Just for kicks: Former Van Halen front man gives fans young and old a chance to dance the night away
By Carolyn Lamberson
The Register-Guard
Published: Saturday, August 20, 2005
David Lee Roth is 49 years old. His days as lead singer of a mega-selling arena rock band are 20 years behind him.
But the former Van Halen front man still knows how to have a good time. And how to look good doing it.
Roth mined the vast catalog of Van Halen hits for his show Friday night at the Lane County Fair. His trademark mane of blond hair is kept short these days, and only a few wrinkles and the hint of a bald spot would betray his age. He still sports a trim build, and made a point of showing off his sculpted arms. In many ways, he seemed like the David Lee Roth that fans have been listening to since Van Halen came on the scene in 1978.
In his 17-song, 90-minute set, it was one big hit after another, interspersed with some of the highlights of his solo career. "Hot for Teacher," "Runnin' With the Devil," "You Really Got Me," "Jamie's Crying," "Panama," "Dance the Night Away" and "Ice Cream Man" all found a place in the set. So did solo hits "Just Like Paradise," "California Girls" and "Just a Gigolo."
The crowd of 2,000, which covered a wide age range but seemed to average in the late 30s and early 40s, was on board from the get-go, climbing to their feet as soon as "Diamond Dave" took the stage to perform Van Halen's "Hot for Teacher."
Lesa Eastman, 39, and Don Stillman, 41, both of Springfield, had seats in the third row. They described themselves as big Van Halen fans who were keen to see Roth in action.
"Just to see if he still has his moves, because, God knows, I don't," Stillman said before the show.
It seems Roth still did have the moves. Throughout the concert, he showed off that famous reverse twist kick move of his. A man in constant motion, he paced the stage, leaping into the air, flirting with the crowd.
"Don't stick your tongue out at me unless you're going to use it," he chided one fan.
He certainly wasn't afraid to play it a bit raunchy, either. He dropped the f-bomb midway through the first song, which probably didn't please many parents who had brought along their young children to the show. Jane Holloway, the fair's marketing manager, said Roth was reminded during a break in the set that the fair is a family venue, and was asked to clean up the language.
Which he mostly did, and instead told some tales about the two summers he spent as a kid working on a ranch in Bend, and how he remembered coming to "this state fair." (No one corrected him).
It seems he had been to the fairgrounds before: Eastman remembers seeing Van Halen at the fairgrounds sometime in the early '80s (the exact year escaped her).
"It was the second concert I'd ever been to," she said. "I got the drumstick, and I was so thrilled."
Drumsticks aside, when it comes to all things Van Halen, Jeff Butler, 42, and Greg McKenney, 41, are the guys to check with. Butler figures he's seen Van Halen 20 times; McKenney puts his attendance at 15. On Friday, they were in the front row.
"This is our generation's music," McKenney said. "They don't make music for our generation anymore. All that rap and hip-hop, we hate it."
Butler even traveled to the Gorge Amphitheatre in Washington four years ago to see Roth play with the other former lead singer of Van Halen, Sammy Hagar. What keeps bringing fans like these out to see Roth alone, without his ex-Van Halen bandmates? Roth's charisma.
"He's a great front man," Butler said. "He added a lot to the early days of Van Halen."
Roth concluded the night with "Jump," the big Van Halen hit from "1984." As the song zoomed toward the end, Roth sported a big smile. "Let me see your hands!" he shouted, and most of his fans complied, clapping with the beat over their heads. "Thank you, Oregon!" And with a bow, he and his band were gone.
Renee Green, 22, and Alan Torres, 21, are two younger fans who had a blast.
"It was awesome," Green said. "He has so much energy."
Torres added, "I'm going to go home, have a beer and jump around a lot."
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