 "Photo: Andrew Mantilla / Staff Photographer")
Anyone worried that Van Halen had lost its edge or personality since the band first started in the late 70s should've attended Sunday's show at Cox Arena.
David Lee Roth is still the guy who wore ass-less chaps on stage. He's still the guy that would hit on your mother. He's still the guy that would shout "Take off that fat dress and get on the mattress" in the middle of a song.
If you know good music, especially amazing guitarists, then you know the story of Van Halen; if you don't, Google it, because this review doesn't need to be cluttered with a long historical explanation. Just know that Eddie Van Halen and David Lee Roth's egos shadow Cox Arena, and to see them performing on stage together again could be considered a miracle.
Sunday's show was a miracle in itself. Two hours of pure energy and jaw-dropping musicianship took place right on our campus.
One of Bob Marley's many offspring, Ky-Mani, opened the show. This was the definite low-point of the night. Ky-Mani is a typical Reggae artist playing typical Reggae music. He had one good song - "The March." The rest, recycled trash. After he finally got off the stage, it was time for what everyone was there to see.
Cox Arena is not the best place to see a concert, especially if there aren't many people there. The sound bounces off the back wall and creates an irritating reverb that can kill even the best concert. Luckily, Van Halen performed to a near full house, and the venue's acoustic deficiencies wouldn't interfere this show.
At 8:30 p.m., Eddie, Alex, David and new bassist, Eddie's son, Wolfgang, took the stage. Starting it off right with a short taste of the guitar solo that put Eddie on the map, "Eruption," that flowed into "You Really Got Me" easily let everyone know the band still has it.
The set ran the catalog of Van Halen's Roth days - playing standard hits such as "Running with the Devil" and "Hot for Teacher," as well as some of the less obvious tracks "Romeo Delight" and "Mean Street," among others. Everything a fan of the Roth era would want to hear was played to near perfection.
One of the big surprises of the night was 16-year-old, Wolfgang Van Halen, probably being held under the most scrutiny in that everybody loves to pick on a spoiled brat. Wolfgang didn't necessarily have big shoes to fill because when did anyone listen to Van Halen and think, "The bass player is amazing" - that's right, never.
Eddie treated the crowd to a medley of guitar solos spanning the early days of the band. Mixing the acoustic intro to "Little Guitars," with "Cathedral" and, of course, "Eruption," created a sort of name-that-solo game with the crowd. He would go back between pieces frequently and melded them into one amazing display of guitar-work that let the audience know over two decades of touring and rehab haven't slowed him a bit.
Roth is still as much of a cheese ball as he always was, and he wore an ear-to-ear smile the entire show. Even though he forgot the words to two songs during the set, his charm and personality saved him from anyone caring about it.
At one point during a song, he told a woman to give him her cell phone, which she was using to photograph the show. "Diamond Dave" then proceeded to shove the phone down the front of his pants and continued to perform. A few moments later, he retrieved the phone from his nether realm and tossed it back to the lady.
Hopefully she is smart and puts it on eBay; can you believe the amount of money you could pull in from some deranged person who would love to have Roth's "crotch phone" on their mantle?
Alex was stellar too, whipping out what sounded like a version of "Sunday Afternoon in the Park," a mostly drum solo off of "Fair Warning." Even in his old age he still makes it look too easy.
He and his brother Eddie are perfectly in tune with each other, as well as everyone else in the band. Roth and Eddie gave Page and Plant a run for their money in the dueling guitar and vocal department, with two "impromptu" battles.
I never thought I'd see Van Halen with Roth, and went into this show with the worst expectations, thinking how could they possibly still have it? Well, they did. They had it all, save for a few minor things, like Roth's vocal limitations most likely because of the aging process, but when it all came down to the end, Van Halen destroyed Cox Arena.
Take that, Beyoncé and Gwen.
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