Van Halen - Light Up the Sky Live (best version)

[MrJsh01]

First 4 vh albums just classic!! Hagger did great with them too, but other then maybe areosmith no american rock band can even touch classic vh!!! They will always kick ass, even the new stuff is quite good! Not classic vh of course but its good

[skeeno666]

The first time I saw VH was August 9,1980, they opened with this at the Hollywood Sportatorium. My life was changed forever. Ist or 2nd row. I had seen Kiss 2 years earlier and was blown away, but when I saw VH it was beyond magic... God bless Van Halen. Things like this just don't happen anymore, where O' where are the Van Halen's of the world??!!

[nothinglikeraceday]

@skeeno666

I saw them @ the Hollywood Pitatorium too It was on the Diver Down tour won tickets from WSHE for one night & bought tickets for the next night. This new album really KICKS ASS!!! VAN HALEN ruled & will rule again...PEACE

[MrVHWolf]

LOL at the idiot that said Chickenfoot was better than this.

[zackvanhalen]

@MrVHWolf Chickenshit is a shitty generic rock band. Van Halen were pioneers. 

[floydnelson123]

Hahahaha is that a real JD bass?? 2:01

[phillyphil690]

@floydnelson123 Pretty much. Mike and them made the bottle shaped bass "out of spare parts", he said. The jack distillery got wind of it and offered to do the bottle graphics for him. Brilliant advertising move on their part.

[BSlash24]

I have that same outfit I wore to work this week, at 2:45. Boss loved it. Got a raise....this is killer though. VH in this era, one of rock's all time great live acts. Love how Roth always improvises on his "speaking" parts on the songs.

[gary62lc]

@Ishitonstratdem: I eat donut holes all the time : ^ O

[gary62lc]

If this IS from Fresno, it was at Selland Arena, and I was there. But like a lot of days from back then, I don't really remember a whole lot of it : ^ )~ But these guys were untouchable back then.

[wink89815]

@gary62lc As was I dude! Was incredible! My older brother took me.

[MrUltraworld]

Fucking Amazing! This is Van Halen.

[MrDetroit62]

Couldn't agree more;the one the only Van"Fucking Halen there are no other;good music about good times great lyrics

[drakehemlock]

ya, I love VH ,they were the best, no one could touch em in those days . But don't forget Eddie Van Halen learned to solo by listening to Jimmy Page, I heard him say it himself. No one could touch the mighty Led Zeppelin in thier peak either.

[BSlash24]

@drakehemlock no. He came up with the idea of Tapping watching Jimmy Page, he thought he could do the pull offs better by tapping. He didn't learn to solo listening to Page. he was already nailing Cream/who note by note by 1971.

[chainsawchucke]

@BSlash24 I saw a video of ace frehley tapping in 1975.I dont think he invented it either but maybe eddie stole it from ace!!!

[Simon4642]

@Ishitonstratdem in all truth a hole can not be eaten

[stratdem]

i saw van halens 1978 and 1979 would tour's no band past or present including led zeppelin could never even come close to these guys. i cant wait for the new cd its comming for shure folks with a world tour to follow the gods or rock will rule the total rock n roll world!

[TheZayne34]

@stratdem I wish i could agree with you man. Fact is Ed is way to beat down years of Vodka-Shlitz malt beer and a ton of drugs.he has no vovalchords and it hurts for him to even speak,a chunk of toungue gone.and his left hand is arthritic.I wish in a time warp back to MSG--in'82 and '84,in 84 i was 20 feet away from them.God i hate todays crap --90% of it!!!

[aNdYmAtTeR]

Last thing I heard was the crash of my forehead against the QWERTY-keyboard as I fainted of the impact. That won't keep me from listening again haha!

[waynerobert319]

Wow! They hit that special note at 1:31. I love that. Thanks for the post!!

[RemedySouthernRock]

Fantastic bootleg, thanks man!!

