The rockers of yesteryear bring the crowd to the verge of hysteria with pure, first-pumping rock
Amy O'Brian, Vancouver Sun

No matter how fast and furious the guitar playing, how crazy the drumming, or how impassioned the singing, there was no escaping the fact that Wednesday's Van Halen show at GM Place was an attempt to re-live a long- gone era.

Maybe that's precisely what made the show so great for so many.

The 13,000 or so fans seemed to love the rocking reunion of Eddie Van Halen, his drummer brother, Alex, and the notorious David Lee Roth. But there was also something slightly sad and stale about the tunes, the performance, the bare chests and the male bravado.

After leaving Van Halen in 1985, David Lee Roth rejoined the group at GM Place this week to strut about and belt his heart out.

Sure, it was a welcome hit of high-testosterone rock nostalgia for those who like that kind of thing (and the mostly male crowd certainly seemed to be lapping it up). But for those of us who might be tired of rock reunions and the platform they provide for preening, aging rock stars, this was simply too much.

Part of my lack of appreciation for the show was undoubtedly due to the terrible acoustics from the press box. The echoes and overblown volume made the tunes miserably muffled and almost undistinguishable.

I may not be a Van Halen fan, but I know their hits when I them and I could barely make them out from where I was sitting. Yes, I could have moved down to the stands, but I was reluctant to sit among the fans after nearly getting knocked out by a beer bottle tossed off the Georgia Street viaduct on my way in to the stadium.

The band emerged promptly at 8:30 p.m. Eddie showed up shirtless, tanned and sinewy -- looking like the weathered 52-year-old he is.

David Lee Roth's unruly blond mane has been cut back to look almost clean and boyish, and he was wearing a bright yellow, flamboyantly embroidered jacket with a polka-dotted shirt and black leather pants. (He took off his shirt not long after the show began.)

Eddie's 16-year-old son, Wolfgang, admirably and impressively filled the role of bass player, but looked conspicuously like an outsider all covered up in his black hoodie.

But of course, it wasn't about fashion, it was about the rock 'n' roll. And there was plenty of that -- plenty of mind-boggling guitar solos from Eddie, a drum solo from brother Alex that raised my heart rate and plenty of high kicks from David Lee Roth to accompany his remarkably strong vocals.

Even though I didn't particularly enjoy the show, I will admit that this configuration of Van Halen should rightly have a place in the pantheon of rock gods. There's no denying that fact.

The show opened appropriately with You Really Got Me, indicating to fans this was going to be a night of pure, unadulterated rock. Fists pumped in unison down on the floor and certain screams sounded like they were verging on hysteria during Running with the Devil and, later in the show, Dance the Night Away and Hot for Teacher.

There was a weirdly tender rock moment when father and son got down on their knees to play off each other and Eddie leaned over and appeared to kiss his son on the forehead before they got up. For some reason, I instantly thought of comedian Jack Black, but I don't think there was any irony intended.

Alex Van Halen played an astoundingly complicated drum solo that left him drenched in sweat and smiling like a goofy kid by the time it was over.

Eddie stood alone at the front of the stage toward the end of the show to play a long -- and surprisingly moody and atmospheric -- guitar solo.

And Roth -- who was the main draw of the night because he left the band in 1985 after infamous feuding with Eddie -- strutted and pranced and belted his heart out as though there was no place he'd rather be than on that stage.

Judging from the smiles and the energy of the men on stage, you would never guess they once hated each other.

The show's momentum built gradually and by the time Roth came out one final time -- waving a giant red flag above his head -- to the unmistakable synth opening of Jump, the crowd was in a frenzy.

For a few minutes, it was a bit like it was 1984 all over again, whether you liked it or not.

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