Eddie Van Halen, left, and David Lee Roth were still smiling at Van Halen's recent concert in Reading, Pa. / AP Photo/The Express-Times, Matt Smith (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Van Halen tour is off -- but not until June 26
Saturday's Xcel Energy Center concert was saved, but more than 30 dates on the band's summer tour were abruptly canceled Thursday.
May 17, 2012 at 11:43PM
The Van Halen reunion tour that everyone guessed would implode appears to be doing just that — but not before Twin Cities fans get to see it.
Saturday's concert with the often-feuding Rock and Roll Hall of Famers at Xcel Energy Center is still on, but the group abruptly canceled more than 30 of its dates after June 26 without any explanation on Thursday. RollingStone.com quoted a source close to the tour who said the band members all "hate each other" and "are arguing like mad." This is their second outing with original singer David Lee Roth, who rejoined in 2007 alongside a new bassist, Wolfgang Van Halen, the son of guitarist Eddie Van Halen.
Among the cities on the receiving end of the cancellations are Milwaukee, Detroit and Salt Lake City. Xcel Energy Center general manager Jack Larson is also quoted by RollingStone.com, confirming that the St. Paul date is "selling really well." Fourteen more shows follow Saturday's concert, the first on the tour since the cancellations were made. No telling which one might be the last.
Look for a full-page spread in Friday's Star Tribune that charts Van Halen's many ups and downs (which went to print just as this latest hiccup came to light).
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