Van Halen often surprises you – they’ve successful pulled off lead singer switching, and have gone years without any news then pop up for a new release and full fledged tour catching most off guard. The later happened this spring with a few dormant years, followed by the release of Tokyo Dome and announcement of a summer tour.
The bar for their recent stop in Tampa was set low – anyone who has listened to the live release knows David Lee Roth struggles to hit the notes and talks instead of sings some songs. Instead, the show turned out to be the band’s most powerful and energetic compared to previous tours since reuniting with Roth in 2008.
While David Lee Roth may not be able to sing as he used to, his showmanship combined with musicianship of Alex Van Halen on drums, Wolfgang’s impressive bass skills, and of course the Eddie Van Halen proved to make for a great night. The lackluster singing, and sometimes over the top showmanship, turned out to be only a small, and at times forgettable, negative.
With nothing more than a second pause, if that, between songs, the band plowed through the two hour set like a freight train. While Roth certainly knows how to work the crowd as a showman, his antics came close to ruining the vibe a few too many times. Sure, the first few time he made jokes about his previous “dating” escapades it was entertaining, but quickly almost every other song’s breakdown turned into a two or three minute story or self-fulling joke (or the show’s only low point – a five minute story about meeting his idol James Brown that preceded “Ice Cream Man”). But sometimes you just wanted to say “Dave, shut up, and let’s rock!”
For all the drama that has come with the lead singers of Van Halen, whether you are on Roth’s side, think the band should be called Van Hagar, or believe Gary Cherone wasn’t given a fair shake (anyone?), what truly makes the band is the music. Wolfgang, Eddie’s son/Alex’s nephew, has really come into his own with his stage presence, bass playing, and even background vocals (that unfortunately Roth didn’t always sing along to). Perhaps overshadowed by his brother, Alex’s drum skills as equally as impressive as his larger than life kit (seriously- sometimes hard to see there was a guy behind all those drums).
Guitar solo? That’s usually the signal for a bathroom break, at a Van Halen show it is pinnacle point the crowd came to see. All smiles, jumping around the stage, and acting as proud dad fist bumping and soloing with his son, Eddie never looked or sounded better. His guitar playing was spot-on and featured added touches to the already impressive solos everyone knows from the albums.
While so fans may hate Sammy Hagar, it is hard to see the band on stage and not hear any of the Hagar-era material. A Hagar-led show mixes both eras giving fans the best of both worlds – pun intended. However, to look at the positive, for a band with the number of hits, and fan favorite deep cuts, only selecting from half your catalog means there will be deeper cuts in the set – which there was many mixed into the show (including show opener “Light Up The Sky”).
With the energy and the music getting better each tour – fans have to be excited for the future of Van Halen. You just have to hope that if Roth is the guy moving forward he finds a way to work out his vocal issues. Or you wonder how long before Eddie or Alex get sick of Dave’s jokes.
The veteran blues-slinger Kenny Wanye Shepard opened the show providing a real treat for any guitarist in the crowd. His set featured a mixture of his well known blues hits, mixed with covers including a high energy “Vodoo Child(Slight Return)” cover to end his set.
