Summer Tour 2004 (Van Halen)

[3] 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.

[4] 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.

[4][5] 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.

[2][5] Hagar claimed that the 1996 split resulted from disagreements over recording new tracks for the movie Twister, after he was exhausted from touring in support of the band’s album Balance.

[5] Michael Anthony originally thought that the tour would expand to Europe, Japan, and South America, but the idea was abandoned because of Hagar's feud with Eddie Van Halen.

"[5] In his memoir, Hagar wrote that during the tour Van Halen was “unkempt, hunched over, frighteningly skinny” and “drinking wine straight out of a bottle.

"[10] Another point of contention during the tour was Sammy Hagar’s promotion of his Cabo Wabo tequila brand, to the displeasure of Eddie Van Halen.

[12] However, the Orioles later canceled this deal, causing Van Halen to file a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, suing for at least $2 million.

[13] Van Halen argued that they lost potential revenue in the Baltimore area from a non-compete clause and that they had to rearrange the 2004 tour for the show that the Orioles’ reneged on.

"[17] Kyle Munson, of The Des Moines Register, wrote that Van Halen sounded “sloppy” and alleged that Hagar seemed more focused with signing autographs than singing.

[18] However, Doug Fox, after a performance in Salt Lake City, wrote that the future of Van Halen “seems to be on firmer ground as well with the return of Hagar.

"[19] Overall, the tour’s long term reputation has been similarly poor, being described as both “Disastrous” by Nick Deriso of Ultimate Classic Rock and “Ill-Fated” by Andy Greene of Rolling Stone.