Review by Chuck Biczak - cbiczak99@aol.com

The essence of this show was very similar to the Philadelphia show that I reviewed, so I'll focus this review on the differences:

1. Dave: The man rocked the house again. His voice was great - it was one of the few things you could hear through the poor sound system. There were a few more songs, such as Little Dreamer, Atomic Punk, Pretty Woman, Ice Cream Man, Everybody Wants Some!! The band was tight.
2. Bart Walsh: Bart seemed a lot more relaxed at this show than in Philly. He was great, hitting everything note-for-note and having a lot of fun. He especially seemed to enjoy playing Atomic Punk. He had a little more stage presence than in Philly, as well. I'm hoping that I can hear some of his original work on the next DLR album because this guy can play guitar - period.
3. Venue: The show was in a large club called CPI's. The club atmosphere allowed you to get pretty close to Dave, but the crowd was huge - it was tough for me to estimate how many people were there because I could barely move. CPI's did an adequate job of containing the drunks, but there were still a few fights and other garbage. The sound system was not as good as I would have hoped from such a small venue. In fact, the sound was better at the outdoor venue! If you're going to any of the other shows on this leg of the tour, take this advice: get there early and don't drink too much because you don't want to be walking back and forth all night through huge crowds.

Overall, it was a fantastic show. Thanks, Dave!

Being one of the most loyal followers since the beginning of Van Halen's career, I was counting the days until David Lee was coming to the "Hamptons" to end the summer season with a BANG! Well, he Banged the place alright! It was the kind of show that made the hair on the back of your neck stand up and gave you goose bumps when the first chord of a classic old VH tune cranked out!

Daves voice whaled! His pipes are tuned-up and smooth as silk. Even while drinking from a bottle of Jack, he just kept motoring through the tunes like he did back in 1981! The biggest club in the Hamptons that normally caters to 2,500 never ending party-goers on a usual Saturday night got thrusted into hyperspace by the powers of Diamond Dave. From a totally critical, musical, and educated fan, this show was awesome!!!!!

O.k. - I have to say that I wanted to hear a classic era "Dave", but expected him to not quite be able to compete with his younger self...I was pleasantly disappointed - HE ABSOLUTELY ROCKED!!!!

He showed no signs of vocal fatigue and nailed every note that came out of his mouth - including the response to a couple of hecklers, who he easily put in their place. Dave told a bunch of stories and jokes and kept it lively - everyone in the crowd was excited to see him in top form. I'll go as far as saying he may be better than some of his more youthful days - again, he totally blew me away with how he delivered the songs. Not always "album perfect reproductions"; he took liberty with many of the melodies - not to the point that the songs were unrecognizable, but added his blues and jazz influences in there and that just brought it home...you could tell he listened to a LOT of music and had a lot to draw on. - it was very musical.

Then he was also "David Lee Roth" - he had his eye and chat on some fine women in the audience who were totally drawn into his schtick - very funny at times - he had everyone crackin' up. I might also mention that there was A LOT of people there; the place was absolutely packed! He also was in shape - spinnin', kickin', jumpin', and prancin' around - dancin' up a storm.

The band rocked. Bart did his thing (or rather "Ed's" thing) very well. Todd and Ray locked - both on their instruments and vocally backing up Dave - they *grooved* real hard! You couldn't help from dancing to their groove, which was totally kool - everybody dancing to this pounding hard and heavy music. They laid back on the beat which held that solid groove - not so typical of VH - they tend to pump up the tempos live - neither is better or worse, just different energies, both are kool.

My overall impression leaving the show was that it was great to see Dave *really* kick ass. He had a smile on his face the whole time and really appreciated everyone appreciating the music - you know HE appreciates the MUSIC and still enjoys playing those songs. One could see that he was trying to prove to VH, the fans, and himself that he still had it, and you know he worked hard at getting himself back in shape - that packed house (and I) would all be in agreement that he is back and still has a lot left in him.

It is just a goddamn shame that true bullshit and egotism have to get in the way of some excellent, excellent music. Not just "playin' the old tunes" again, but moving forward and really kickin' ass and raising the stakes a little, ya know what I mean??

One of the best live performances I've ever seen. Dynamic, energetic and just plain fun, DLR still gives his all!!! The hour and forty minute show was the most fun I've had in a long time and certainly blew away the "new" VH I saw in '98 at Jones Beach, NY.

Dave rocked the place to it's foundation. Incredible show!

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?
(Oh) Pretty Woman
Little Dreamer
Atomic Punk
Ice Cream Man
Everybody Wants Some
Yankee Rose
Tobacco Road
Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
Jump

DLR Solo: 02
Van Halen: 16

Total: 18

N/A