Crowd wowed by Diamond Dave's stage antics, Eddie's shredding
By COREY STULCE

Even though David Lee Roth has said, with a Cheshire cat grin, "Better late than never," on most Van Halen reunion tour stops, it had special meaning for the St. Louis audience Saturday night.

It was the third scheduled date after two postponements. The concert's original date was more than six months ago.

But the more than three-quarters-full house at Scottrade Center didn't seem to mind the wait as the lights went dark and thunderous screaming and applause was heard as the band took the stage.

Roth triumphantly waved a huge, red flag as his band mates, the Van Halens, Alex, Eddie and his son, Wolfgang, exploded into the Kinks' cover "You Really Got Me."

The blaring shreds of Eddie's guitar, Wolfie's impressive bass slaps and Alex's pounding overshadowed the vocals of Roth through much of the night - the only disappointment in a night filled with hits and rocking deep album cuts.

Diamond Dave seemed more concerned with entertaining the rabid crowd with mime work, high kicks, struts and microphone stand acrobatics than actually singing. When he could be heard clearly on tunes like "Jamie's Cryin'" and "Little Dreamer," his voice sounded as young as it did more a quarter-century ago.

Controversy has followed this reunion since it was announced more than a year ago, from the decision to not include original bass player Michael Anthony to the postponement of shows due to a rumored rehab stint for Eddie.

None of that seemed to matter Saturday night, though, as Eddie never sounded better, tearing through his signature sound on favorites like "Beautiful Girls," "Everybody Wants Some," and "Hot for Teacher." Even Dave had to pause during that number, relating the impressive guitar changes to Felix the Cat slipping off his feet and gliding off into the atmosphere.

But it's that weird Dave that the folks love. Throughout the night, he used his hands to mime taking and processing photographs of father and son singing together into the same mic, and also to pretend to be holding some sort of automatic weapon, firing aimlessly into the night.

Decked out in a tight leather get-up, Roth eventually displayed his lean, mean body - his visible abdominal muscles making him look like an ageless action figure.

Eddie kept mostly quiet, but had an ever-present smile wide on his mug. He let his guitar do the bulk of the communication and stayed relatively in the same spot for much of the show. Only late in the set did he and Wolfgang offer a choreographed hop from the drum stand. Hey, you can't blame the guy for not swinging from the rafters like the old days; he had a hip replacement about a decade ago.

Kudos also to Wolfgang, who with his dad, provided the backing chorus on many songs throughout the night. They helped keep the vocals strong on cuts like "Dance the Night Away," an evening highlight. Only on "Pretty Woman," a hard rock take on the Roy Orbison classic, did the sound get a little shaky. For a 16-year-old kid going through his awkward teen years on stage in front of 10s of thousands, Wolfgang performed like a veteran.

Roth commented about the reunion, "three-quarters original, one-quarter inevitable," and gave props to the young Van Halen throughout the concert.

Years of bad blood between Eddie and Dave also seemed to melt away, as the two seemed playful during the festivities. Clearly the whole band was having a fantastic time.

Alex delivered a rousing, if a little long, drum solo. Eddie's solo reminded fans of hard rock that he remains king of the pedals and wah-wah bar.

The night's peak probably came when Dave, strumming an acoustic guitar, told the origin story of the band and of the song "Ice Cream Man," a marijuana-fueled teen fantasy. As he finished the first verse, the rest of the band kicked in, and then followed with the best song of the night, "Panama," one of Van Halen's biggest hits.

Not lingering long for the encore, Dave once again returned with his red flag, this time wearing a hat out of the H.M.S. Pinafore, as the keyboards of "1984" played over the loud speakers. It was time for "Jump," the track that made the band MTV superstars, and then it was time for goodnight.

Van Halen set list:

You Really Got Me
I'm the One
Runnin' With the Devil
Romeo Delight
Somebody Get Me a Doctor
Beautiful Girls
Dance the Night Away
Atomic Punk
Everybody Wants Some
So This Is Love?
Mean Street
Pretty Woman
Drum Solo
Unchained
I'll Wait
And the Cradle Will Rock
Hot for Teacher
Little Dreamer
Little Guitars
Jamie's Cryin'
Ice Cream Man
Panama
Guitar Solo
Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
1984
Jump

David Lee Roth sports a red top hat as he wows a Saturday night crowd with "Runnin with the Devil" at St. Louis' Scottrade Center.

[Return to Current Headlines]