Tweet
Diamond Dave entertains the lumpen masses like it was 1984
June 27 2003
A revealing look at David Lee Roth
While it's not difficult to imagine how David Lee Roth has kept his groin so limber over the years, the feast of scissor kicks unleashed at the Orpheum last week was impressive nonetheless.
Not only because of the former Van Halen front man's age, which has officially entered the "creepy uncle" years, but because of the tightness of Roth's leather pants, which made his, ahem, Jewish heritage abundantly clear to anyone in the first 10 rows.
His martial arts-inspired rock moves bordered on Tai Chi at times and his bleached-out hair was a shell of its former self, but Diamond Dave and his Marshall-powered cover band managed to dish out some well-oiled shrieks, guitar wankery and much-appreciated nostalgia for a time when bandannas and black T-shirts with long white sleeves ruled the PNE Coliseum.
After kicking off the proceedings with an spirited rendition of "Hot for Teacher," Roth and his band of ringers ripped through Van Halen's back catalogue of hits, Roth's more recognizable solo tunes and one unremarkable new song from a new album nobody will buy.
When he wasn't firing off the hits, Roth, as usual, massaged the audience with sexual innuendoes and Las Vegas-style lounge-lizard banter: "call me Daddy" here, a suggestive spray of Jack Daniels there. All in a night's work for the hardest-working Van Halen member in show biz. Even when a chubby, middle-aged devotee was hauled off by security for jumping on stage, Roth didn't miss a beat, introducing the man as his replacement in Van Halen, Sammy Hagar.
Almost as entertaining was the audience itself, which included whiskey-howling rockers, young guys in ironic mullet wigs and one notable scantily clad, dog collar-wearing soccer mom who kept her preschool-aged son on a leash.
From beach balls to smoke machines and an encore with the biggest hit ("Jump") saved for last, just about every clich‚ in the book was trucked out. And, as in a well-choreographed play, the cast fulfilled its roles with calculated abandon.
There may have been few surprises in David Lee Roth's rock and roll revival, apart from the leather pants, but for sheer fun and entertainment value-sheer being the operative word, here-few went home disappointed.
A revealing look at David Lee Roth
While it's not difficult to imagine how David Lee Roth has kept his groin so limber over the years, the feast of scissor kicks unleashed at the Orpheum last week was impressive nonetheless.
Not only because of the former Van Halen front man's age, which has officially entered the "creepy uncle" years, but because of the tightness of Roth's leather pants, which made his, ahem, Jewish heritage abundantly clear to anyone in the first 10 rows.
His martial arts-inspired rock moves bordered on Tai Chi at times and his bleached-out hair was a shell of its former self, but Diamond Dave and his Marshall-powered cover band managed to dish out some well-oiled shrieks, guitar wankery and much-appreciated nostalgia for a time when bandannas and black T-shirts with long white sleeves ruled the PNE Coliseum.
After kicking off the proceedings with an spirited rendition of "Hot for Teacher," Roth and his band of ringers ripped through Van Halen's back catalogue of hits, Roth's more recognizable solo tunes and one unremarkable new song from a new album nobody will buy.
When he wasn't firing off the hits, Roth, as usual, massaged the audience with sexual innuendoes and Las Vegas-style lounge-lizard banter: "call me Daddy" here, a suggestive spray of Jack Daniels there. All in a night's work for the hardest-working Van Halen member in show biz. Even when a chubby, middle-aged devotee was hauled off by security for jumping on stage, Roth didn't miss a beat, introducing the man as his replacement in Van Halen, Sammy Hagar.
Almost as entertaining was the audience itself, which included whiskey-howling rockers, young guys in ironic mullet wigs and one notable scantily clad, dog collar-wearing soccer mom who kept her preschool-aged son on a leash.
From beach balls to smoke machines and an encore with the biggest hit ("Jump") saved for last, just about every clich‚ in the book was trucked out. And, as in a well-choreographed play, the cast fulfilled its roles with calculated abandon.
There may have been few surprises in David Lee Roth's rock and roll revival, apart from the leather pants, but for sheer fun and entertainment value-sheer being the operative word, here-few went home disappointed.
Comment