[rogermcgee1]

HOLY SHEEET

[c6chili]

my 1st concert ,,July 23, 1978 day on the green at the oakland coliseum....AC/DC Van Halen, Pat Travers, Foreigner and Aerosmith in that order.Van Halen blew all of them off the stage! Saw them again on December 2, 1978 and they blew Black Sabbath back to 1968! Van Halen with DLR = GREATEST ROCK BAND AND SHOW EVER!

[joelombrdo]

@c6chili I saw them from 10 feet away at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium long before they were signed. Edward Van Halen was incredible. The rest of the band were excellent except for Roth who's vocals were nothing to write home about.

[couch63]

excellent boot. don't have this one but will find it. Thanks!

[electricmayhem77]

It's so cool to share VH experiences...it's like an exclusive club on these forums...Eddie changed my life for the better, turned my whole world around. I love to play guitar, it's my life. Eddie helped light the path for me that I walk down. Thanks forever :-)

[bingrasm]

a lot of people had the luck of dislike the 1984 tour, maybe was the sign of the end of the roth era...but this song really rocks!!

[powerkor]

they were out to blow doors and minds round the world...and they did!

[SteveBurk]

yes, the 1984 tour didn't impress me either , nothing like their 1st, 2nd, and 1980 tour that I was beyond lucky to see!

[SteveBurk]

yes, the 1884 tour didn't impress me either , nothing like their 1st, 2nd, and 1980 tour that I was beyond lucky to see!

[kyuss4me]

This is a pretty cool performance. I was disappointed when I saw them for the only time on the 1984 tour...drunken slops they were. Sucks for me.

[Signhere3]

HELL FUCK SHIT YA !!!!!

[superboi2263]

I remember it like it was yesterday, 1979, medford oregon, jackson county expo, Baccardi 151, hands up girls ruffly blouse, weed in the air, unbelievable magic occurring on stage the vision of which is burnt into my brain forever. Me and my friends saw god that night and it changed many of our lives forever. During that 2 hour show we were delivered, saved, and witnessed, we clicked over and grew up that night and we all knew it.....

[fukinblowme]

@superboi2263 STFU.

[mondotrasho666]

they dont makem like this anymore!!

[mjw9363]

They are fucking Rockin'...flat out!!...



[ShinobisZ]

Saw them in 1984 on the 1984 tour lol. I was 14 but had been listening to them since 6th grade. Made me pick up the guitar...to date I own and play a 1984 Kramer Baretta...original owner.

[dinorocksnrolls]

Saw them play this at Riverfront Coliseum in Cin City Ohio back in the day, David L. Roth opened the song by saying light up your Joints. They made the news headlines and they got banned from playing there again . Ha Ha ! Was One helluva show !

[67goldtops]

It just doesn't get much better than this tune. It's unfortunate that EVH's soloing always got most of the attention because in his day, he was such a fantastic rhythm player as well. This tune is just a master's class in rhythm guitar playing. Actually the entire second album is a master's class in rhythm/riffwork.

[glpainterwindstream]

There was maybe 20 songs in history better than this, and Van Halen wrote 19 of them.

[galpal105]

what is best

for you

it is best for you

you need this ,it is best

[joshkosh95]

WOW. so much energy

[Guitfiddlejase]

This is FUCKING AWESOME.

Thank you for posting...

[nonthere]

I first saw them in '78 in MSG when they opened up for Black Sabbath's last tour with Ozzy. As hard as it was for a huge Sabbath fan to admit it Van Halen kind of outdid them that night (I wasn't really happy with Technical Ecstasy anyway and it was OK, because I did see BS when they were in their prime. None better). Back to VH, we had our whole band there (with girl ornaments) and our jaws dropped when we heard this guy play. I'm envious of those CA guys here who saw them earlier. Wow.

[eddiehalenvan]

bootlegs like this are the only good ones

[wilkyx]

what a fuckin way to start a gig!!!!!!!!

[scottrap]

I'm still holding a candle that Michael Anthony may one day return!

[NewWaveVault]

I have some 8 mm video from this show. None of this song, I think.

