# OU812 Tour

The OU812 Tour was a concert tour by hard rock band Van Halen in support of their studio album OU812.

## Background

Van Halen began their tour with a United States leg known as the "Monsters of Rock" tour through 23 cities alongside Metallica, Scorpions, Dokken and Kingdom Come which would feature a specially constructed stage with lights and state-of-the-art sound equipment. The tour originated when promoter Louis Messina had approached the band and suggested a five-band summer long tour, in which the band didn't hesitate to sign up. In the end, the leg itself was a financial failure, though it would be their most expensive tour. Some of the cities the band performed in during the "Monsters of Rock" tour had however shown some success while there was confusion from the promoters where the tour didn't do well, bringing up speculation that the album wasn't familiar with the audience yet, while others stated that the shows were on a weekday while school was going on. During the show in East Troy, Hagar fell during the opening song on the set, receiving a minor tailbone fracture. Despite his injury, he did finish the performance. Following the Monsters of Rock tour, the band did go on a brief hiatus before continuing the tour. On the second North American leg, Van Halen performed in smaller venues, wrapping up the tour with shows in Japan and Hawaii.

## Reception

Mark Madden, a staff writer from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette gave the performance at the Three Rivers Stadium a positive review. He acknowledged that more than 35,000 fans couldn't help but be struck when Eddie Van Halen's fleet fingers played through two hours of the band's biggest hits. Regarding Eddie's solo Madden added that the biggest technical sparkle was that he was successfully able to play within the context of his songs and did not play a bad solo that night. Including Hagar, Madden stated that he brought all the fun, with good vocals and songs - but didn't forget to add about Michael Anthony and Alex Van Halen whom Madden stated were a quality foundation. During the conclusion of his review, Madden noted that the biggest strength for the band's performance was definitely their songs.
Jeff Bunch from the Spokesman Review gave the performance at the Albi Stadium a positive review. In his opening statement, Bunch stated that rock 'n' roll was alive and well in Spokane and that it was better than nothing. He noted on the music being "hot", bringing the crowd to decibel levels that matched the band's sound system which he cited as "powerful". He acknowledged the members' solos, with Eddie Van Halen's being cited as "magical" as he captivated the audience for nearly ten minutes with his lightning-quick fingers. Not forgetting Alex Van Halen or Hagar, he brought up their solos as well - referring to Hagar as a bundle of energy, adding that he is a consummate showman. Bunch concluded his review, stating that it was a great concert, and that people got their money's worth, though he did say that it would be hard to say if the band's show had lived up to its expectations.
Jerry Spangler from the Deseret News gave the Salt Palace performance he attended a mixed review. He stated that while the band had shown to be the best there is on the hard rock circuit, they still lacked the style that could one day make them one of the best bands of all time, referring to them as a good time to a near-capacity crowd they performed for. Spangler noted on one of the show's highlights when Hagar had taken center stage for an acoustic guitar solo, praising it as "warm" and "optimism". He cited that Hagar was the surprise for the show aside from the characteristic of Eddie Van Halen, but did criticize that confidence Hagar presented would translate into inanities.
"The first time I went to a 'big' concert was the Monsters of Rock in 1987 (sic), at a stadium in DC: Kingdom Come, Metallica, Dokken, Scorpions and Van Halen," recalled Dave Grohl. "Standing far enough from the stage that it was taking four seconds for the sound of the snare drum to hit me made no sense at all."

## Setlist

* "There's Only One Way to Rock"
* "Summer Nights"
* "Panama"
* "A.F.U. (Naturally Wired)"
* "Runnin' with the Devil"
* "Why Can't This Be Love"
* "Mine All Mine"
* "Cabo Wabo"
* "Finish What Ya Started"
* "5150"
* "When It's Love"
* "Eagles Fly"
* "I Can't Drive 55"
* "Best of Both Worlds"
* "Black and Blue"
* "Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love"
Encore
* "You Really Got Me"
* "Rock and Roll"

