Start Date: May 12, 1981
End Date: Oct 25, 1981
Locations: North America (US, Canada)
Promo Tour: Nov 1981 (Germany, Italy, Spain, France)
Van Halen’s 1981 tour, dubbed “WDFA,” saw them playing 2 and 3 nights straight in the same city. This tour and album are often cited today as a fan favorite. The 3 famous live MTV videos come from the Oakland, Ca show on this tour.
// TOUR ITINERARY
Note: Dates below in red are links to content posted on this site. Just click to view a specific date. Or you can view all posts from 1981 here.
| Date | City | Country | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| First North American Leg | |||
| May 12, 1981 | Halifax, Nova Scotia | Canada | Halifax Metro Centre |
| May 15, 1981 | Providence, Rhode Island | United States | Providence Civic Center |
| May 16, 1981 | Portland, Maine | Cumberland County Civic Center | |
| May 17, 1981 | Glens Falls, New York | Glens Falls Civic Center | |
| May 18, 1981 | Rochester, New York | Rochester Community War Memorial | |
| May 20, 1981 | Charleston, West Virginia | Charleston Civic Center | |
| May 22, 1981 | Louisville, Kentucky | Freedom Hall | |
| May 23, 1981 | Dayton, Ohio | Hara Arena | |
| May 24, 1981 | Kalamazoo, Michigan | Wings Stadium | |
| May 27, 1981 | Richfield, Ohio | Richfield Coliseum | |
| May 31, 1981 | Spokane, Washington | Spokane Coliseum | |
| June 2, 1981 | Vancouver, British Columbia | Canada | Pacific Coliseum |
| June 5, 1981 | Seattle, Washington | United States | Seattle Center Coliseum |
| June 8, 1981 | Portland, Oregon | Memorial Coliseum | |
| June 9, 1981 | |||
| June 11, 1981 | Oakland, California | Oakland Arena | |
| June 12, 1981 | |||
| June 13, 1981 | |||
| June 16, 1981 | Las Vegas, Nevada | Aladdin Theater | |
| June 18, 1981 | Fresno, California | Selland Arena | |
| June 19, 1981 | Los Angeles, California | LA Sports Arena | |
| June 20, 1981 | Inglewood, California | The Forum | |
| June 21, 1981 | |||
| Second North American Leg | |||
| July 2, 1981 | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | United States | MECCA Arena |
| July 3, 1981 | Detroit, Michigan | Cobo Hall | |
| July 4, 1981 | |||
| July 5, 1981 | |||
| July 7, 1981 | Saint Paul, Minnesota | St. Paul Civic Center | |
| July 9, 1981 | Indianapolis, Indiana | Market Square Arena | |
| July 10, 1981 | Chicago, Illinois | International Amphitheatre | |
| July 11, 1981 | |||
| July 12, 1981 | |||
| July 14, 1981 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Civic Arena | |
| July 16, 1981 | New Haven, Connecticut | New Haven Coliseum | |
| July 17, 1981 | New York City, New York | Madison Square Garden | |
| July 18, 1981 | Uniondale, New York | Nassau Coliseum | |
| July 20, 1981 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | The Spectrum | |
| July 21, 1981 | |||
| July 22, 1981 | |||
| July 24, 1981 | Boston, Massachusetts | Boston Garden | |
| July 25, 1981 | |||
| July 26, 1981 | Portland, Maine | Cumberland County Civic Center | |
| July 27, 1981 | Roanoke, Virginia | Roanoke Civic Center | |
| July 28, 1981 | Landover, Maryland | Capital Centre | |
| July 29, 1981 | |||
| July 30, 1981 | |||
| July 31, 1981 | Buffalo, New York | Buffalo Memorial Auditorium | |
| August 2, 1981 | Richfield, Ohio | Richfield Coliseum | |
| August 3, 1981 | |||
| August 4, 1981 | Toronto, Ontario | Canada | Maple Leaf Gardens |
| August 5, 1981 | Montreal, Quebec | Montreal Forum | |
| Third North American Leg | |||
| August 18, 1981 | Pembroke Pines, Florida | United States | Hollywood Sportatorium |
| August 19, 1981 | Lakeland, Florida | Lakeland Civic Center | |
| August 22, 1981 | Atlanta, Georgia | The Omni | |
| August 23, 1981 | Knoxville, Tennessee | Knoxville Civic Coliseum | |
| August 24, 1981 | Charlotte, North Carolina | Charlotte Coliseum | |
| August 25, 1981 | Greensboro, North Carolina | Greensboro Coliseum | |
| August 27, 1981 | Hampton, Virginia | Hampton Coliseum | |
| August 29, 1981 | Cincinnati, Ohio | Riverfront Coliseum | |
| August 30, 1981 | Nashville, Tennessee | Nashville Municipal Auditorium | |
| August 31, 1981 | Birmingham, Alabama | Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex | |
