Van Halen, Roth still the ones
October 15, 2007
By David Lindquist
Sixteen-year-old Wolfgang Van Halen played bass guitar and vocalist David Lee Roth had a new lease on celebrity life, but neither were the embodiment of youth during Sunday's Van Halen concert at Conseco Fieldhouse.
Guitarist Eddie Van Halen -- Wolfgang's dad -- radiated the most vim and vigor through a feel-good overview of the band's work spanning 1978 to 1984.
After opening number "You Really Got Me," Eddie rode herd during "I'm the One" -- daring Roth, Wolfgang and drumming brother Alex Van Halen to match the pace of his peeling licks and furious changes.
Left to answer for the forgettable experiment of Gary Cherone as the band's third vocalist and 2004's disjointed tour with second vocalist Sammy Hagar, Eddie is driven to succeed.
With feet planted firmly at the intersection of tenacity and technology, Eddie used his six-string companion to accomplish so many things.
He abused chords, pinched single notes with finesse, coaxed growling low tones, tapped fingertips on his fretboard, set grooves to strut and captured feedback to be repurposed any number of ways.
Unfolding roughly in chronological order, the program celebrated power and melody as constants of the Roth era.
The sweetest side of Van Halen was evident during a pairing of "Beautiful Girls" and "Dance the Night Away." "Everybody Wants Some" sounded adventurous 27 years later, thanks to Alex's tropical-forest thump and 3-D sonic spacing.
Strong suits of innuendo and laughs blended perfectly during "Hot for Teacher," which earned surging waves of adoration for Eddie Van Halen and Roth.
The guitarist and vocalist even embraced during "I'm the One," a somewhat convincing sign of reconciliation for musicians who last shared a stage in 1984. Nine dates into their 2007 tour, Eddie appears geared for the long haul.
Wolfgang is filling in for original bass player Michael Anthony, who has been ostracized because of ongoing work with Hagar. Wolfgang made the most of limited spotlights, most notably during the throbbing intro to "Running With the Devil."
Instead of singing lyrics, Roth implies more than his share. Meanwhile, his vaudeville flourishes aren't all that entertaining when restricted to brandishing top hats and sticking an audience member's cell phone down the front of his pants.
Roth was funniest when he kneeled down to pick up a cord and then followed it to its end as if he were a curious Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton.
The payoff arrived with an astonished look when Roth found the cord ended at Eddie's guitar -- but the entire audience of 12,000 knew that was the evening's prime source of power.
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Can we get ya on a concorde jet to O'Hare! Just in time for Happy Hour! 
