Summer Tour 2004 (Van Halen)
The Van Halen Tour 2004 was a North American concert tour by hard rock band Van Halen. It was the band's first tour since 1998 and saw the return of lead singer Sammy Hagar, who left the band in 1996 after tensions with lead guitarist Eddie Van Halen.
| Tour by Van Halen | |
| Start date | June 11, 2004 |
|---|---|
| End date | November 19, 2004 |
| Legs | 4 |
| No. of shows | 80 |
| Van Halen concert chronology | |
Tensions between Hagar and Eddie Van Halen were rekindled during the rehearsals before the tour even started and continued until the last show. The 2004 tour marked the last time that Hagar would ever perform with Van Halen. Some points of contention between the two included Eddie's increased struggles with substance abuse and Sammy Hagar’s promotion of his personal Cabo Wabo tequila brand. The tour also signaled the declining relationship of bassist Michael Anthony with Eddie and Alex Van Halen. During the 2004 tour, Anthony was forced to lose his licensing rights to the band and to take a pay cut due to tensions with the Van Halen brothers.
While commercially successful attendance was an issue, the tour generally received poor reviews from critics, with some alleging that Eddie was sloppy, unfocused, and the band was past their prime. The tour’s legacy has been similarly poor as well, especially regarding the off-stage developments involving Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony. Nick Deriso of Ultimate Classic Rock called the tour “disastrous."