## Tour dates

List of 1988 concerts, showing date, city, country and venue :
| Date | City | Country | Venue |
| May 27, 1988 | East Troy | United States | Alpine Valley Music Theatre |
| May 28, 1988 | East Troy | United States | Alpine Valley Music Theatre |
| May 29, 1988 | East Troy | United States | Alpine Valley Music Theatre |
| June 4, 1988 | Miami | United States | Orange Bowl |
| June 5, 1988 | Tampa | United States | Tampa Stadium |
| June 10, 1988 | Washington, D.C. | United States | RFK Stadium |
| June 11, 1988 | Philadelphia | United States | JFK Stadium |
| June 12, 1988 | Foxborough | United States | Sullivan Stadium |
| June 15, 1988 | Pittsburgh | United States | Three Rivers Stadium |
| June 17, 1988 | Pontiac | United States | Silverdome |
| June 18, 1988 | Pontiac | United States | Silverdome |
| June 19, 1988 | Buffalo | United States | Rich Stadium |
| June 22, 1988 | Akron | United States | Rubber Bowl |
| June 23, 1988 | Akron | United States | Rubber Bowl |
| June 25, 1988 | Oxford | United States | Oxford Plains Speedway |
| June 26, 1988 | East Rutherford | United States | Giants Stadium |
| June 27, 1988 | East Rutherford | United States | Giants Stadium |
| July 2, 1988 | Houston | United States | Rice Stadium |
| July 3, 1988 | Dallas | United States | Cotton Bowl |
| July 6, 1988 | Indianapolis | United States | Hoosier Dome |
| July 9, 1988 | Memphis | United States | Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium |
| July 10, 1988 | Kansas City | United States | Arrowhead Stadium |
| July 13, 1988 | Minneapolis | United States | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome |
| July 17, 1988 | San Francisco | United States | Candlestick Park |
| July 20, 1988 | Spokane | United States | Joe Albi Stadium |
| July 24, 1988 | Los Angeles | United States | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum |
| July 27, 1988 | Seattle | United States | Kingdome |
| July 30, 1988 | Denver | United States | Mile High Stadium |
| September 30, 1988 | Lexington | United States | Rupp Arena |
| October 1, 1988 | Cincinnati | United States | Riverfront Coliseum |
| October 3, 1988 | Atlanta | United States | Omni Coliseum |
| October 4, 1988 | Antioch | United States | Starwood Amphitheatre |
| October 6, 1988 | Greensboro | United States | Greensboro Coliseum |
| October 7, 1988 | Charlotte | United States | Charlotte Coliseum |
| October 8, 1988 | Knoxville | United States | Thompson–Boling Arena |
| October 11, 1988 | New York City | United States | Madison Square Garden |
| October 12, 1988 | Uniondale | United States | Nassau Coliseum |
| October 14, 1988 | Hartford | United States | Hartford Civic Center |
| October 15, 1988 | Syracuse | United States | Carrier Dome |
| October 17, 1988 | Providence | United States | Providence Civic Center |
| October 18, 1988 | Worcester | United States | Centrum in Worcester |
| October 20, 1988 | Richmond | United States | Richmond Coliseum |
| October 21, 1988 | Norfolk | United States | Norfolk Scope |
| October 22, 1988 | Philadelphia | United States | Spectrum |
| October 25, 1988 | Rosemont | United States | Rosemont Horizon |
| October 26, 1988 | Fort Wayne | United States | Allen County War Memorial Coliseum |
| October 27, 1988 | Fort Wayne | United States | Allen County War Memorial Coliseum |
| October 28, 1988 | Milwaukee | United States | Bradley Center |
| October 30, 1988 | Notre Dame | United States | Joyce Center |
| October 31, 1988 | Cedar Rapids | United States | Five Seasons Center |
| November 1, 1988 | Ames | United States | Hilton Coliseum |
| November 4, 1988 | Valley Center | United States | Kansas Coliseum |
| November 5, 1988 | Lincoln | United States | Bob Devaney Sports Center |
| November 7, 1988 | Peoria | United States | Peoria Civic Center |
| November 8, 1988 | St. Louis | United States | St. Louis Arena |
| November 9, 1988 | St. Louis | United States | St. Louis Arena |
| November 11, 1988 | New Orleans | United States | Lakefront Arena |
| November 13, 1988 | Austin | United States | Frank Erwin Center |
| November 15, 1988 | El Paso | United States | UTEP Special Events Center |
| November 16, 1988 | Tucson | United States | Tucson Community Center |
| November 17, 1988 | Phoenix | United States | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum |
| November 19, 1988 | San Diego | United States | San Diego Sports Arena |
| November 21, 1988 | Sacramento | United States | ARCO Arena |
| November 22, 1988 | Reno | United States | Lawlor Events Center |
| November 24, 1988 | Portland | United States | Memorial Coliseum |
| November 26, 1988 | Salt Lake City | United States | Salt Palace |
List of 1989 concerts, showing date, city, country and venue :
| Date | City | Country | Venue |
| January 19, 1989 | Tokyo | Japan | Tokyo Dome |
| January 23, 1989 | Kyoto | Japan | Kyoto Pulse Plaza |
| January 24, 1989 | Osaka | Japan | Osaka-jō Hall |
| January 25, 1989 | Osaka | Japan | Osaka-jō Hall |
| January 27, 1989 | Hiroshima | Japan | Hiroshima Sun Plaza |
| January 29, 1989 | Kyoto | Japan | Kyoto Pulse Plaza |
| January 31, 1989 | Nagoya | Japan | Nagoya Rainbow Hall |
| February 1, 1989 | Tokyo | Japan | Tokyo Dome |
| February 2, 1989 | Tokyo | Japan | Tokyo Dome |
| February 4, 1989 | Honolulu | United States | Neal S. Blaisdell Center |
| February 5, 1989 | Honolulu | United States | Neal S. Blaisdell Center |

## Personnel

* Eddie Van Halen – guitar, backing vocals, lead keyboards
* Michael Anthony – bass, backing vocals, keyboards
* Alex Van Halen – drums
* Sammy Hagar – lead vocals, guitar