| September 1, 1981 | Memphis, Tennessee | Mid-South Coliseum | |
| September 3, 1981 | Huntsville, Alabama | Von Braun Civic Center | |
| September 4, 1981 | Jackson, Mississippi | Mississippi Coliseum | |
| September 5, 1981 | Biloxi, Mississippi | Mississippi Coast Coliseum | |
| September 6, 1981 | Baton Rouge, Louisiana | Riverside Centroplex | |
| September 8, 1981 | Shreveport, Louisiana | Hirsch Memorial Coliseum | |
| September 10, 1981 | Dallas, Texas | Reunion Arena | |
| September 11, 1981 | |||
| September 12, 1981 | Houston, Texas | Sam Houston Coliseum | |
| Fourth North American Leg | |||
| September 28, 1981 | Phoenix, Arizona | United States | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum |
| September 29, 1981 | San Diego, California | San Diego Sports Arena | |
| October 2, 1981 | Austin, Texas | Frank Erwin Center | |
| October 3, 1981 | Norman, Oklahoma | Lloyd Noble Center | |
| October 6, 1981 | Albuquerque, New Mexico | Tingley Coliseum | |
| October 7, 1981 | El Paso, Texas | El Paso County Coliseum | |
| October 9, 1981 | San Antonio, Texas | San Antonio Convention Center | |
| October 15, 1981 | Tulsa, Oklahoma | Mabee Center | |
| October 16, 1981 | Valley Center, Kansas | Kansas Coliseum | |
| October 17, 1981 | Kansas City, Missouri | Kemper Arena | |
| October 18, 1981 | St. Louis, Missouri | St. Louis Arena | |
| October 20, 1981 | Omaha, Nebraska | Omaha Civic Auditorium | |
| October 21, 1981 | Cedar Rapids, Iowa | Five Seasons Center | |
| October 24, 1981 | Orlando, Florida | Tangerine Bowl (Opening for The Rolling Stones) | |
| October 25, 1981 | |||
*Source: Wikipedia
I was at the 1981 concert in hollywood, fla
wow, who opened for them? i was at the Indy concert , same tour. it was loud as hell in MSA (Market Square Arena). One of the loudest venues I’ve even been to for all events. Pacers’ games were ear-blowing loud. Concerts, well, you better have been prepared , deafening just the way I liked it. Eddie loved to turn his guitar inputs up to overwhelm and dominate but allowed us to hear other performers. I realize it was ultimately up to the board operator but I’m telling you, he had something to do with his guitar being maxed.
[…] up at Halifax, Nova Scotia, for opening night, Van Halen unleashed 90,000 watts of sound after the crew lugged in 175,000 tons […]
I remember the teenagers in my neighborhood going to the Sporto in Hollywood FL. I was 6th grade.
Folks would not me go. Still bummed out about it 🙂
Oh!!! Same here, I was so pissed my folks wouldn’t let me go to that show at the ‘Scumatorium”. I was in 6th grade, I remember kids wearing the concert shirt to school the next day and it drove me crazy! I had to wait til the 1984 tour to see them…I am still bummed about not seeing the Fair Warning tour, it’s my favorite album.
The Fools from Ipswich, MA ( Psycho Chicken, It’s a Night For beautiful Girls, Life Sucks Then You Die, World Dance Party) opened for them for 30 or so stops on that tour! They said Eddy was a sweetheart, the singer, just the opposite.
I can’t remember who opened for them July 9th 1981, my ticket stub just has then and is torn off, but even if it wasn’t torn, i don’t think they show the warm-up act on the ticket stub. Does anyone remember who warmed up at the Indianpolis Show and would the warm-up band have traveled for all 89 tour dates? i know Van Halen opened for the Stones on date 90 and date 91 so there would have been 89 shows in 4-legs …. was it the RED-ROCKER? i know i went to to a concert where Sammy opened up for a band, but I can’t remember which concert it was. I went to many concerts as a teen and college student.
the opening band was The Fools. They opened about half the 1981 dates. VH always had obscure no-name bands opening mostly 😉
In the 2 July concerts in Boston local Boston band the fools opened up Saturday night the 25th.
I saw 4 dates on this tour. Two in Louisiana, 2 in MS 🤘🤘🤘
[…] Halen’s fifth studio album, which was nearly never released. After their 1981 Fair Warning Tour, the band was pressured by their label to release new music. They recorded a cover of “Pretty Woman” along with four other […]