Van Halen announces new album, 2012 tour with Staples Center date

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A regrouped Van Halen has announced an extensive 2012 American tour that will carry the four-piece rock band across the country over five months, including a Staples Center concert on June 1, and a Honda Center gig in Anaheim on June 12.

The band, featuring David Lee Roth, Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen, and Eddie’s son Wolfgang Van Halen, will be touring in support of a new studio album called ‘A Different Kind of Truth,’ which will be released in the U.S. on Feb. 7 by Interscope Records.

During a brief set at New York’s tiny Cafe Wha? on Thursday night, the band performed selections from its deep catalog, including ‘Panama,’ ‘Hot for Teacher,’ and ‘Jump,’ as well as a new song called ‘She’s the Woman.’

The band, which sprung from Pasadena in the 1970s and paid its dues on the Sunset Strip, rose in the late 1970s and ‘80s to be one of the biggest rock bands in the world. After Roth left the band in 1985, Sammy Hagar took over vocal duties, followed by a brief stint in the ‘90s with Gary Cherone. Roth reunited with the band -- which by then had replaced longtime bassist Michael Anthony with Eddie’s Van Halen son Wolfgang -- in 2008 for a troubled tour that ended with Eddie Van Halen in rehab.

Word started spreading in 2011 of a reunion, one that was confirmed at the end of the year when they released footage of rehearsals at the Roxy on the Sunset Strip. Whether the West Coast will see a tiny Cafe Wha? type show in the near future is unknown, but we’ve heard initial rumblings of something maybe happening in L.A. at the end of the month.

For a full tour itinerary, read on.

Van Halen 2012 tour dates: 2/18/12, KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, KY
2/20/12, The Palace of Auburn Hills, Detroit, MI
2/22/12, Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
2/24/12, United Center, Chicago, IL
2/28/12, Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
3/1/12, Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
3/3/12, Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, CT
3/5/12, Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA
3/9/12, First Niagara Center, Buffalo, NY
3/11/12, TD Garden, Boston, MA
3/15/12, Bell Centre, Montreal, QC
3/17/12, Air Canada Centre, Toronto, ON
3/21/12, Scotiabank Place, Ottawa, ON
3/24/12, Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, NJ
3/28/12, Verizon Center, Washington, DC
3/30/12, Consol Energy Center, Pittsburgh, PA
4/1/12, Allstate Arena, Rosemont, IL
4/10/12, BankAtlantic Center, Fort Lauderdale, FL
4/12/12, St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, FL
4/14/12, Amway Arena, Orlando, FL
4/16/12, Jacksonville Arena, Jacksonville, FL
4/19/12, Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA
4/21/12, Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, NC
4/25/12, Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte, NC
4/27/12, Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, TN
5/1/12, BOK Center, Tulsa, OK
5/5/12, Tacoma Dome, Tacoma, WA
5/7/12, Rogers Arena, Vancouver, BC
5/9/12, Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary, AB
5/11/12, Rexall Place, Edmonton, AB
5/17/12, MTS Centre, Winnipeg, MB
5/19/12, Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, MN
5/22/12, Sprint Center, Kansas City, MO
5/24/12, Pepsi Center, Denver, CO
5/27/12, MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, NV
6/1/12, Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
6/3/12, Oracle Arena, Oakland, CA
6/5/12, HP Pavilion, San Jose, CA
6/12/12, Honda Center, Anaheim, CA
6/14/12, Viejas Arena, San Diego, CA
6/16/12, US Airways Center, Phoenix, AZ
6/20/12, American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX
6/22/12, AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX
6/24/12, Toyota Center, Houston, TX
6/26/12, New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, LA

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-- Randall Roberts

Associated Press