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When I saw Van Halen at the Spectrum in 1981, the seminal group inspired me to form a band. After witnessing the reconstituted VH Oct. 1 at the soldout Wachovia Center, the band made me want to retire.
Van Halen can still kick out the classics and a shirtless and cut Eddie Van Halen — the star of the evening — remains a guitar monster. The axe hero still sports a perpetual grin and is as energetic as ever. Eddie, who added vocabulary to the sonic lexicon, was dynamic throughout the two-hour set.
However, something just wasn’t right with VH, which is on the road with vocalist David Lee Roth for the first time in 23 years. Diamond Dave is a shadow of himself. Is it too much to expect Roth, who used to be one of rock’s great balls of energy, to leap a little bit during "Jump?"
Perhaps Roth has fallen victim to his past performances and now has a bad back. The former master showman, who didn’t bend a knee Monday, set the bar so high with his scissor kicks, one-liners and charm a generation ago, it may just be too difficult for a guy who is 53 to approximate the feats of a younger, trend-setting man.
Apparently Eddie has custody of his son, Wolfgang, for the duration of the tour since his progeny has taken over at bass. However, bass has never been where it’s at for Van Halen. It’s really The David and Eddie Show.
A number of songs, such as "Beautiful Girls" and "Hot For Teacher," sounded lecherous coming out of Roth’s aging mouth. The meaning of the tunes is not what it once was. When Roth belts out "Everybody Wants Some," is he singing about fiber?
VH did have some moments. The group nailed "Ain’t Talking About Love," "Panama" and scored points for delivering its best deep album cut, "Atomic Punk."
And yes, Van Halen is light years better than Van Hagar. Sammy Hagar’s lyrics make Roth seem like Rimbaud. The show was better with eyes closed, soaking in Roth’s clever and often amusing lyrics and Eddie’s explosive blasts. It was all fine until Roth failed to hit yet another note.
Roth and Eddie Van Halen made nice, hugging and smiling at each other on stage. Will the formerly feuding tandem make it through the tour? It’s too early to tell since it was only their third date. Who knows about the band’s future; we all know about its past.
Perhaps I expect too much whenever I catch reunion shows. The only such show to blow me away was Bauhaus in ’98 at the Electric Factory. Bauhaus looked, performed and sounded like what I imagine they were in ’83. Though, I didn’t catch them during my adolescence, they sure looked like the video clips.
The only solace I draw from reunion shows is they usually aren’t followed by new albums. Who wants a disc from a group a quarter-century after its peak? That’s something nobody needs.
Memories should suffice, particularly since you can’t recreate the past. It already happened.
