III Tour

infobox concert tour
concert_tour_name = "III Tour"


image_caption =
artist = Van Halen
start_date = 12 March, 1998
end_date = 2 November, 1998
number_of_legs = 7
number_of_shows = 78 played, 20 cancelled
last_tour = The Balance "Ambulance" Tour
(1995)
this_tour = III Tour
(1998)
next_tour = Van Halen Summer Tour 2004
(2004)The III Tour was a 1998 concert tour by hard rock band Van Halen. It was the band's first and only tour with vocalist Gary Cherone, in support of the only album he recorded with the band - the poor-selling "Van Halen III".

History

The tour under-performed by Van Halen standards (at a commercial level - reviews were positive), and was the last part of Van Halen's general decline after the early 1990s. It would be Van Halen's last tour until 2004, and last moment of stability (the 2004 tour was surrounded with controversy, and was the band's last until 2007). It was Van Halen's last tour outside of North America, with dates in Europe, Australia/New Zealand and Japan. The Australian and New Zealand concerts were the first in Van Halen's history, and despite poor sales in some regions, these concerts were very popular. The band brought all the equipment for their US arena tour with them, whereas many bands scale down for Oceanic tours.

One of the benefits of Gary Cherone, who joined Van Halen as a big fan of the band, was his willingness to include old David Lee Roth-era songs. Sammy Hagar had only allowed a few Roth-era classics into his sets while he sang for Van Halen, much to fan disappointment. Also Cherone's voice was deeper than Hagar's, making it more suited to Roth-era songs.

However, dissatisfaction with the new album and the band's various troubles in 1996 (big press arguments over Sammy Hagar's sudden departure, followed by a brief reunion with Roth which also ended abruptly) led to the tour's low popularity. Only one single was released from "Van Halen III" which probably contributed to this also. Grunge had changed the face of rock music, and Van Halen's fame had endured due to their past heritage, which they lost when Hagar left.

Alex Van Halen was reported as looking sick throughout the first leg of the tour, because of an arm injury. This led to most of the European dates being cancelled, as well as other later dates. The Puerto Rico date was cancelled at first due to a hurricane, but also a second time due to Gary Cherone having tonsillitis - luckily this was the last date of the tour.

The tour was the first not to feature a Michael Anthony bass solo, but he did get to sing lead vocals on one song per night - Somebody Get Me a Doctor. On occasion, Eddie also took lead vocals for a song.

Tour dates

[http://www.vhnd.com/98tour/index.shtml Accessed on August 30 2007]

Pre-tour warm up gig

*flagicon|USA March 12, 1998: Hollywood, CA, USA - Billboard Live

Australasian leg

*flagicon|New Zealand April 10, 1998: Wellington, New Zealand - Queens Wharf Events Centre
*flagicon|New Zealand April 11, 1998: Auckland, New Zealand - North Harbour Stadium
*flagicon|Australia April 14, 1998: Launceston, Australia - Silverdome
*flagicon|Australia April 17, 1998: Melbourne, Australia - Rod Laver Arena
*flagicon|Australia April 18, 1998: Canberra, Australia - AIS Arena
*flagicon|Australia April 20, 1998: Sydney, Australia - Sydney Entertainment Centre
*flagicon|Australia April 23, 1998: Newcastle, Australia - Newcastle Entertainment Centre
*flagicon|Australia April 24, 1998: Brisbane, Australia - Brisbane Entertainment Centre
*flagicon|Australia April 27, 1998: Adelaide, Australia - Adelaide Entertainment Centre
*flagicon|Australia April 29, 1998: Perth, Australia - Perth Entertainment Centre

First US leg

*flagicon|USA May 13, 1998: Houston, TX - Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
*flagicon|USA May 14, 1998: Dallas, TX - Smirnoff Music Centre
*flagicon|USA May 16, 1998: Chicago, IL - Rosemont Horizon
*flagicon|USA May 17, 1998: Cleveland, OH - Gund Arena
*flagicon|USA May 19, 1998: Detroit, MI - Palace of Auburn Hills
*flagicon|USA May 21, 1998: Boston, MA - FleetCenter
*flagicon|USA May 22, 1998: New York, NY - Madison Square Garden
*flagicon|USA May 24, 1998: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - CoreStates Spectrum

