Review by Bill Mayew - uncw35@yahoo.com

What a show. The last one of the millenium was on the money. Same set list as the other shows. No opening act, and all Dave on a perfect stage. No sound or mechanical troubles, as the HOB in Myrtle is a great place to see any gig. As for the show:

1. Every song was note for note perfect
2. Dave's voice is ready for a reunion
3. I brought 2 semi-Dave fans to the show, who both left saying he is one of the best entertainers they have ever seen.
4. Although I'm too young to compare this show to the original tours from '78 to '84, I can say that the show looked and sounded like everything I've seen or heard from the yelps, screams, drum riser jumps, and entertaining antics that only Dave can deliver.

Thanks for a great show. Can't wait till Diamond rolls through town again. A must see.

Yes, there was a lot of the same stuff going on at the House of Blues as in earlier reviewed shows...but, my verdict is that Dave Rocked! He was great...it was my first time seeing him and I was very impressed. AND his vocals sounded pretty damn good! He can still hit his high notes and trademark screams, but just not as frequently. He manages his voice very well and saves it for the really important parts.

Ed and the boys really must get him back - I've seen them both now...VH band and now Dave...they were both great and I can only imagine how perfect it would be see them onstage live together again! Just awesome....he left us wanting more...wow.

Me and my wife saw Dave last night at the House of Blues. For all those people that said he was old and washed up, that is total bullshit!! He sang and danced his ass off, for a good hour and a half. He looked like he was in better shape than most of the crowd.

Dave played the same set list as previous shows. He said this show was one of the best gigs of the tour. The crowd loved him and I believe he really fed on the crowds electricity. The band was good but Bart is no EVH, but then again who is?

We would gladly pay to see him again - he is a one man show! One last note, the man does love his dick.

We drove 7 hours from Atlanta to Myrtle Beach for this show and it was worth every minute! After a late start, Dave commanded the stage for nearly 2 hours of back to back songs. The ones that really stood out were "Little Dreamer" and "Yankee Rose" although every song was 4 minutes of perfection.

I've read all of the reviews and thought I was prepared but THIS WAS ONE OF THE BEST CONCERTS I HAVE EVER BEEN TO - and I have seen EVERYONE who has toured in the last 14 years (I mean everyone) Dave was like a caged animal on stage. I thought he was gonna kill all the guys and fuck all of the girls right there in the House Of Blues.

He never mentioned the Van Halen guys or album titles or "remember when?" or any of that bullshit. It was like he was the new guy trying to prove himself and win over his audience (who just happened to have 20 legendary songs under his belt) He reminded me of Jim Morrison with a little Freddie Mercury and Mick's swagger. I saw VH with Sammy and Gary and this show was everything that those lacked: excitement , sensuality and raw power..... I can't wait for the live album.

As David Lee Roth hit the stage with his band at the House of Blues, I wasn't sure what "Dave" would show up. The mature David Lee Roth I saw on the "Your Filthy Little Mouth" tour, or the perverted, self-centered Dave from, well, any other era other than the "Filthy Little Mouth" record and tour. Well, it was the Dave of old. He metaphorically stroked his microphone and grabbed his crotch more times than he sang on key.

I'm glad I flew down from Boston, MA for the show, though. It helped me understand what made the power, the fury, and the glory of Van Halen. My revelation struck me during the opening solo of Mean Streets. Eddie Van Halen was the power and fury behind Van Halen because he wrote the music, and I decided that I'd much rather see Eddie play the music with any other lead singer than see Dave sing classic VH with a back up band. What made the 1998 VH tour so exciting was to see Eddie finally "unleash" these classic, guitar drenched songs for the first time in 15 years. What made this David Lee Roth concert so dissapointing was that I realized that DLR can't "unleash" the songs because they all start with classic Edward Van Halen guitar riffs.

Sure, Bart Walsh can play them, but the power and the fury is missing. Furthermore, what would make a VH reunion tour so disappointing is that Diamond Dave has not matured, and his constant desire to make-love-to every-woman-with-his-eyes stage swaggart isn't suited for what I think is a very mature Van Halen. Since 1986, Van Halen has always been about the fans, while David Lee Roth continues to be about Dave, Dave, and Dave.