[NewWaveVault]

Van Halen could fight Chuck Norris and win!

[bischerosti]

great performance but Mike's low E is out of tune.Ed kills this shit!!!!! Dave actually sang back then. Actually I think it's Ed's low E out of tune. Who cares, Rock bands nowadays can't even sound this good with their perfectly tuned instruments. Back then bands went onstage without chromatic tuners, in ear monitors, auto tune and all that shit, thats why it was so great. Raw!!!!

[NewWaveVault]

@bischerosti Correction. The bass doesn't have a low E. It only has a singular E. The guitar is the one with a low ang high E. (low) E-A-D-G-B-(high) E as opposed to just E-A-D-G. .

[wilkyx]

@bischerosti no floyd rose back then. ed was a genius to keep it anything like in tune with his sheer attack and "dive bombs"

[68nevets68]

@wilkyx

Yes it was a Floyd back then. Eddie started using a pre-patented Floyd in '79 before they were being offered to the public. His yellow and black guitar that was used on that tour and was featured on the back of that cover was the first to get it. Now that said, Eddie (like most players back then who used a trem heavily) was also very good at getting his traditional trems to stay in tune as well.

[EVHguitarz]

@wilkyx they had floyd rose back then...I still have it. Kramer made some too...

[ColdRush01]

I like those DLR screams =)

[Gordfozzfoster]

Van Halen were the opening act for Eddie Money ( 2 tickets to paradice). Vancouver BC canada, 1979. We went home 2 songs into Eddie Money's set...can you blame us? We just witnessed Van Halen. They opened up just like this. Eddie played a white Les Paul with the neck pick up removed.

[thibs44]

holy balls this is good.

[Carltomaz]

mmm..this is the real thing..;)

[ypoons89]

I saw them when it was a real concert...you could party! You could smoke cigarettes! You saw people passed out laying on the floors! People puking! People laughing uncontrollably! Sat where you wanted! Watch out for the fireworks Today concerts suck!

[smithdsmit]

@ypoons89 concerts do yeah they do suck now.i love the music still but when you cant even smoke when its an outdoor venue. thats rediculous and i dont even smoke.our freedoms are being taken from us rapidly and nobody even realizes it. kids today grow up with cameras watching there every move.they think its normal.they think its safer. but the cameras wont protect anyone but it will control what you do

[theCREAPx]

@ypoons89 dont know how long its been for you or where you go to concerts, but here its awesome,except the prices. all the things you say i did or i have seen and im 22

[corkskrewclubhouse93]

Michael Anthony! 1:24

[mattstank]

Notice how you can hear girls screaming... too bad most girls aren't into this kind of music anymore.

[shootonface]

mike anthony.....enough said!!!

[yabadabadanyb]

Fackkk....too young to see them back then....what a performance!

[sargentD808]

i tattooed mike a couple times in hawaii and he's the coolest guy, real class act VAN HALEN NO KA OI!!!!

[guitarcomet5]

This is when they were bad as SH!T...too bad the sound isn't better, but you get the picture. lol

[foppa123]

this is the time of Jim Rockford too:)

[zildjiandrummr12]

Amazing amazing amazing. What bootleg is this from? Is there a name? Is it just "Fresno 1979"?

[zackvanhalen]

@zildjiandrummr12 It's called "Live and Loud".

[sparkles67]

@zildjiandrummr12 holy fuck, i dont care who you are, you wouldnt want to go on after that.

theyre killin it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[BrettHoustonTube]

Bitchin!

[rockshred5150]

where's the photo from at 1:33?

[4450fight]

@rockshred5150

Van Halen playing the "Day On The Green" at the Oakland Coliseum on 7/23/78. Concert with Aerosmith, Foreigner, Pat Travers, & AC/DC.

[nitedrive]

holy crap this is what's missing from music today. these guys were so damn hot back in the day. dirty, dark and somehow catchy under it all. so fucking good. how we miss those days.