European leg

*flagicon|Finland May 27, 1998: Helsinki, Finland - Helsinki Ice Hall
*flagicon|Germany May 29, 1998: Nuremberg, Germany - Rock Im Park
*flagicon|Germany May 31, 1998: Nurburgring, Germany - Rock Am Ring
*flagicon|Germany June 02, 1998: Berlin, Germany - Huxley's Neue Welt
*flagicon|Germany June 03, 1998: Hamburg, Germany - Alsterdorfer Sporthalle CANCELLED
*flagicon|Sweden June 05, 1998: Karlslhamn, Sweden - Sweden Rock Festival CANCELLED
*flagicon|Denmark June 06, 1998: Esbjerg, Denmark - Esbjerg Rock Festival CANCELLED
*flagicon|Denmark June 07, 1998: Copenhagen, Denmark - Copenhagen Forum CANCELLED
*flagicon|England June 09, 1998: London, England - Wembley Arena CANCELLED
*flagicon|England June 10, 1998: Birmingham, England - NEC Arena CANCELLED
*flagicon|Switzerland June 12, 1998: Zurich - Switzerland - Hallenstadion CANCELLED
*flagicon|Italy June 13, 1998: Milan, Italy - Filaforum CANCELLED
*flagicon|Netherlands June 14, 1998: Weert, Netherlands - Sportpark Boshoven CANCELLED
*flagicon|Belgium June 16, 1998: Leuven, Belgium - Brabanthal CANCELLED
*flagicon|France June 17, 1998: Paris, France - Le Zenith CANCELLED

North American leg (Canada/USA inc. second US leg)

*flagicon|USA July 01, 1998: Phoenix, AZ - Desert Sky Pavilion
*flagicon|USA July 03, 1998: San Diego, CA - Del Mar Fair
*flagicon|USA July 04, 1998: Devore, CA - Blockbuster Pavilion
*flagicon|USA July 05, 1998: Mountain View, CA - Shoreline Amphitheater
*flagicon|USA July 07, 1998: Concord, CA - Concord Pavilion
*flagicon|USA July 08, 1998: Sacramento, CA - Arco Arena
*flagicon|USA July 10, 1998: Portland, OR - Rose Garden Arena
*flagicon|USA July 11, 1998: George, WA - The Gorge Amphitheatre
*flagicon|USA July 14, 1998: Park City, UT - The Canyons
*flagicon|USA July 16, 1998: Denver, CO - Fiddler's Green
*flagicon|USA July 18, 1998: Kansas City, KS - Sandstone Amphitheater
*flagicon|USA July 19, 1998: St Louis, MO - Riverport Amphitheater
*flagicon|USA July 21, 1998: Cincinnati, OH - Riverbend Music Center
*flagicon|USA July 22, 1998: Indianapolis, IN - Deer Creek Music Center
*flagicon|USA July 24, 1998: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - Starlake Amphitheater
*flagicon|USA July 25, 1998: Columbus, OH - Polaris Amphitheater
*flagicon|USA July 26, 1998: Hershey, Pennsylvania - Star Pavilion
*flagicon|USA July 28, 1998: Scranton, Pennsylvania - Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain
*flagicon|USA July 30, 1998: Charlotte, NC - Blockbuster Pavilion
*flagicon|USA July 31, 1998: Atlanta, GA - Lakewood Amphitheater
*flagicon|USA August 02, 1998: Nashville, TN - Starwood Amphitheater
*flagicon|USA August 04, 1998: Pasa Robles, CA - California Mid-State Fair
*flagicon|Canada August 12, 1998: Montreal, QC - Molson Centre CANCELLED
*flagicon|USA August 12, 1998: Boston, MA - Hard Rock Cafe
*flagicon|USA August 13, 1998: Mansfield, MA - Great Woods
*flagicon|USA August 14, 1998: Mansfield, MA - Great Woods
*flagicon|USA August 15, 1998: Wantagh, NY - Jones Beach Amphitheater
*flagicon|USA August 16, 1998: Holmdel, NJ - PNC Bank Arts Center
*flagicon|USA August 18, 1998: Raleigh, NC - Walnut Creek Amphitheater
*flagicon|USA August 19, 1998: Virginia Beach, VA - Virginia Beach Amphitheater
*flagicon|USA August 21, 1998: Bristow, VA - Nissan Pavilion
*flagicon|USA August 22, 1998: Atlantic City, NJ - Trump Taj Mahal
*flagicon|USA August 23, 1998: Saratoga Spr., NY - Saratoga Performing Arts Center
*flagicon|USA August 25, 1998: Buffalo, NY - Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
*flagicon|Canada August 26, 1998: Toronto, ON - Molson Amphitheater
*flagicon|USA August 28, 1998: Richmond, VA - Classic Amphitheatre at Strawberry Hill
*flagicon|USA August 29, 1998: Hartford, CT - Meadows Music Theatre
*flagicon|USA August 31, 1998: Syracuse, NY - New York State Fair
*flagicon|USA September 02, 1998: Grand Rapids, MI - Van Andel Arena
*flagicon|USA September 03, 1998: Clarkston, MI - Pine Knob Music Theater
*flagicon|USA September 05, 1998: East Troy, WI - Alpine Valley Music Theatre
*flagicon|USA September 06, 1998: Somerset, WI - Float-Rite Amphitheater CANCELLED
*flagicon|USA September 15, 1998: Myrtle Beach, SC - House of Blues
*flagicon|USA September 16, 1998: Orlando, FL - House of Blues
*flagicon|USA September 17, 1998: Fort Lauderdale, FL - Sunrise Theater

