1984 Tour

1984 Tour
Tour by Van Halen
Location
  • North America
  • Europe
Associated album1984
Start dateJanuary 18, 1984 (1984-01-18)
End dateSeptember 2, 1984 (1984-09-02)
Legs2
No. of shows101
Van Halen concert chronology

The 1984 Tour was a concert tour by hard rock band Van Halen in support of their sixth studio album 1984.

Background

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The stage set which was named "Metropolis" was described as the largest production ever taken on the road by a rock band, which consisted of approximately 175 tons of equipment and special effects which had to be hoisted and operated by a hundred chain motors, eight trucks to transport and five buses with almost 100 people to organize.[1] On the stage were five crane devices that rose and lowered the lighting during the show, and at the conclusion of the show, would turn 90 degrees to spell out the numbers "1984" in bright white colors.[2] The glam metal band Autograph supported Van Halen on a majority of their North American shows.[3] At the time of the final three North American shows, Eddie Van Halen made a guest appearance on the Jacksons' Victory Tour, performing "Beat It" alongside Michael Jackson, when he and the rest of Van Halen were in Irving, Texas.[4] Following the North American leg, the band flew off to Europe to perform on the Monsters of Rock tour which was part of the tour. At the conclusion of the tour, David Lee Roth left Van Halen as relations between him and the other members were at an all-time low.[5][6]

Reception

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Bob Andelman, a reporter from the St. Petersburg Times gave the Lakeland performance a positive review. Alongside his opening statements, he agreed heavily that Eddie Van Halen was the best guitarist working steadily who had knocked 10,000 screaming teenage fans over with his dazzling musical integrity and precision. Aside from the guitarist, Andelman praised the strong performances from Michael Anthony, Alex Van Halen and David Lee Roth, adding that Roth had added color and 'a touch of the circus' to the show. He also enjoyed the setlist, to which he praised the pleasure sensation of "Jump" which he said had caused the floor of the venue to reverberate and shake.[1]

Michael Logan, a critic from The Day who had attended the New Haven concert gave the performance a positive review. He praised the band's sound as unique among heavy metal units due to the dynamics of Eddie Van Halen's guitar playing - but did not leave out Michael Anthony's bass solo, which Logan claimed that he thought Anthony was break-dancing. Logan added that both the lighting system for the show would make 'E.T. blush' and that the release of 1984 was timed to perfection, even though he said that Fair Warning was still his favorite album from the band. He concluded his review by stating the show was spectacle with the mention of the band having put other bands they were competing with to the dust but stated: "But this is 1984 and we're stuck with it."[2]

Ethlie Ann Vare from Billboard who attended the Inglewood performance had stated: "A Van Halen concert is half rock, half vaudeville and half again as loud, raunchy, energetic, flashy and manic as it needs to be. Everything they did, they overdid. The monumental motor-driven lighting trusses looked like a prop from 'V: The Final Battle,' and threw off enough wattage to illuminate three night ballgames."[7]

