Review by Robert Stoltz - z3@jps.net

At the age of 10, I saw Ringling Brothers’ three-ring circus at the Cow Palace in San Francisco. Later that year, while visiting my grandmother in Oregon, I saw the same circus act but in a much smaller venue. That smaller venue did not do the show justice at all.

Seeing the mighty David Lee Roth as an opening act, performing on a postage stamp size stage, likewise, does not do the man justice. In fact, it is an insult to him as well as to his fans. Rock n’ roll’s head cheerleader simply has far too much stage presence to be confined like a caged lion and limited to just one hour of show time. But us diehard Van Halen fans will take what we can get these days. (And apparently, so will Roth.)

Wrapped in a vacuum-packed, bright orange-and-yellow-striped body suit, Roth looked in better shape than most men half his age. Though he is a bit slower on his toes and his karate kicks are not as high as they once were, he can back me up in a street fight anytime. And at 45 years old, the guy still kicks major ass. And he knows it. For example, during the middle of “Jump,” Roth, with an amazing display of dexterity, spun a four-foot-long chrome baton in true martial arts fashion to the delight of his longtime fans. The exhibition brought back memories of the 1984 Van Halen tour when Roth’s martial arts solo shared the spotlight with Edward’s keyboard solo (ah, the good ol’ days...).

Roth’s set list varied none from the previous dozen-plus shows, unfortunately. Because the Sacramento concert was the band’s last stop on their 22-city U.S. tour, there was speculation that fans would be treated to something out of the ordinary; but such was not the case. Nonetheless, the David Lee Roth Band put on a near-perfect show.

Roth reached deep into the diamond mine to pull out some classic Van Halen gems, but the show could have rocked a little bit harder in my opinion. “I’m The One,” “Outta Love Again” or “Romeo Delight” would have been nice to hear again with Roth at the helm. And the addition of “Me Wise Magic” would have updated the set list nicely. But these complaints are minor.

The sound mix, better than most concerts I’ve attended at the same venue, was topped only by the musicianship of Roth’s finely tuned band. Closing my eyes, I felt as though I were listening to a kick ass stereo blasting out Van Halen CDs. And that is my only major overall complaint about the show -- it sounded *too* close to the thing at times. Guitarist Bart Walsh, freshly plucked from the DLR-era Van Halen tribute band “Atomic Punks,” duplicated *exactly* the vinyl version of Edward Van Halen chops, riffs, and squeals. It would have been nice if Walsh added some of his own style to his own playing. This variance would have given the concert more of a “live” sound, rather than the studied sound of a Van Halen cover band (albeit an excellent one). When guitarist Steve Vai toured with Roth a decade ago, Vai managed to improvise on Edward’s style without ruining any of the classic Van Halen tunes. Vai also had the wisdom (and the star power) to not incorporate “Eruption” ! or anything remotely close to it into his guitar solo. Walsh, however, chose to play “Eruption” note for note on stage, something Edward hasn’t even performed (note for note) since the late 70s. A masterful display of Walsh’s talent without a doubt, but hearing another Roth-penned Van Halen song in its place would have been a better crowd pleaser. There is only one musician who should play “Eruption” in front of a paying audience and we all know who that man is.

Watching the off-stage Dave (during Walsh’s guitar solo) slip into the larger-than-life on-stage Dave was interesting: The veteran rocker has all the body moves, facial expressions, forgotten lyrics and vulgarity memorized like a well-rehearsed script. (Yet oddly enough, it seemed to take David Lee a few songs to really get into his own show. During the first 15 minutes or so he seemed almost seemed bored, somewhat tired of the whole rock n’ roll routine.) The fans, on the other hand, couldn’t get enough.

The remaining members of the original Van Halen claim that Roth’s voice isn’t what it used to be and that he took several weeks to lay down the vocal tracks for the two new songs on Van Halen’s 1997 “Best Of” compilation CD. That assertion is a bit hard to believe given Roth’s superb Sacramento performance. His voice sounded as good as it did in 1978 (although some of the high screams, yelps and yells were handled by bassist Todd Jensen this time around). Overall, Roth sang with sincere enthusiasm and attitude, two elements sorely needed in rock music today. In short, he gave a top notch vocal and physical performance.

Last year Van Halen fans listened to hired gun Gary Cherone manning the mic (on the “Daveless Dave-era” tour); this year fans listened to hired gun Bart Walsh slinging the six string. Each show left fans pleading for the real deal. Unfortunately, these shows are as close as it will probably ever get. Hopefully, next time out Roth will get the top billing he deserves. David Lee Roth is Van Halen music you cannot kill.