Latin America Leg

*flagicon|Puerto Rico September 20, 1998: San Juan, Puerto Rico - Roberto Clemente Coliseum CANCELLED
*flagicon|Brazil September 25, 1998: Curitiba, Brazil - Pedreira Paulo Leminski CANCELLED
*flagicon|Brazil September 26, 1998: Sao Paulo, Brazil - Pacaembu Stadium CANCELLED
*flagicon|Brazil September 27, 1998: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Metropolitan CANCELLED

North America Leg (USA)

*flagicon|USA October 02, 1998: Las Vegas, NV - The Joint
*flagicon|USA October 03, 1998: Las Vegas, NV - The Joint
*flagicon|USA October 13, 1998: Anchorage, AK - Sullivan Arena
*flagicon|USA October 16, 1998: Honolulu, HI - Neal S. Blaisdell Center

Japanese leg

*flagicon|Japan October 20, 1998: Hiroshima, Japan - Hiroshima Sun Plaza
*flagicon|Japan October 21, 1998: Fukuoka, Japan - Kokusai Center
*flagicon|Japan October 23, 1998: Osaka, Japan - Osaka Castle Hall
*flagicon|Japan October 24, 1998: Nagoya, Japan - Nagoya Rainbow Hall
*flagicon|Japan October 26, 1998: Iwate, Japan - Sangyo Bunka Center
*flagicon|Japan October 28, 1998: Tokyo, Japan - Budokan
*flagicon|Japan October 29, 1998: Tokyo, Japan - Budokan
*flagicon|Japan October 30, 1998: Tokyo, Japan - Budokan
*flagicon|Japan November 01, 1998: Tokyo, Japan - NHK Hall CANCELLED
*flagicon|Japan November 02, 1998: Yokohama, Japan - Yokohama Arena

Rescheduled date

*flagicon|Puerto Rico December 11, 1998: San Juan, Puerto Rico - Roberto Clemente Coliseum CANCELLED

References

External links

* [http://www.van-halen.com/ Van-Halen.com] - The official Van Halen website
* [http://vhnd.com Van Halen NewsDesk]