Setlist

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Tour dates

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List of concerts, showing date, city, country and venue
Date [8] City Country Venue
North America
January 18, 1984 Jacksonville United States Jacksonville Coliseum
January 20, 1984 Pembroke Pines Hollywood Sportatorium
January 21, 1984
January 22, 1984 Lakeland Lakeland Civic Center
January 24, 1984 Little Rock Barton Coliseum
January 25, 1984 Memphis Mid-South Coliseum
January 26, 1984 Jackson Mississippi Coliseum
January 28, 1984 Biloxi Mississippi Coast Coliseum
January 29, 1984 Birmingham Jefferson Civic Coliseum
February 1, 1984 Charlotte Charlotte Coliseum
February 3, 1984 Greensboro Greensboro Coliseum
February 4, 1984 Roanoke Roanoke Civic Center
February 5, 1984 Charleston Charleston Civic Coliseum
February 7, 1984 Trotwood Hara Arena
February 9, 1984 Louisville Freedom Hall
February 10, 1984 Knoxville Knoxville Civic Coliseum
February 11, 1984 Nashville Nashville Municipal Auditorium
February 12, 1984 Richmond Richmond Coliseum
February 14, 1984 Charlotte Charlotte Coliseum
February 15, 1984 Hampton Hampton Coliseum
February 17, 1984 Columbia Carolina Coliseum
February 18, 1984 Raleigh Reynolds Coliseum
February 19, 1984 Augusta Augusta Civic Center
February 22, 1984 Atlanta Omni Coliseum
February 23, 1984
March 7, 1984 Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Civic Arena
March 8, 1984 Cincinnati Cincinnati Gardens
March 9, 1984
March 11, 1984 Saint Paul St. Paul Civic Center
March 13, 1984 Rosemont Rosemont Horizon
March 14, 1984 Richfield Richfield Coliseum
March 16, 1984 Worcester The Centrum
March 17, 1984 Providence Providence Civic Center
March 18, 1984
March 20, 1984 Philadelphia Spectrum
March 21, 1984
March 22, 1984 Buffalo Buffalo Memorial Auditorium
March 24, 1984 New Haven New Haven Coliseum
March 25, 1984 Landover Capital Centre
March 26, 1984
March 29, 1984 Hartford Hartford Civic Center
March 30, 1984 New York City Madison Square Garden
March 31, 1984
April 2, 1984 East Rutherford Brendan Byrne Arena
April 3, 1984
April 5, 1984 Detroit Cobo Arena
April 6, 1984
April 14, 1984 Uniondale Nassau Coliseum
April 17, 1984 Toronto Canada Maple Leaf Gardens
April 19, 1984 Montreal Montreal Forum
April 21, 1984 Quebec City Quebec Coliseum
April 25, 1984 Winnipeg Winnipeg Arena
April 27, 1984 Calgary Saddledome
April 28, 1984 Edmonton Northlands Coliseum
April 30, 1984 Seattle United States Seattle Center Coliseum
May 1, 1984 Vancouver Canada Pacific Coliseum
May 2, 1984 Portland United States Portland Memorial Coliseum
May 4, 1984 Boise BSU Pavilion
May 5, 1984 Pocatello Minidome
May 7, 1984 Reno Lawlor Events Center
May 9, 1984 Daly City Cow Palace
May 10, 1984
May 11, 1984
May 13, 1984 Inglewood The Forum
May 14, 1984
May 15, 1984 Las Vegas Thomas & Mack Center
May 17, 1984 Phoenix Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
May 19, 1984
May 20, 1984 San Diego San Diego Sports Arena
May 21, 1984
June 2, 1984 Denver McNichols Sports Arena
June 3, 1984
June 5, 1984 Salt Lake City Salt Palace
June 7, 1984 Albuquerque Tingley Coliseum
June 8, 1984
June 10, 1984 Austin Frank Erwin Center
June 11, 1984 San Antonio San Antonio Convention Center
June 13, 1984 Baton Rouge LSU Assembly Center
June 15, 1984 Oklahoma City Myriad Convention Center
June 16, 1984
June 17, 1984 Valley Center Britt Brown Arena
June 20, 1984 Kansas City Kemper Arena
June 21, 1984
June 23, 1984 Omaha Omaha Civic Auditorium
June 24, 1984
June 26, 1984 St. Louis St. Louis Arena
June 27, 1984
June 29, 1984 Peoria Peoria Civic Center
June 30, 1984 Fort Wayne Allen County War Memorial Coliseum
July 1, 1984 Rockford Rockford MetroCenter
July 3, 1984 Madison Dane County Veterans Memorial Coliseum
July 5, 1984 Indianapolis Market Square Arena
July 6, 1984
July 7, 1984 Evansville Roberts Municipal Stadium
July 10, 1984 Houston The Summit
July 11, 1984
July 12, 1984
July 14, 1984 Dallas Reunion Arena
July 15, 1984
July 16, 1984
Monsters of Rock
August 18, 1984 Castle Donington England Donington Park
August 25, 1984 Stockholm Sweden Råsunda Stadium
August 31, 1984 Winterthur Switzerland Stadion Schützenwiese
September 1, 1984 Karlsruhe West Germany Wildparkstadion
September 2, 1984 Nuremberg Städtisches Stadion

Box office score data

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List of box office score data with date, city, venue, attendance, gross, references
Date
(1984) 		City Venue Attendance Gross Ref(s)
June 10 Austin, United States Frank Erwin Center 15,290 $154,431 [9]

Personnel

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References

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Citations

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  1. ^ a b Andelman, Bob (January 24, 1984). "Van Halen band scores big with 10,000 rowdy fans". St. Petersburg, Florida: St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Logan, Michael (March 28, 1984). "Van Halen band still the 'baaaadest'". New London, Connecticut: The Day. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  3. ^ Grein, Paul (July 21, 1984). "Road Paved With Gold for Some: Van Halen, Joel Among Top Touring Acts in First Half". Billboard. Vol. 96, no. 29. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 10. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
  4. ^ "Jacksons leave them screaming in Texas". Gainesville, Florida: Gainesville Sun. July 15, 1984. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  5. ^ Life: Van Halen. Meredith Corporation. 2020. ISBN 9781547856466.
  6. ^ Prown 1997, p. 166.
  7. ^ Vare, Ethlie Ann (December 22, 1984). "1984 Talent Capsules: Van Halen". Billboard. Vol. 96, no. 51. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. TA-11. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
  8. ^ "Van Halen Tour Dates". Archived from the original on 2007-08-24. Retrieved 2007-09-01. Accessed on 1 September 2007
  9. ^ "Amusement Business Boxscore". Billboard. Vol. 96, no. 43. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. October 27, 1984. p. 36. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved March 18, 2022.

General sources

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  • Prown, Pete (1997). Legends of Rock Guitar: The Essential Reference of Rock's Greatest Guitarists (Paperback ed.). Milwaukee, Wisconsin: H. Leonard. ISBN 9780793540426.
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