[yaronnie]

@nitedrive

VERY WELL PUT BRO

[bosoxyaz8]

In 1979 these guys would wipe the floor with any band of that era...ANY BAND !!!

matter of fact 1979 Van Halen blows away any band today...name one band and i will tell you your a fool.

[Guitfiddlejase]

@bosoxyaz8 YOU will NEVER get me to argue that point...You are so right you don't even know.

[bosoxyaz8]

1986 METALLICA..1981 VAN HALEN....1992 PANTERA....3 GREATEST EVER.........if u disagree its only because you are wrong.

[bosoxyaz8]

eddie said they were not metal. roth said they were brown sound. hitler said he loved everyone. ali loved foreman. ace frehley loves gene simmons.....fact is no american or british band was as heavy as halen in 79....FACT.

[derdude]

best youtube comment in the existence of the interweb!

[bosoxyaz8]

why thank you brother !!

[gmoneyall]

fuckin' awesome...............

[creeper109]

I remember the summer 74 and 75 living Monrovia Ca, backyard parties seeing Van Halen at least 10 times or more paying like $3 a head got you in and one styorfoam cup. The cops use to bust the parites at 10 pm all the time they would draw at least 500 people or more. Those were the days.

[zackvanhalen]

That had to suck. Parties busted up at 10:00 pm! What did you do after that? Go see a movie:)

[creeper109]

No they would start at 8 get busted cause they would play so efin loud but hey this So Cal there would be at least 3 parties a night on the weekends and VH wasn't the only band in town.

[jayhoffs]

@creeper109

what's styofoam?..and what's a parites?

[hamace]

@creeper109 I lived in Monrovia for like a year....great place 

[DEANZO6]

@creeper109 Wish I even had the chance. Come to Rochester NY, now that you are back Tgether, damnit all!!!! Light it Up!

[thisischavez]

@creeper109. I would give my 401k to have been there just once.

[ketamint]

si si! simplemente increible!

[Angus6702]

concordo!

[EdwardVanHalen]

so unique, i love the change at 2:30 that is a great lead in to the solo. Fucking eddie is the best, no one came near in 1979

[gmoneyall]

amen,brother......young eddie!

[bosoxyaz8]

The baddest song ever in history . mindblowing heavy for that era. sabbath ac dc priest ufo were not as heavy in 1979...its a fact .

[bosoxyaz8]

The thing about this specific year 1979 was that these guys were so fucking focused and at the time they had no idea of that fact because of the blow booze bitches....just mindblowing !!!

[gmoneyall]

heh heh......right on man. i remember hearin' this record for the first time summer of 79',iwas 8 years old,rollerskatin'!............­.......................fuck,i knew then they were special.

[bosoxyaz8]

@gmoneyall...8 huh ? well i was 12 so na na na...anyhoot these fucks were no question the AMERICAN METAL BAND OF THAT ERA.....AMERICAN I SAID.

[jugulator0]

@bosoxyaz8 -Xciter live recording feb10th '79 judas priest - Lol i knew there had to be something as heavy out there =)

[EVHguitarz]

that 2nd world tour was when they crushed EVERYONE that was on the road........there wasn`t an act out there that had the draw of a crowd like they had.......more pussy at a Van Halen show than any other band ......an entire wall of titties flashing the band night after night....i`m talking, hundreds of women taking there tops off and shaking them at the band when Roth would stroll to the side of the stage and the spotlight would hit the crowd......the most awesome display you will every see....

[axeman1063]

@EVHguitarz

I played with a roth era VH trib for 20 years, and i cant tell you how many titties are actually out there!! And the quality was usually tops! LOL

Especially the College towns

[stratdem]

@EVHguitarz you are correct 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1984, these are the years that van halen ruled the total rock world there wasnt a band past or present at that time that was even close to van halen they stomp

every band asses clean to the dirt that got in there way! and for you zeppelin fans that most certainly includes them,

[elbertsnext]

I thought I was the only one to think this is their best! Killer

[drthess]

yes.probably their best song

[Haoleplumber94]

I watch the "YouTube " and almost lost mind!!! Great song

[EVHguitarz]

the number one bad ass song they ever made

[bosoxyaz8]

FUCK YES !!!!!!!