I will admit that no one sings "Runnin' With The Devil" like Diamond Dave, definitely the highlight of the show along with "Yankee Rose" where Dave gave us the pleasure of seeing his backside by mooning the crowd under the flashing strobe lights, but now that I've seen both VH and DLR sing the classic songs, I don't need to see them anymore. I'd rather see both Van Halen and David Lee Roth mature musically, but in separate recording studios.

Last Show of the millenium: the fabulous House of Blues in lovely Myrtle Beach, SC. They opened up the Bombay doors and all the diehard Big Daddy Roth fans, such as myself, jockeyed for position - front row center, three rows back - hope you like the taste of Jack Daniels Black Label, ladies and gentlemen! "Talkin' full moon, sea of faces, oceans of beer, heard ya missed me, I'm back, Diamond is here!!

But there's a little bit more to the story, my friends. 'Twas the summer of 1981 when I first heard the glorious opening chords to Mean Street to wake my ass out of bed every morning - "Dance, baby!" The power, the fury, the glory: the wrath of Roth. So when Dave left the band, I knew where my allegiance was. Since 1986, I've refused to EVER see Van Halen live in concert unless Roth is running the show.

Fast forward 1999, I've been tracking the DLR tour since June on the internet while I've been working in Guatemala. That's right, FUCKIN' GUATEMALA. Diamond Dave's had me hooked on Spanish ever since I heard him on an '83 Argentina bootleg and Eat 'Em and Smile in Spanish hit the streets in '86. I've also been on my own little Jungle Studs world tour working abroad ever since 1991 without a break in between (Spain, Taiwan, Costa Rica, Mexico, Guatemala, and Israel). Thanks for the inspiration, Dave!!

I knew I was leaving Guatemala in early December, so when I heard he'd extended the tour, I was fired up and knew I was going to catch a show no matter where he was playing in the free world. I got my roots in New Haven, CT - spare no expense: we's gettin' down to Myrtle Beach. So I flew down to SC with another old VH buddy of mine from Boston - just to see the fuckin' show. I even paid for my pal's plane ticket as an early wedding present. This was indeed a most auspicious occasion, right? Was it worth it?

Look, I've seen Dave on every tour since Eat 'em and Smile. Let's be honest here. He's got his ups and downs like everyone else. I'd say he put on a very good show, but... There always seems to be a but - and I ain't just talkin' 'bout Dave flashing his little tush during the strobe light half-time section of Yankee Rose. There seemed to be something missing - I think it's called "Eddie, Michael, and Alex." This is not meant to be a slight against his current lineup. I'm no musician, but they seem to fend well enough for themselve even though my friend literally turned his back to the stage when Bart did the Mean Street intro and Eruption, out of respect to Eddie.

Was the show entertaining? Did the packed crowd look like they were having a good time? Absolutely. But there was still something missing, I'm sorry to say. My vision of a vintage VH show is "Yo ass gonna get a workout. It's gonna be ELECTRIFYING!" For me, that just didn't happen. Picture the Unchained and So This Is Love videos. Maybe even the Jump video. I get chills down my spine thinking about the passion, humor and warmth behind them. Yes, during this show, the rap was there, the usual mile a minute jokes, the steamy sex appeal, the phenomenal kicks, crotch grabbing galore, the drunken Jack Daniels gaze, the outstanding stage presence and showmanship. But it just didn't do it for me like it once did. Maybe I've changed. Maybe we all have - except Dave. That's his choice and I respect that. I am grateful for how "the Diamond one, praise be he" has shaped me over the years - the poses, the vaudeville, the gift of gab, the attitude, the impenetrable spirit, an appreciation of travel, and the list goes on and on.

Maybe I'm being too critical. Maybe my expectations are just too damn high after 18 years of following "The Man." I sensed he was angry on stage. In his autobiography he states, "Every step I took on stage was smashing some Jew-hating lousy punk ever deeper into the deck... That's where the lyrics came from, that's where the body language came from and where the 'fuck you' came from."

Well, I sensed the "fury, testosterone, and passionate convicted commitment" during the show regardless if it was brought on by anti-Semitism or not. I just kept wondering, as I was painfully going through the motions of the obsolete, trite 80s fist-pumping in the air gesture during Runnin' With The Devil and Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love: is there more to the story of anger that Dave ain't telling us? I love DLR's excess and indulgence, but was it really necessary to constantly stretch open your pants, look at your family jewels and spit on them every 10 minutes? Is that entertainment? You're an artist, Dave. You can be more creative than that without selling yourself short and insulting your audience's intelligence. Skip "Huck Finn" and jump to Ayn Rand's "The Fountainhead" if you want to get back the eye of the tiger and be true to yourself. Making a "comeback" in his 40s was a valiant effort, especially after Eddie wrote him off, but he could do better. The potential is still there as DLR ushers in the new millenium with or without VH by his side.

