10 Hard Rock Bands With KILLER Live Shows
6. Van Halen
Hair metal was the moment where the hard rock stage show went up a notch. While we had gotten used to more lavish productions from the likes of David Bowie and T. Rex in the '70s, the acts that were coming out of LA in the early '80s help to set a new standard for what a stage show could be. Though there have been many outlandish productions from the glam side of metal, it all ends up coming back to Van Halen.
Regardless of which era you found them in, VH filled their audience with excitement from the moment they hit the stage, with brothers Alex and Eddie Van Halen flying off the hinges at every turn. Though Michael Anthony might have the distinction of the coolest custom bass known to man in the style of a Jack Daniel's bottle, the David Lee Roth era of the band couldn't be touched, given Roth's over-exaggerated stage persona and stage tricks with samurai swords.
Even when the group switched singers with Sammy Hagar, the dynamic of the group never changed live, as Hagar related to the audience like the host inviting everyone to the greatest party on Earth. All this, and Eddie Van Halen admitted to having stage fright for most of his life. Though Eddie might not be able to play for us anymore, fans will remember the first time they saw Van Halen for generations to come.