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Published on Friday, Oct 12, 2007
It's been ''22 summers,'' to use David Lee Roth's parlance, since he and any iteration of Van Halen performed on the same stage.
Wednesday night the latest version of the Rock Hall of Famers featuring Roth along with guitar hero Eddie, drummer Alex and 16 year-old bassist Wolfgang Van Halen made their long-awaited return to the stage at Quicken Loans Arena.
Roth, who celebrated his 52nd birthday Wednesday night, referred to the band as ''three-fourths original and one-fourth inevitable'' and has obviously been rejuvenated by a return to performing in front of tens of thousands of fans rather than the few hundred he's mustered in his recent solo outings.
The sold-out crowd was ready to party like it was 1984 and the band gave them a strong 26-song set that covered the highlights of the six-album Roth era, including eight from their beloved debut.
Roth, sporting black leather pants and a series of colored jackets with elaborate brocade designs that appeared to come from a Siegfried and Roy garage sale, was in good vocal form. Perhaps more importantly, he did something ''Diamond'' Dave of 22 summers ago didn't bother with between the high kicks, swigs of Jack Daniels and audience come-ons he put considerable energy into singing the songs and remembering (or possibly reading) the lyrics.
Sure, he still offered a few martial-arts-style high kicks (repeatedly replayed in slo-mo on the big screen) and wielded the mike stand like a bo staff, but he reached for and mostly hit the high notes in Atomic Punk, and Romeo Delight and a blistering fast Hot for Teacher. He also worked to stick to the melody of the pop song I'll Wait and worked to harmonize with Wolfgang, who took the uninvited Michael Anthony's high parts.
Young Wolfgang appeared to afford himself quite well, looking comfortable except when getting kisses from daddy, but the tinny mix didn't allow anyone to hear much of what he actually played.
Both Alex and Eddie looked healthier than on the 2004 tour (with Sammy Hagar), and though an obligatory drum solo by Alex is a concept that has long outlived its usefulness, he was more rhythmically solid throughout the set.
Eddie's obligatory solo, featuring bits of Eruption and Cathedral, was not up to his usual standards. The band might not exude the sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll excess of its youth, but they are still able to inspire a good time for folks. Roth's hammy lounge lizard schtick, which makes goofy tunes such as Beautiful Girls, Everybody Wants Some and his signature Ice Cream Man goofy fun, might be less ''sexy'' (he stuffed a woman's cell phone down his pants during a great Mean Streets and she refused to take it back). But taken lightly it's still entertaining and Van Halen can still rock.
Malcolm X Abram can be reached at mabram@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3758.
It's been ''22 summers,'' to use David Lee Roth's parlance, since he and any iteration of Van Halen performed on the same stage.
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