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Invigorated Van Halen delivers headbangers' delight
11/22/2007 7:02 PM, Reuters
"Are you guys having as
much fun as we are?"
The question posed about 15 minutes into Tuesday's show at
Staples Center was Arena Rock 101. But it was delivered by
David Lee Roth as he fronted Van Halen, which meant the world
to the aging headbangers who had waited 22 years for this
night.
For the record, the answer from the crowd that was on its
feet the entire night: "Oh yeah."
The original members of Van Halen -- sans bassist Michael
Anthony, replaced by Eddie Van Halen's 16-year-old son,
Wolfgang -- simply tore it up during the first homecoming stop
on their reunion tour. The sheer novelty of seeing Roth and
Eddie onstage together might have been enough for many in the
sold-out crowd, but the two-hour slugfest they delivered was
genuine sweaty fun.
Back in the day, a Van Halen concert presented a dilemma:
Who do you watch? Did you follow the wild-maned, high-kicking
frontman who swaggered and staggered around the stage while
threatening to defile the girlfriend of some wasted lout in the
first few rows? Or did you study the most influential guitarist
of his generation, the guy whose flying fingers and virtuosic
tapping launched a thousand '80s metal bands -- maybe 100,000.
It's different now because Roth has reined in his act.
Sporting leather pants and unbuttoned toreador jacket, he
deployed an older man's version of those old leg kicks, but he
didn't even attempt the trademark shouts and squeals that
peppered those half-dozen killer albums from 1978-84. His
infamous cockiness was all but absent, and he didn't address
the crowd much; still, it was a kick to see Roth back in his
natural habitat.
The band that once defined rock excess onstage and off has
resurfaced as a study in joy. There were more smiles onstage
than an Up With People halftime show as Roth relished his
long-dimmed spotlight and Eddie Van Halen was free to shred
again. The obvious pride and glee he showed in sharing the
stage with his boy invigorated his work. As if shaking off the
long national nightmare that was the band's post-Roth years, he
tore into his solos, often tweaking them just enough to make
the air guitarists look bad. He was simply outstanding.
A natural highlight was his thrilling 11-minute guitar solo
that included most of "Eruption" and plenty of knob-twisting
shenanigans. It was a reminder of just how little Eddie Van
Halen has really let loose since the Roth era.
Wolfgang mostly sidestepped the spotlight, but his playing
was meaty and his backing vocals sturdy. And the kid already
has picked up on a rock requisite: tossing picks to the female
fans. Atta boy.
The set list was peppered with songs that enjoyed heavy
rotation on FM radio and a handful of album cuts for the
hard-core. The gents got playful during "Somebody Get Me a
Doctor," tossing in physician rapid-fire references from "I
Don't Need No Doctor," "Life in the Fast Lane" and "Rocky
Raccoon" -- seemingly just to see if anyone was paying
attention. Eddie assumed the faux-pained guitar-god expression
during the speedy, shoulda-been-a-hit "Romeo Delight," which
included a snippet of the Who's "Magic Bus" during the
breakdown.
If only Roth and Van Halen could have stuck it out for all
those years like Daltrey and Townshend.
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
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