By Rodney Ho
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

David Lee Roth is like the ultimate in American processed cheese food.

There doesn't seem to be an authentic bone in his body. He's 120% showman, with that stupid grin plastered on his face. Sometimes he opens his mouth in mock surprise, like he's imitating Carol Channing. I've seen him solo, and it can be pretty painful to watch. But somehow placing him in the company of Eddie and Alex Van Halen Sunday night at Philips Arena made this cheese tolerable. And amazingly, Eddie and David seemed to get along after more than two decades of avoiding each other.

Was it sincere or merely an act? It was hard to tell. At one point, Roth even hugged Eddie from behind and Eddie didn't even flinch.

Sadly, the fourth original Van Halen member, fun-lovin' bassist Michael Anthony (a Sammy Hagar loyalist) was booted before the tour. In a case of pure nepotism, Eddie replaced Anthony with his 16-year-old son Wolfgang, who is clearly very talented but not quite up to snuff in terms of stage presence. Still, it's good to see the Van Halen skills have passed onto the next generation.

The 26-song set list, which has remained unchanged since the tour began, didn't include a single tune from the Sammy Hagar era. (Hagar sang a couple of Roth tunes during his last visit with Van Halen at Philips around 2004 but obviously, Roth wasn't going to return the favor.) But folks who loved those first six albums weren't disappointed as the group sprinkled big radio hits ("Runnin' With the Devil" "Jamie's Cryin' " "Panama") with deeper cuts ("I'm the One," "Little Guitars") "Hot For Teacher" is still a stupendously delightful goof, even if Diamond Dave is 54 years old. And it's hard not to smile while singing along to "Everybody Wants Some."

Not surprisingly, the crowd was packed with beer-swillin' frat boy types in their 30s, 40s and 50s. Those Philips Arena concessions folks stayed busy all night. They swayed and sang along to songs celebrating beautiful girls and dancing the night away. And not a power ballad in sight, thank goodness.

With Roth, what you see is what you get: a middle-aged man in tight leather pants prancing around for much of the show in embroidered jackets that were probably stolen from the Sgt. Pepper. He twirled the mike stand like an oversized baton and attempted a few leg kicks -- but not too many. He does look better than most rockers his age. (See Mike Reno of Loverboy.) His vocals served the songs just fine most of the time even if the sound mix meant you couldn't understand him half the time. (And if you know the lyrics already and are singing along, who cares?)

Eddie was better during his last visit to Atlanta. To make matters worse, during his extended guitar solo, the sound went out partway through, diluting what is often a highlight of any Van Halen concert. Even after he got his sound back, the mix was confoundingly bad during the final pre- encore song "Ain't Talkin' Bout Love." The guitar was too loud and Roth's vocals were swallowed up. The crowd seemed deflated at that point when they should have been frothing into a frenzy.

The encore was brief, with Roth waving a big red flag to "1984," then jumping into the band's biggest hit "Jump."

Overall, it was a good concert, just not a great one. Sound problems badly marred the proceedings.

Disclosure: I've seen Van Hagar twice and David Lee Roth doing his solo bit at HiFi Buys Amphitheatre with Sammy Hagar. This is the first time I've gotten to see the David Lee Roth/Eddie Van Halen combo.

And folks in the comments section have noted: why was Eddie on a corded guitar? Was that just the beginning of the technical problems plaguing the band the entire night? Having read other reviews in other cities, this sound issue doesn't appear to be a chronic problem so you have to wonder what was happening behind the scenes this time around.

Here's the set list:

1- You Really Got Me
2- I'm The One
3- Runnin' With the Devil
4- Romeo Delight (a bit of Who's "Magic Bus" sprinkled in)
5- Somebody Get Me a Doctor
6- Beautiful Girls
7- Dance the Night Away
8- Atomic Punk
9- Everybody Wants Some
10- So This is Love?
11- Mean Street
12- Pretty Woman
13- Alex Van Halen drum solo
14- Unchained
15- I'll Wait
16- And the Cradle Will Rock
17- Hot For Teacher
18- Little Dreamer
19- Little Guitars
20- Jamie's Cryin'
21- Ice Cream Man
22- Panama
23- Eddie Van Halen's extended guitar solo including Spanish Fly, Cathedral and Eruption
24- Ain't Talkin' Bout Love
Encore:
25- 1984/Jump

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