ON WISCONSIN : LIVE : MUSIC & NIGHT LIFE : E-MAIL | PRINT THIS STORY
Van Halen plays by the numbers
By GEMMA TARLACH
Journal Sentinel pop music critic
Posted: Nov. 4, 2004
"Hot for Teacher?"
Advertisement
Nope.
"Runnin' with the Devil?"
Apparently only as far as the bank.
Van Halen, with its second most famous front man Sammy Hagar back in the fold, drew 6,500 to the Bradley Center Wednesday night for its signature hard rock, drawn mostly from the Hagar era of the band's catalog.
During a set that clocked in at nearly 21/2 hours, band members dutifully ticked off each item on their "to do" list: Michael Anthony performs smash 'n' bash solo on custom Jack Daniels bass then drinks from actual bottle of Jack. Check.
Alex Van Halen trots out lengthy but precise drum solo sans shirt. Check.
Hagar shows up shaggy-haired like a Muppet Gone Wild and repeatedly screeches how good it is to be in Milwaukee. Check.
"Best of Both Worlds," "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love," "Dreams." Check.
Run through generic new tunes such as "Up for Breakfast" to confirm rumors band has lost creative spark. Check.
And so on.
There was also, of course, some guitar playing by one Eddie Van Halen. Even with one artificial hip, Van Halen jumped and jigged and put on an athletic, joyful performance that showcased his still-impressive chops.
Except for that solo thing.
Excessive even by Van Halen standards, Eddie's formless noodling alone onstage stretched past the 15-minute mark and tried the patience of some fans, many of whom shouted "play a song already!" and other less printable things.
"Have a (expletive) sense of humor, will ya?" Van Halen told one vexed fan in the front row as his guitar wankery continued, apparently forgetting the fan had paid to hear something other than endless pentatonic scales.
Not to be outdone in the self-indulgence category, Hagar also had time alone on stage. The Red Rocker certainly showed chutzpah for strapping on a guitar in the same show as Eddie freakin' Van Halen, but his rough vocals and rudimentary fretwork on "Eagles Fly" and "I Can't Drive 55" were in no danger of stealing the show.
On show opener "Jump," Hagar also took liberties with the vocal line, either to hide a shortened range that became evident later in the evening or to distance his version of the song from the original, featuring David Lee Roth. During the encores, Hagar pulled a similar stunt with the other Roth-era songs "You Really Got Me" and "Panama," even handing the mic to an overeager fan to deliver the latter's most famous lines.
Reply With Quote