In 1979 NOTHING WAS AS HEAVY...NOTHING.

[pepper123]

I think Dave said it best: "Van Halen is not so much a band as it is a LIFESTYLE!"

[rjpilot]

Unreal.

Eddie's tone sounds exactly like the record. All that whammy-age and pre-floyd rose trem. Awesome find.

[pepper123]

Hey fellow VH fans, you should have been there when the mighty Van Halen opened up their 1979 show at the LA Forum with "Light Up The Sky." Then , they went right into "Somebody Get Me A Doctor." That show ruled! I sat 12th row center. I lost my chick cause she wanted to give Dave a bouquet of roses. She ended up in their next tour guide photos! I ended up snorting the rest of our coke. Fuck her! LOL!

[eden1955]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! THAT IS THE FUNNIEST SHIT I'VE EVER HEARD MAN. Sorry to hear of your misfortune, but I bet the memories were amazing...

[debrajl529]

Hahaha wow..... Wonder were she is now?

[pepper123]

Married with children, or better yet, divorced with children.

[debrajl529]

XD wow.....

[OROSEY]

PEP..I was observing another vid of VH

where you're at Anaheim Show.

I was there....And I do remember the paraachute jump...lol. Most of ALL...

Van Halen came played during the day.

Me & my friends went, 2 of us went really close. When they broke out to "Jaime's Cryin' --We were TEARIN IT UP.

VH had me! o)

[pepper123]

Oh yeah, I was there! They opened with "On Fire" then went right into "I'm the One." Sadly, these songs didn't make it to the bootleg.. Do You remember the great rap before "Ain't Talkin' Bout Love?" That's the one where Dave says he and Eddie were down in Milwaukee, to get a couple of Milwaukee's finest.....And I ain't talking about no goddamn Beer!"

[bosoxyaz8]

You sir are one lucky mother fucker i could only dream of being there. ps you are god.

[pepper123]

Check this out: when they played Atomic Punk, Eddie was actually running across the stage, flashing that bitchen smile, and scratching the shit out of the intro, acting like it was no problem...a new king of rock was born that night in Anaheim!

[bosoxyaz8]

dude i just had one of the greatest dinners ever at the house of prime rib in the 2nd greatest city on earth (SF) BOSTON IS # 1...anyhow you will love this shit after our dinner my 63 year old epic mom says "ok donny this is your night and jessicas night so put on your music" ....ha....ha well considering were in my pops 50,000 audi a6 demo diver down was my choice....LIFE RULZ !!!!!

[42lynchmob]

right on

[lacika67]

great, great, great

[cvjucla3]

Bitchin vid. There are not that many live versions of "Light up the Sky." But, yeah, this is the best live version of "Light up the Sky" that I have heard to date. I still get amped up whenever I hear anything by Van Halen that I have never heard before. I still love them now as much as I did as a kid. Thanks for posting.

[oiyabastard]

WISH I WAS BORN EARLIER

[chiefdirtybottom]

Before Alex changed his sound.

[bosoxyaz8]

WOW......A band on fucking fire for 1979....without question the most brilliant band of that era......hands down.

[bosoxyaz8]

whoever posted this i want you 2 no i love u.

[bosoxyaz8]

I just jacked off to this. does that make me gay ? if so i swallow. this era this band is the most brilliant band in metal/hard rock history. spellbinding.

[iownallnoobs]

you can hear him turn on his wireless at the beggining

[4porka]

NOBODY could touch them in thier prime, NOBODY!!!

[crmoats]

i love van halen

[VanHalenDude78]

Fuckin awesome

[pepper123]

VH was in all their majesty on the 2nd world "vacation." I saw every tour with Dave and the show at the LA Forum was the best in October of '79. But, the Anaheim Stadium show in '78 was awesome too. Fake Parachutes and all, baby!

