When Van Halen [ tickets ] hits the stage on Friday (6/11) to kick off its first tour with Sammy Hagar at the mic in almost a decade, some fans will find themselves right in the middle of the action.

The group's stage, which is designed to look like the band's swirling "VH" logo, features two standing-room-only pits that will corral a limited number of concertgoers. Tickets for the special seating area--which is dubbed the Golden Ring--are available for various stops on the outing via an online auction hosted by Ticketmaster. (Ticketmaster is liveDaily's parent company.)

A portion of the proceeds from the auction will benefit the 1736 Family Crisis Center, a nonprofit agency that provides prevention and treatment services for women, children and families in severe crisis, according to organizers. More information--including a diagram of the stage--is available at the auction's webpage.

Fans also have a chance for a spot in the Golden Ring by entering a contest at the band's official website.

Despite the unique stage design and elaborate production, drummer Alex Van Halen said during a recent interview that the heart of the show is still the band's music.

"Do we bring the largest production that we've ever taken on the road? Absolutely," he said. "Did we hire some of the top-notch designers to help us out with this? Absolutely. But the most important thing is [that] where it begins and where it ends is with the four guys on stage, and the music that we play, and, I think, the connection with the audience that we've had over the years."

This weekend (6/11-6/13), Van Halen will debut three new songs--"It's About Time," "Up for Breakfast" and "Learning to See"--during a Westwood One radio special. The one-hour program, which features the band's first radio interview in more than eight years, will air on more than 120 U.S. stations.

A list of stations currently scheduled to air the program is posted at the band's website.

The three new cuts--which have already been leaked by some radio stations, and have turned up on the Internet--will appear on the group's forthcoming hits package, "The Best of Both Worlds." The two-disc, 36-track retrospective is due in stores on July 20.