| Concert Tour Name: | OU812 Tour |
| Artist: | Van Halen |
| Start Date: | May 27, 1988 |
| End Date: | February 4, 1989 |
| Album: | OU812 |
| Number Of Legs: | 4 |
| Number Of Shows: | 76 |
| Last Tour: | 5150 Tour (1986) |
| This Tour: | OU812 Tour (1988–1989) |
| Next Tour: | For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge Tour (1991–1992) |
The OU812 Tour was a concert tour by hard rock band Van Halen in support of their studio album OU812.
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.[1] [2] In the end, the leg itself was a financial failure, though it would be their most expensive tour.[3] [4] 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.[5] 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.[6] [7] Following the Monsters of Rock tour, the band did go on a brief hiatus before continuing the tour.[8] On the second North American leg, Van Halen performed in smaller venues, wrapping up the tour with shows in Japan and Hawaii.
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.[9]
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.[10]
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.[11]
"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."[12]
Encore
| Date[13] | City | Country | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 27, 1988 | United States | Alpine Valley Music Theatre | |
| May 28, 1988 | |||
| May 29, 1988 | |||
| June 4, 1988[14] | Orange Bowl | ||
| June 5, 1988 | Tampa Stadium | ||
| June 10, 1988 | |||
| June 11, 1988 | |||
| June 12, 1988 | Sullivan Stadium | ||
| June 15, 1988 | Three Rivers Stadium | ||
| June 17, 1988 | Silverdome | ||
| June 18, 1988 | |||
| June 19, 1988 | |||
| June 22, 1988[15] | Rubber Bowl | ||
| June 23, 1988 | |||
| June 25, 1988 | Oxford Plains Speedway | ||
| June 26, 1988 | |||
| June 27, 1988 | |||
| July 2, 1988[16] | Rice Stadium | ||
| July 3, 1988 | Cotton Bowl | ||
| July 6, 1988 | Hoosier Dome | ||
| July 9, 1988 | Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium | ||
| July 10, 1988 | Arrowhead Stadium | ||
| July 13, 1988 | |||
| July 17, 1988 | |||
| July 20, 1988 | |||
| July 24, 1988 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | ||
| July 27, 1988 | |||
| July 30, 1988 | Mile High Stadium | ||
| September 30, 1988 | Rupp Arena | ||
| October 1, 1988 | Riverfront Coliseum | ||
| October 3, 1988 | Omni Coliseum | ||
| October 4, 1988 | Starwood Amphitheatre | ||
| October 6, 1988 | Greensboro Coliseum | ||
| October 7, 1988 | Charlotte Coliseum | ||
| October 8, 1988 | Thompson–Boling Arena | ||
| October 11, 1988 | Madison Square Garden | ||
| October 12, 1988 | Nassau Coliseum | ||
| October 14, 1988 | Hartford Civic Center | ||
| October 15, 1988 | Carrier Dome | ||
| October 17, 1988 | Providence Civic Center | ||
| October 18, 1988 | Centrum in Worcester | ||
| October 20, 1988 | Richmond Coliseum | ||
| October 21, 1988 | Norfolk Scope | ||
| October 22, 1988 | Spectrum | ||
| October 25, 1988 | Rosemont Horizon | ||
| October 26, 1988 | Allen County War Memorial Coliseum | ||
| October 27, 1988 | |||
| October 28, 1988 | Bradley Center | ||
| October 30, 1988 | Joyce Center | ||
| October 31, 1988 | Five Seasons Center | ||
| November 1, 1988 | Hilton Coliseum | ||
| November 4, 1988 | Kansas Coliseum | ||
| November 5, 1988 | Bob Devaney Sports Center | ||
| November 7, 1988 | Peoria Civic Center | ||
| November 8, 1988 | St. Louis Arena | ||
| November 9, 1988 | |||
| November 11, 1988 | Lakefront Arena | ||
| November 13, 1988 | Frank Erwin Center | ||
| November 15, 1988 | UTEP Special Events Center | ||
| November 16, 1988 | Tucson Community Center | ||
| November 17, 1988 | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum | ||
| November 19, 1988 | San Diego Sports Arena | ||
| November 21, 1988 | ARCO Arena | ||
| November 22, 1988 | Lawlor Events Center | ||
| November 24, 1988 | Memorial Coliseum | ||
| November 26, 1988 | Salt Palace |
| Date | City | Country | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 19, 1989 | Japan | Tokyo Dome | |
| January 23, 1989 | Kyoto Pulse Plaza | ||
| January 24, 1989 | Osaka-jō Hall | ||
| January 25, 1989 | |||
| January 27, 1989 | Hiroshima Sun Plaza | ||
| January 29, 1989 | Kyoto | Kyoto Pulse Plaza | |
| January 31, 1989 | Nagoya Rainbow Hall | ||
| February 1, 1989 | Tokyo | Tokyo Dome | |
| February 2, 1989 | |||
| February 4, 1989 | United States | Neal S. Blaisdell Center | |
| February 5, 1989 |