By DAVID C. NEILSEN II - The Buzz

SACRAMENTO -- After a breakup lasting more than two decades and endless speculation on the future of one of the most popular bands of all time, "Diamond" David Lee Roth is back as Van Halen's flamboyant frontman and sounded surprisingly good at Arco Arena Nov. 27.

Yes, the Van Halen brothers -- superstar guitarist Eddie and drummer Alex -- are once again rocking America with the help of their original lead singer and Eddie's son Wolfgang on bass and backing vocals.

Roth and Eddie Van Halen seem to have found a way to coexist with their egos and are sounding better than ever. After a trip to rehab earlier this year, Eddie is in great shape and along with Roth, has traded in the long hair for the new clean-cut look.

The pair interacted on stage better now than they ever did and at 50- something, Roth and the shirtless Eddie look better and have more energy then most rock stars half their age.

Opening the show with The Kinks cover, "You Really Got Me," the capacity crowd rose to its feet and stayed there for more than two hours as Van Halen opened up its extensive library of classics.

Arguably one of rock's greatest guitarists, Eddie was back on top of his game and truly amazing to watch. Adding to the experience was watching him affectionately interact with Wolfgang, who didn't miss a note all night.

Pausing only briefly between songs to acknowledge fans, Roth had a permanent ear-to-ear grin as the they motored through some the band's earliest material including, "I'm the One," "Running with The Devil," "Romeo Delight," "Somebody Get Me a Doctor" and "Beautiful Girls." Eddie demonstrated some insane finger tapping and tasteful shredding during "Mean Street," "Atomic Punk" and "Spanish Fly."

Between Eddie's power chords and Alex's double bass drum beat, "Hot for Teacher" is one of the hottest power-groove shuffles of all time. Here, it felt like the definition of being blown away.

During a rare break between songs, Roth told the story behind "Ice Cream Man," which included using a friend's father's ice cream truck to keep beer cold back in the early 1970s. Roth also demonstrated his musical talent as he played acoustic guitar part for the song.

Topping off the evening was a predictable but nevertheless great version of "Jump" from "1984," Roth's last studio album with Van Halen.

Van Halen's national tour is re-establishing the band as one of rock's greatest.

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