Welcome to

New Orleans 2/8: Well, Mardi Gras may have just ended, but New Orleans was still ready to party. We had an awesome group tonight. They were possibly some of the nicest people we have ever met. We ended up being able to watch part of soundcheck which was definitely a plus for everyone!! New Orleans definitely lived up to its bead tossing reputation. We had an awesome room and amazing catering tonight.

I had the 5-star at Philly on the third show. I was apprehensive to pay the money, but I figured I was paying basically a broker price for the guaranteed great ticket and maybe some extras. Let me say after attending the show, I thought it was well worth the price tag. I had an absolute blast and would not hesitate to pay for it again if I had the chance (and the $$$). I was not dissapointed in the least. Let me just say I’m going to break down what I got for my money in terms of what it was…not trying to drum it up as anything better but trying to give you a subjective point of view. I had front row (that’s right, row 1) seats between Eddie and Dave, a small laminate…the backstage tour is pretty cool, no soundcheck (and no chance of soundcheck). However, when we were in the VIP lounge where we got the buffet and drinks you could clearly hear soundcheck with Ed, Al and Wolfgang (but that might have just been how the Wachovia Center was setup). The backstage tour is about 10-15 minutes where you walk by the dressing rooms, walk the perimeter of the stage and get to see Wolfgang’s guitars and gear, Eddie’s guitars and gear, and the video center where they do the production for the big screen on stage. We saw Wolfgang and Matt Bruck walk by while on the tour. The gift bag has the VIP bag, a pin, playing cards, a CD case, a bandana and a 10% off coupon for the future online merchandise section of van-halen.com. You get a small merchandise stand where you don’t have to fight a crowd. The ILAA guide told me that there were only a handful of merchandise counters on the main concourse and they typically will be packed except during the show…so I guess that was pretty cool not being rushed and not having to fight for someone to wait on you. Plus, you pay all that money for a seat down front, you definitely don’t want to leave to get a t-shirt. I will say they did not accept credit cards at this special booth. Don’t know if it was just this venue, but it was cash only.  One of the coolest things for me was being around a bunch of Van Halen fanatics for the lead up to the show. I mean, it’s really an overall experience. You get in this exclusive room where everyone is waiting on you, they have all the classic VH videos playing on TV’s, the soundcheck is going on right outside the room. Then you get the fanastic show. The show was absolutely amazing, btw.  So all in all, I was looking forward to this show because of Dave being back and the classic songs…but really it ended up being a 5 1/2 hour Van Halen experience! Started at 5:15 ended at 10:40. Again, I had an absolute blast. Best show I’ve ever seen and by far the funnest concert experience I could have imagined.