the loquacious frontman often said publicly that he believed such a reunion was inevitable.
Earlier this year, the group announced a summer tour with Roth, but had to scrap those plans when Eddie
Van Halen entered a rehab facility.
Ironically, the band's imminent tour with Roth won't be an actual reunion of the band's original lineup; founding brothers Alex and Eddie
Van Halen have replaced original bassist Michael Anthony with Eddie's 16-year-old son, Wolfgang
Van Halen.
Anthony, meanwhile, will head out next month on a 60-date tour with Hagar and Hagar's solo band, The Wabos, who will launch the run with a series of performances at Hagar's Baja, Mexico nightclub, the Cabo Wabo Cantina. The outing is expected to stretch into next July.
Van Halen was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame earlier this year. Only Hagar and Anthony attended the ceremony.
Ticket and Tour News 
