Roth-fronted Van Halen at DCU
By Scott McLennan TELEGRAM & GAZETTE REVIEWER

Roth kept a lid on his infamous gift for banal gab, preferring instead to simply grin and preen away the night as Eddie Van Halen uncorked one mind- snapping guitar part after another.

WORCESTER-- Van Halen's return to the concert stage with singer David Lee Roth back in the lineup after a 22-year separation proved to be not so much a reunion show, but rather a redemption show.

In a crisp two-hour performance last night at the DCU Center, Van Halen reclaimed and restored a catalog of arena-rocking gems perilously close to being lost to bad blood, infighting and the arrival of Sammy Hagar. The Van Halen of 2007-- which also swapped out original bassist Michael Anthony for guitarist Eddie Van Halen's 16-year-old son Wolfgang -- revived not just the hits but the fan-beloved deep-album cuts from the six records Roth sang on between 1978 and 1984. Sure the fans expected big things from the hits, but when songs such as "I'm the One," "Romeo Delight" and "Little Dreamer" ably contributed to the pop-metal pounding, there was little room for debate as to which era of Van Halen has more fire power. In one fell swoop, the Hagar era from 1986 to 2004 seemed like little more than an annoyance.

The band appeared in top shape as it delivered the two dozen songs and assorted solos that made up the concert. Roth kept a lid on his infamous gift for banal gab, preferring instead to simply grin and preen away the night as Eddie Van Halen uncorked one mind-snapping guitar part after another. Make no mistake: Whoever sings for Van Halen has to understand who runs this band and it is the guitar god. Brother Alex Van Halen was likewise monstrous behind the kit, and young Wolfgang more than held his own (and the teen had the sold-out crowd in his pocket once the video cameras homed in on the "Red Sox World Champions" sticker plastered to his bass and broadcast the image on the huge video screen behind the stage).

Van Halen opened with "You Really Got Me," The Kinks cover it claimed as its own on one of rock's classic debut albums. The band would play seven more songs from that album before the night was over, including a version of the acoustic blues "Ice Cream Man" that allowed Roth his one shot at spinning a yarn as he explained the way he would play the song for a girlfriend back in the early days of the band.

Beyond that, Eddie Van Halen's guitar did much of the talking. Snippets of "Crossroads," "Smoke on the Water" and "Magic Bus" popped up in the guitar frenzy, but Van Halen's original work made the case that it, too, belongs in the canon of classic guitar bits. Whether giving a clinic on his patented tap-style of soloing or simply unfurling sheets of blistering riffs, Eddie van Halen played with a precision and passion absent from the display he put on when last in town with Hagar in tow back in 2004.

The band employed all the trappings of rock spectacle, yet its spirited rips through the mindlessly joyous "Hot For Teacher," "...And the Cradle Will Rock," "Panama," "Unchained, " "Atomic Punk," "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" and "Everybody Wants Some" would have been just as successful had the band been playing upon a bare stage.

Ky-Mani Marley opened for Van Halen. The son of reggae legend Bob Marley visited his father's songbook for some safe havens, yet proved to be a mighty talent in his own right with songs that put a contemporary edge of his reggae roots.

David Lee Roth and Van Halen take the stage at the DCU Center in Worcester last night. (ELLEN HARASIMOWICZ)

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