Saturday night I witnessed my first ever David Lee Roth show. This is only my 3rd EVER concert - I saw Van Halen twice in '98. I became the die hard fan in '96 and I'm only 21 years old, thus the explanation for this being only my 3rd ever show.

Unfortunately, the night before the show I caught the flu but I managed the hour and a half drive to Myrtle Beach to see what Dave had to offer. I had been reading some of the previous reviews so I was prepared for the long wait that he makes his fans sit through; or stand through. The ticket said 8:15, and he came on about 10:20. It's like my friend said, the bottom line is: he's still got the energy and the sound, but he's lost the look. Of course that happens when you enter your mid to late 40's.

I stood probably 10-15 feet from the stage, so I was in fine shape to witness Diamond Dave and his band. All in all, I was slightly disappointed despite the overall sound being good. He had a real good band, though Bart Walsh wasn't as great as the hipe, and I got tired of him giving "Eddie" grins, and he looked too much like Howard Stern.

The drummer was awesome and the bass player was.... well... I can't tell when bass players are good or not, but he looked like he could be in Duran Duran or something.

I was real impressed with Dave's voice. after hearing the two songs with Van Halen in '96, I was expecting worse, but he's got his voice back on track, and his set list was good. That's the main reason I went, to hear the heavily weighted Van Halen set list, and to see for myself if I think he should be back in VH. But after all the shit he talked, (and playing with his dick... the man't obsessed with it... it's outright embarrassing), I can understand how Van Halen would be embarrassed to get back with him (stemming from the brothers' comments after the MTV awards fiasco)...

I realize he's a "showman", but I think he takes it a bit too far. I saw Van Halen in September 1998 at the exact same place which didnt seem like that long ago, and it was a totally different story to me. Dave has a "Las Vegas" style show, while van halen has more of a.... I don't know... more respectful show. I probably would have enjoyed myself better if I was well, but it was difficult. I just feel that if Dave was to act a little more his age onstage (I can understand the drinking and having a good time, but to flaunt around like he is 25 just doesnt cut it) then he'd be great back in Van Halen... but if he acts like his head is the size of a beach ball, then stay out of VH and keep it solo.... just my opinion... if you wish to share yours, feel free to email.

Dave Lee Roth is still the ultimate frontman. It was 20 years ago when I had first seen him work a crowd and he still reigns as the best performer and entertainer I have ever seen.

There was a problem with the equipment truck as it came up from the previous nights show in Florida. This caused an hour delay and the doors to the House of Blues could not open until Dave and Co. had made their sound check. I thought the large crowd handled the wait in the cold quite well and only one redneck began to shout, "Dave sucks!" No one followed suit and he quickly shut his mouth. You could hear the roar outside of Mean Street and other songs as the sound was being fined tuned. The excitement was building!

As a musician I tend to be a tough critic of the shows I see and I must say that Dave and the band performed beyond my expectations. Very tight with a good mix, even after they rushed through the sound check. My wife and I drove for 5 hours to see the show and we had a great time. We both laughed, sang and cheered. It was one of the best shows we have seen this year. Simply outstanding!

One note to the T-shirt department - Myrtle Beach was listed under Florida on the black shirts.

Keep rocking in 2000 Dave and when you decide to tour again. Yall come back to the Carolinas!

I saw the DLR show last Saturday night at the House of Blues in Myrtle Beach, SC. Dave was drunk as hell but that didn't stop him from rockin' the house down. I ran into the drummer in the bathroom and he didn't hesitate to ask me to come and join him at his table. He gave my girl friend and I an autograph and backstage passes. We also talked about Dave going back to Van Halen. He said that Dave was not even interested in going back right now because he was still pissed off that he got fired.

We also discused the new album and he doesn't know if the DLR band is doing a live album or a studio album. This guy is the ultimate rock star. One of the nicest guys I've ever met in the music biz. I had a blast seeing DLR's last show of the millenium!

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

St. Petersburg Times