Wolfgang Van Halen admits he feels a lot less nervous opening for Guns N' Roses in front of 60,000 people than he does playing a 500-capacity club on his own. During a new chat with Ultimate Classic Rock, Eddie Van Halen's son, who's touring behind Mammoth WVH's self-titled debut, explained, “In a way, the pressure’s off with a Guns show. It’s such a huge venue, but they have the cameras and you’re popping up on the sides of the screens and stuff. But at a certain point, you’re doing your best to try to entertain people who otherwise don’t really give a s*** about you. Which, I don’t have a problem with that. That’s exactly what you’re signing up for as the opening band.”
He went on to say, “You’re the jesters to lead everybody to Guns. I’m totally happy with that and it’s a really good time. But when we headline, that’s kind of what makes me more nervous, because everybody’s paying more attention. Chances are, they’re bigger fans than the Guns shows would otherwise have. You feel more of an obligation to make sure they have a really good time, because they went out of the way (to come see your band).”
Mammoth WVH has a string of club dates sprinkled throughout the summer and fall Guns run, and Wolfgang admitted that opening night for Guns saw more than a few white knuckles hitting the stage: “A lot of nerves beforehand. I think after it happened, it was a huge relief. The first bit of the tour, having the two headliners and the first (stadium show) at Hershey, there was a lot of anxiety, just because it was the first one. As soon as I was over that hump, I started to feel a bit more relief. Now, I think I’ve gotten a bit more comfortable for the last couple of shows.”