[ballisticbliss]

This is their best opening tune. If anyone has a video of this opening to post would be awesome. They were incredible on this tour.

[Frankenfukstein]

this is the peak.i saw every tour ..

It was DOWNhILLS ands valleys of the voids from here on out BABY!!!

SEX AND DRUGS AND ROCK AND ROLL ALWAYS KILLS M

even if they aint dead!

[zackvanhalen]

In your opinion which tour was better; this one or the Fair Warning tour? I would say the Fair Warning tour.

[Frankenfukstein]

FAIR WArning best

US Festival.. I fought my way for ten hours

to within thirty feet of the barrier (100 +degrees) WORST!!! im stiillll pissed 27 years later eddie was at a distinct 45* angle ... BUT I aws probably A wee SPUN out meeself!!

I re call

[pepper123]

I was at the US Festival too. My take on that show is: I wonder if VH even remembers playing that gig.LOL! That was the only time when I heard VH sound sloppy. But, they looked so damn cool and they were still extremely entertaining..."You're all a bunch of rowdy motherfuckers, I say!"

[bosoxyaz8]

i would say fairwarning...only because of all those BRILLIANT songs . god this era of this band makes me fell 12,,,,,i love that.

[redrayman]

@zackvanhalen i saw this tour the first and the next they all got bigger and better

[scottrap]

@zackvanhalen Zack I saw the 1980 Invasion, Fair Warning, Diver Down, and 84 tours. Fair Warning was without a doubt the best. Although 1980 was the only time they ever played Loss of Control and Take ur Whisky Home.

[Jmurray5150]

@scottrap I agree, the Fair Waring tour was it! Still fuckin' raw and so badass!

But then again, I missed 1980 and earlier, but saw everything after: Oakland '81, SF Cow Palace '82, US Festival '83, and 2 nights back at the Cow Palace in '84!!

[wilkyx]

you absolutely lucky bastard.i'm jealous and i hate you!!! only kiddin

[wunderdark]

@Frankenfukstein I agree !! Saw them on 2nd tour through fair warning. Went downhill every tour, sounding worse and worse every time. The 2nd tour still ranks as one of my top 5 shows of all time in Buffalo, NY . I also remember the opener was a band called the Rails !!!! Never seen a drummer break so many sticks!!!!

[wunderdark]

@Frankenfukstein I also remember a big black dude with a club onstage as security for Dave. I dont know if this guy was part of the tour as part of the act or a local stage hand but it sure fit atmosphere.

[TheGumbo13]

this is crazy love this song

[coolhand71]

Wow what a great opener, wish I was there!

[viperfishsasori]

Damn!! Now I really miss Mike,LOL!!

I always thought "House of Pain" was thier heaviest

followed by "Atomic Punk,"but damn I love this song,Thanks!!!]

[PatVanHalen5150]

Heaviest of the Roth era probably....their heaviest overall IMO is Humans Being.

[zackvanhalen]

That song is pretty heavy, but again it has the poppy chorus. "shine on, shine on". The verse sections are heavy, but the rest of the song isn't. I always think Source of Infection is the heaviest Hagar era song. To me, even when a Hagar era song is fast or has distortion or whatever, the songs don't have the same attitude as the Roth ones. They're not as dark.

[PatVanHalen5150]

Another one I find real dark & heavy is Respect The Wind. But I guess that wouldn't be counted seeing as it's an instrumental only.

[coolhand71]

I agree something is missing. Not as ballsy I guess

[ericpieper69]

What about "Unchained"?

[zackvanhalen]

Unchained is a little too much "pop" to be considered heavier. Hang em is pretty heavy. So is Atomic Punk, On Fire, and One Foot out the Door.

[fg0815]

Absolute energy! This is the real VH I love!

[fender51503]

I Love the early days!!!! They seem so energetic and really fluid in their playing and their music! I will ALWAYS be a fan!!

[zackvanhalen]

This is probably their heaviest song.