May 24th, 2008
From: http://www.tsn.ca/
SCOTT CULLEN
One of the highlights of my vacation last week was a chance to catch Van
Halen at the American Airlines Centre in Dallas.
30 years after they released their self-titled debut album, Van Halen
isn't the same howling force of nature that they were in the late 70's
but, then again, who is? I had seen Van Halen three times with Sammy
Hagar, but wouldn't bite the bullet and buy tickets for their latest
tour when it came through Toronto.
After getting a couple of Toronto concert reviews from some co-workers,
I was cautiously optimistic about getting a second chance to see Van
Halen and, the more I thought about it, I like the idea of seeing the
vintage VH material.
The musicianship of the band is still top notch, but the enjoyment of a
VH show now depends on how much ham you can stomach from David Lee Roth.
He's a showman -- always has been -- but sometimes it's like he's in his
own bizarro world and you wonder just how soon it's going to be before
the next Van Halen tour includes three members of the Van Halen family
with the lyrics being piped in over the speakers.
Just to make sure this doesn't come across as too critical, I'll
expressly state that I enjoyed the show, primarily for the reason that I
suspected, getting to hear vintage Van Halen songs that I haven't seen
live before.
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