A regrouped Van Halen will be playing arenas when they tour next month, but on Thursday night, they provided thrills in a tiny club in New York City.
Welcome to Occupy Van Halen, ladies and gentleman!” frontman David Lee Roth yelled just before the band launched into “You Really Got Me,” the first in an approximately hour-long, high energy set.
The show was at the famed Cafe Wha? in New York’s West Village, a club owned by Manny Roth, the uncle of Roth.
David Lee Roth noted some of the greats that played in the club – including Bob Dylan – and told the crowd, “I’m more nervous about this gig than I would ever be in the Garden,” referring to Madison Square Garden.
The band will soon be playing the Garden and other venues like it, as they kick off a nationwide tour next month. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famers start the tour in Louisville, Ky., on Feb. 16, and will tour through June, hitting cities like Boston, Atlanta and Chicago. They’ll also be promoting a new album. The group announced Wednesday that they’ll release “A Different Kind of Truth” on Feb. 7, the group’s first album with Roth since their celebrated album “1984,” released that same year.