NICE ONE! DB... I used to pull that kind of shyte back in the 70's my version of your story involved YES ( My fave band) Told M & P I was staying at Terry's (a drummer) mate in school and he said the same to his parents - We hitched to the Open Air Crystal Palace Bowl to see them Premier "Close To The Edge" = The Olympics were on at the time...
We hid our school uniforms in the house of the girl who would one day become Terry's missus - Lynsey - Blonde and Beautiful...Got into the gig and could only afford some Water Melon slices off some Rasta's outside the gate, they took pity on us and gave is some Jamaican patties (YUMMMY!)
We eventually got home 2 days late, exhausted bt in Seventh Heaven for weeks on end...
Still got my ticket somewhere
Got slapped up-side the head by my Mother - because she loved me and was " Worried out of her skin"...Then a right hander from my father for worrying my Mother...
I was till in Seventh Heaven - Even with an aching jaw
Sorry I digressed.
Sadly I only got to see VH once it was on their first UK tour supporting Sabbath (in London) it was 78 or 79 sorry it's all a blurrrr... ; we got the tickets because one of my mates dad owned a record shop and back in those days they used to get loads of 'freebies' from the Record Company Reps....Sabbath were playing to promote what for me was their worst album 'Never Say Die', ironically it was their last tour with Ozzy who left shortly after...and again; sadly, they were not good.
I was in the bar and my mate comes in and Screams "FUCCCCK YOU GOTTA SEE THIS!!!" and dragged me out ..Van Halen were on stage and Eddie was in the middle of "Eruption" - we just couldn't figure out where the other guitarists was...Eddie had his back to the audience and was doing stuff we had NEVER heard before....
Neeedless to say they blew Sabbath off stage, which under usual circumstances would have been quite a feat...But Eddie even then was un-friggin-believable and Dave Lee Roth was the consummate Front Man, BUT Eddie was always the King-Pin and Main Attraction... I remember returning from that gig and getting my sister to embroider my Levi denim jacket with the VH Logo in Red!
They did the Van Halen invasion Tour in 74, but I was working for my uncle at the time and the cunnt wouldn't give me time off... Shoulda gone...but family pressures etc
Eddie was the first guitarist since Hendrix to TOTALLY CHANGE THE WAY THE INSTRUMENT WAS PLAYED AND SOUNDED and IS king of Rock/Heavy/Rock/ Metal guitarists, of which there are many highly skilled players etc BUT it was him who made that leap with the six stringed instrument that no one else had done and so everyone else followed and was influenced by his "GENIUS".
It's gonna have to take someone who is extremely Gifted and Rare to take the Electric Guitar to the next level IF there is one?
R.I.P Edward Val Halen = LONG LIVE THE KING.