Side Note about Bad Company: Watching Bad Company perform (and I use the word loosely) was like taking a day trip to the zoo to stare at a family of three-toed sloths. To say the band was boring would be to compliment them. As I watched people leaving their seats, I felt a though I were witnessing a Billy Graham crusade. Except that these concert goers were not rushing the arena floor to be saved by the grace of God, they were thanking God they didn’t have to sit through Bad Company’s entire set. In 20 years of concerts, I have never seen a more boring headlining act. David Lee Roth should have karate kicked their lethargic asses and finished the set for them!

Ha! Ha! Ha! That was a great party!!! F' Eddie! If you didn't like this show, then you just don't like to party!

The crowd at the ARCO Arena was awesome! Standing. Fists slamming the air above them. Singing along with the lyrics. On "Runnin' With The Devil" so many people were singing every word (verses, not just the chorus), that I thought it was 1984 and I was back in NY at MSG (the only time I saw classic VH live). "Little Guitars", "Mean Street", "So This Is Love?", etc. all killer!!!

I also saw the June 30th, MA show and I was suprised that no one mentioned the most hilarious moment. During "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love," Dave was at the right side of the stage twirling his microphone in front him, when a slim, healthy looking blonde came on up and grabbed hold of it. Dave thrusted into her happy hand for a good 30 seconds. The crowd exploded!

So, Mr. Van Halen doesn't want to reunite VH. Do a huge, sold-out world tour. Make millions of fans ecstatically happy. Mr. Van Halen wants to keep writing lame music. Wants to continue to work with horrible singers. He says he doesn't want to look back, eh? But then he agrees to a Best Of album and does a world tour that was 60% Dave-tunes. And he goes and hires the worst singer in the business to f' them up. What should Dave do? Why not do a reunion tour without the reunion, and do the old tunes, that VHIII is butchering, justice? And that is precisely what he's doing!

This a classic Van Halen tour! Eddie refused to come out of his bathroom for it, so we had to leave him at home. Later!

The show is not like hearing a cover band, like some have said. I saw a cover band play The Doors' "The End" last month. The music starts and it sounds like The Doors, you hear the words and you recognize them, but that ain't no Jim Morrison singing. Van Halen III on tour is a coverband and Mr. Cherone is no Diamond Dave. Diamond Dave singing right before you is the real deal! It is his voice on the albums and his voice you are hearing filling your ears, live!

In a week or two I'll be getting the June 24th Wash, DC show on video (3rd Gen)! Let me know if any other video footage turns up!

This tour is Diamond Dave's gift to the fans. Thanks for a classic Van Halen show one more time, Dave! Van Halen could have been as big as The Rolling Stones and Aerosmith by now, if Eddie didn't kill it in 1985. He has been saying that Dave can't do it anymore. Eddie has now been proven wrong! When he stays in his range, he certainly can! Edwardo, think you can grow your balls back and rock hard again??? Millions of people are waiting!

DLR is the man! I really wonder about some of these reviewers and their agendas. You want an honest review, you got it.

Dave has finally figured out that his fans only want to hear his classic material. Therefore, the show is about 85% VH & 15% solo since no one is interested in his lounge act. Thank god he woke up. I have every VH video bootleg I've ever heard about, and Dave sings better now than on any of them with the exception of the Oakland Fair Warning footage. Of course, he's going to have his off and on nights, but if you really pay atttention, he can still sing it all.

The problem is that he tries these little yelps and screams which are uncharacteristic and make it sound like he's lost his scream. There were a couple of times when he went for it and nailed the classic Roth scream (like the recorded ending of "Everybody Wants Some"). I can't figure out the VH brothers beef with his voice, because it was worse in the early 80's. Dave also puts 99% of current performers to shame. A lot of groups may have better singers, but no one has a frontman like DLR. His energy is what is greatly missing from live rock shows today.

As for his band, Ray Luzier is by far one of the most talented drummers I have seen in a long time. I highly doubt there is anything Alex could teach him. Great showman, singer, and drummer. Besides Dave, he was the most entertaining to watch. Todd Jensen is an excellent singer and did a great job with the high harmonies, unfortunately, you couldn't hear much of his bass playing and his flock of seagulls look isn't very rock & roll.

Bart walsh does an impressive job executing all of Eddie's parts. Dave wanted someone to cop Ed note for note, and for the most part, Bart does it very well. Anyone who blames Bart for playing Eruption and the other songs note for note is forgetting that Dave is the boss and those musicians do exactly as he says. However, Bart could step up and really show some presence onstage rather than remaining back by his amps.

This show is a definite must-see. The more fans see Dave, the more they will demand the reunion. Maybe someday!! If not, hopefully Dave will headline future shows. Thanks for the great evening.

Hot For Teacher
Panama
Little Guitars
Dance The Night Away
Mean Street
Runnin' With The Devil
Eruption
You Really Got Me
So This Is Love?
Yankee Rose
Tobacco Road
Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
Unchained

Jump

DLR Solo: 02
Van Halen: 12

Total: 14

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