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These reunited rockers are still a little rusty
July 2, 2004
Eddie Van Halen paused in the middle of his guitar solo Thursday night at Verizon Wireless Music Center to tell the audience of 13,500 that he was having a good time.
He then added candidly, "I don't have a clue what I'm doing."
These remarks reflected the highs and lows of the 15-minute solo showcase. It was less than precise and mostly offered bombast where technique and tone would have impressed.
But when he finally arrived at "Eruption" -- the most distinctive guitar composition in rock history -- there was cathartic victory.
In turn, the 15-minute solo was a microcosm of his band's two-hour concert. The Van Halen reunion show, featuring Sammy Hagar on vocals, veered between the dismal and the sublime.
This time, the pressure isn't on Hagar, whose first stint in the band ran from 1985 to 1996. He's been putting out albums and touring during the past eight years.
Eddie is the man on the spot. Following a weakly received album and tour featuring Gary Cherone on vocals in the late 1990s, the guitarist has been out of the public eye while battling oral cancer, undergoing hip-replacement surgery and splitting from wife Valerie Bertinelli.
His playing revealed too much rust to ignore on Thursday. Disjointed riffs and missed cues derailed opening number "Jump." On follow-up "Runaround," 56-year-old Hagar and 49-year-old Van Halen paid more attention to onstage pranks than to the song.
Fortunately, new tune "Up for Breakfast" soon helped the band straighten up. While it's a basic boogie, the linear and squealing guitar segment returned Van Halen to his "hero" pedestal.
For the rest of the night, Hagar pushed memories of the band's original vocalist, David Lee Roth, to the background. Van Halen always provided a sunny side to hard rock, and Hagar's renditions of "Best of Both Worlds," "Top of the World" and "Why Can't This Be Love" upheld that legacy.
In addition to Eddie's solo, the concert included showcases for Michael Anthony on bass and Alex Van Halen on drums.
The drum clinic was top-notch, as Alex moved from understated jazz percussion to a thundering blowout of call-and-response audience participation.
For Van Halen, this night had too many small-time moments. Or perhaps too much mortality when we were expecting rock gods.
Fans who paid $92.50 for pavilion seats may have felt stung by the performance. For those who grabbed discounted lawn tickets for $25 (plus $10 worth of free food), the price probably was right.
The price was right at $25.00 says it all!!
Eddie Van Halen paused in the middle of his guitar solo Thursday night at Verizon Wireless Music Center to tell the audience of 13,500 that he was having a good time.
He then added candidly, "I don't have a clue what I'm doing."
These remarks reflected the highs and lows of the 15-minute solo showcase. It was less than precise and mostly offered bombast where technique and tone would have impressed.
But when he finally arrived at "Eruption" -- the most distinctive guitar composition in rock history -- there was cathartic victory.
In turn, the 15-minute solo was a microcosm of his band's two-hour concert. The Van Halen reunion show, featuring Sammy Hagar on vocals, veered between the dismal and the sublime.
This time, the pressure isn't on Hagar, whose first stint in the band ran from 1985 to 1996. He's been putting out albums and touring during the past eight years.
Eddie is the man on the spot. Following a weakly received album and tour featuring Gary Cherone on vocals in the late 1990s, the guitarist has been out of the public eye while battling oral cancer, undergoing hip-replacement surgery and splitting from wife Valerie Bertinelli.
His playing revealed too much rust to ignore on Thursday. Disjointed riffs and missed cues derailed opening number "Jump." On follow-up "Runaround," 56-year-old Hagar and 49-year-old Van Halen paid more attention to onstage pranks than to the song.
Fortunately, new tune "Up for Breakfast" soon helped the band straighten up. While it's a basic boogie, the linear and squealing guitar segment returned Van Halen to his "hero" pedestal.
For the rest of the night, Hagar pushed memories of the band's original vocalist, David Lee Roth, to the background. Van Halen always provided a sunny side to hard rock, and Hagar's renditions of "Best of Both Worlds," "Top of the World" and "Why Can't This Be Love" upheld that legacy.
In addition to Eddie's solo, the concert included showcases for Michael Anthony on bass and Alex Van Halen on drums.
The drum clinic was top-notch, as Alex moved from understated jazz percussion to a thundering blowout of call-and-response audience participation.
For Van Halen, this night had too many small-time moments. Or perhaps too much mortality when we were expecting rock gods.
Fans who paid $92.50 for pavilion seats may have felt stung by the performance. For those who grabbed discounted lawn tickets for $25 (plus $10 worth of free food), the price probably was right.
The price was right at $25.00 says it all!!
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