Continuing our theme of letting the people have their say, I asked a couple of folks who went to Monday night's on-again-off-again Van Halen show in Raleigh to file reports. Click on through to see those; and if you went, feel free to add yours to the "Comments" section. Also, my review of the show last September in Greensboro is linked from here.
It's been 30 years since I sat in the back of my teenage friend's 1969 Mustang and really, REALLY heard Van Halen's "Runnin' With the Devil" for the first time — the way it's meant to be heard, blasting from car stereo speakers.
It was so good it hurt. My head was already hurting from that quart of Schlitz Malt Liquor I'd just slammed against my still-delicate 15-year-old digestive and neuro systems, but that's another story.
But back to "the way it's meant to be heard." On second thought, 30 years later, that's just one way it's meant to be heard. You gotta see these guys live.
And I did, finally, Monday night at Raleigh's RBC Center. Even up in the cheap-seat, third-level nosebleed section where I was crammed, the band reached me like I was standing right in front of the stage, basking in that glorious aura of ego that emanates from singer/master of ceremonies David Lee Roth.
These guys are the most likable practitioners of male-ego-rock in the history of an otherwise insufferable genre. The main mitigating factor, of course, is guitar genius Eddie Van Halen, who revolutionized the instrument, and he lived up to his legend Monday.
But seeing Roth front the group live reinforced for me how much he revolutionized heavy metal, making it not only more good-naturedly girl-friendly, but more family-friendly as well (and yes, there were a lot of 40-and-50-something dads there with wife and kids in tow).
On his own, he's a dismissable annoyance. But reunited with the band that made him famous, Roth is a fantastic, supremely engaging rock performer. He did his kicks and sang with gusto. He twirled a baton spectacularly during "Jump." He rode a giant inflatable microphone like a 1970s-era Mick Jagger riding a giant phallus. He injected some lyrics from The Who's "Magic Bus" into a jammy "Somebody Get Me a Doctor."
He told a funny, endearing anecdote about partying in California during that era. He put his mug right in the cameras to project on the giant screen, making you feel like he's talking right to YOU buddy, and you're going to get some leg tonight forrrrr suuuuure.
He also surprised the audience with heretofore unknown acoustic guitar skills in the intro of "Ice Cream Man." When the band slammed into that one, as well as a ferocious "Hot For Teacher," the summer anthem "Dance The Night Away" and just about every classic you'd want to hear including "Panama," "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" and the list goes on, I shouted and sang along with thousands of other fans who remembered.
I was 15 again, and loving it. Only this time, the big beer I slammed was purchased with non-bogus ID. Score!
-- Danny Hooley
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Overall, considering the age of the group and the circumstances that got them here last night, I think they did a good job. The upside was that we got to hear some old classic "brown sound" VH that we would have never heard performed with Sammy -- songs like "So This Is Love?," "Romeo Delight," "Little Dreamer" (my personal fav of the night), "Atomic Punk," "Mean Street," "And the Cradle Will Rock." I couldn't help wishing we could have heard those tunes played between the years 1985 to 2007. But as Dave said last night, "Better late than never."
Dave was in good form. He looked and acted liked he was 15 years younger onstage. His roundhouse kicks were a little on the stiff side, but nice effort either way. The campy top hats, mic-stand twirling, karate moves and Napolean act were to be expected. You kind of take it all with a "grain of Dave." Over the years, his old classic multi-phonic screams have turned into barkish, hoarse gurgles, but he still attempts a couple here and there. He gave a nice, sentimental story regarding the birth of the song "Ice Cream Man," which I thought was really more fitting someone his age and the age of the crowd. I guess I've seen the old act for so long that it was really refreshing to hear a "true" history lesson from him between songs. It's the living-legend status and the no-holds-barred lifestyle that that still makes him worth the price of admission, so it was nice for him to open up a window into his past and let us in for a brief moment. I think that's why his book, though poorly written, was still a top seller.
Eddie looked better than in some of the previous YouTube horror videos I'd seen prior to last night's show. He was smiling and seemed like his old self, and he and Wolfie were hitting the background vocals spot on. He didn't seem to venture out of his pocket much, however (the four foot square area around his footboard), so it seemed a little like he may still be having some health issues (but that's just my humble opinion). Let's face it, he's not 20 anymore, so to expect him to slide across the stage on his knees on a cocaine-induced energy high is probably a stretch. His solos were textbook -- all patchwork from previous years with little improv, but solid Eddie either way. One of the more interesting points of the night was when a crazed fan rushed the stage and gave Eddie a big "I love you man!" bear hug which Eddie endured with grace until Dave turned around and gave the guy a karate chop to the head (knocking off his hat), just as the dumbfounded security guards rushed the stage and yanked him off. It's funny that Eddie shuffled his feet a little more after that happened. Something out of the routine, maybe?
Alex performed accordingly. He looked a little on the tired and road-weary side but still laid down the signature double bass drum licks all night long with little effort. His solo was patchwork from previous years and a bit rushed, but again considering age...
Overall, Wolfie did a nice job as a newbie to the stage. He doesn't hold one's attention like his father did at around his age, but it's hard to hold a candle to the man who reinvented (along with Hendrix) how the electric guitar was played. He looks a bit big and goofy onstage at times, but I think, for his maiden rock voyage across America, he did a decent job of trying to fill Michael Anthony's shoes. I must admit that I missed Michael Anthony's vocals, spins, jogging in place, hammer fists on the bass, whiskey spits, cheezy bass solos, etc. I also thought that there was some bottom end missing at times because Wolfie was improvising with the bass lines some (going up octaves, etc.). Michael Anthony was all about solid bottom end, so I felt that was a minus. It was neat to see Eddie onstage with his son, but VH is not VH without Michael Anthony.
The lights and effects were standard fare. The sound was a little shaky at times -- vox too low at times, strange mixing issues, and overall ear-piercing. But again, positive overall.
To sum up, it was nice to see Dave and Eddie onstage together again, even if it was 20 years too late. The two have run away from each other for so long and pointed the blame finger at each other for every reason known to man. I'm glad that, for whatever reason, they were able to mature emotionally enough to move on and make some music together again.
-- Carl Blackwell
News & Observer music critic David Menconi's random (and we do mean
random) musings about all things related to music and culture of the
"popular" variety.
