Monday, February 11, 2008
Music news Van Halen's trip down memory lane
Posted by Scott Freeman on Mon, Feb 11, 2008 at 9:47 PM
REAPPEARING ACT: David Lee Roth (left) works his mojo at the Van Halen show Sunday, Feb. 10, at Philips Arena.
(All photos by Perry Julien. See more below the jump.)
A few conclusions from Sunday night’s Van Halen concert at Philips Arena:
- David Lee Roth is one campy dude.
- Wolfgang Van Halen may only be 16 years old, but he’s a helluva bass player.
- His father, Eddie Van Halen, is still a guitar god.
- After years of acrimony between Roth and the rest of Van Halen, they really seemed to be enjoying themselves.
The band performed to a sold-out crowd in Atlanta, opening with “You Really Got Me†and closing with its best-known song, “Jump.†My seat was about 10 rows from the stage, and nobody sat down from the opening notes until the final song. The crowd was primarily baby boomers, many of whom brought their kids to see one of the definitive bands of a bygone era.
David Lee Roth sported a six-pack of abs, and wore an open shirt to show them off. And Eddie Van Halen -- still skinny after all these years -- stayed shirtless for the entire show. The two former adversaries seemed to revel in being on the same stage again. Roth was often pure camp with his top hats and the exaggerated grin of a Vegas showman, but he was in fine voice and it was a charge to see the original band (plus Wolfgang) back together again.
One of the highlights came when the other band members left the stage and Eddie Van Halen performed a long solo that led into “Eruption.†But two-thirds of the way through, the P.A. system went out. Van Halen gamely played on, then stopped as the crowd began to applaud and chant, “Eddie! Eddie! Eddie!â€
The P.A. was out for a good five minutes before it suddenly came on again, and Van Halen launched into “Eruption.†Then came the closing songs, “Panama†and “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love.â€
To my left, a twentysomething female sat in her seat the entire concert with a look on her face that could have been a reaction to a bad smell. Every time I glanced over, she was the picture of boredom. Her hapless boyfriend seemed eager to enjoy the concert -- he even had his cell phone camera out -- but her gloom dampened his enthusiasm.
For the rest of the crowd, it was a joyful trip down memory lane. The show concluded with just about everyone in the building singing along with “Jump†as a blizzard of confetti came down from the rafters.
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