Van Halen in Greenville, SC for August 10 Concert

A GreenvilleOnline.com story reported today that Van Halen, the iconic rockers of the ’80’s have added an additional 18 concerts to their 2012 North American tour.

The BI-LO Center in Greenville will welcome Eddie, Wolfgang, Alex and David here for a second time.  The first Van Halen concert at the BI-LO Center featured a lineup which included frontman Sammy Hagar, so the David Lee Roth iteration for 2012 is a first for our town.

My first concert experience with Van Halen was in Pittsburgh, PA in 1981 and was memorable.  We arrived early, and made our way to a position standing directly in the front of the stage and centered on the floor of the old Civic Arena in “dahntahn” Pittsburgh.  We actually felt the first few Michael Anthony bass guitar notes as strongly as we heard them.  I remember the experience was similar to being punched in the chest (by a G#?), and the aural assault continued for a total of 19 more songs.
Everything came to a halt when someone tossed a firework towards the stage! The firework was much larger than a firecracker device, and it blew up dangerously close to David Lee Roth’s head.  After the explosion, the music suddenly stopped and . . . there was silence with David Lee Roth cupping his ears and bending over in pain from the sound of the explosion.  We all wondered what would happen next. The consummate showman stood back up and invited the firework fan (who was being hustled out by security) to meet him on the stage for some of his own fireworks. Then the music started again.
2012 promises to be a nostalgic walk for many Van Halen fans since the song mix features a majority of the band’s classic hits from previous decades.

The most amazing part of this concert is that the band is actually touring again.  Considering that 3 of the 4 members’ birthdays are well past the half century mark, this tour speaks volumes about their physical resilience.  The common denominator for many classic rockers and their ability to take to the road night after night for concert venues scattered across the globe is having a chiropractor on site prior to showtime.  I have personally had the pleasure to work with acts as classic and venerable as Def Leppard, Boston, The Eagles, Bruce Springsteen, Duran Duran and Nickelback.  Whether Van Halen makes the call to have me on hand or not, I know from their history that chiropractic care has been a staple resource on the road for these L.A. rockers to maintain their ability to tour.

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The Hunger Games, Jennifer Lawrence and Chiropractic

I was one of the millions who saw “The Hunger Games” this past weekend. As the dad of a teenage girl, it was understood that a part of my agenda for Saturday night was to escort her to the Regal Hollywood 2o theatre in Greenville, SC so that she could see the story of Katniss Everdeen played out on the silver screen. The story line of big government running over all sorts of liberties and freedoms, and the individual triumphing over the state was interesting to watch. Now I need to find time to read the trilogy, so I can keep up with my daughter. She has already read the trilogy three times!

My daughter has a tradition of staying in the theater through all of the credits in the hope that there will be some film teaser at the very end. While watching the credits, a name with the suffix D.C. rolled past (D.C. stands for Doctor of Chiropractic). I quickly made a note to learn more about this chiropractor, and what role he had in “The Hunger Games.”

Dr. Joseph Horrigan is not a household name, nor is he well known among the chiropractors at large. However, this doctor of chiropractic has played an important role in many more movies beyond “The Hunger Games.” Dr. Horrigan has served as medical consultant for “The Matrix,” “Charlie’s Angels II Full Throttle,” and “Spiderman II.” He also served as athletic performance consultant on “Seabiscuit,” “Skeleton Key,” “Things We Lost in the Fire,” “Che,” “The Wolfman,” and of course “The Hunger Games.”

Jennifer Lawrence’s ability to perform as Katniss without a stunt double hinged upon Dr. Horrigan’s training. The role of Katniss Everdeen was very physically demanding. According to Horrigan, the actress was put through a grueling six week program which resulted in the fit and fast Katniss of “The Hunger Games” movie.
The pattern of a doctor of chiropractic advising athletes and movie stars is becoming more the norm rather than the exception. If chiropractic has such a positive influence on the health and performance of actors in movies, it will be exciting to see how chiropractic can help everyone in our country feel and function better.