Tiger Jam XI with Van Halen April 19, Mandalay Bay Events Center
by MIKE PREVATT

David Lee Roth ain't talkin' 'bout love, but he ain't talking about charity, either. Despite headlining Tiger Woods' annual concert fundraiser for the golfer's youth foundation, veteran hard rock band Van Halen didn't mention the cause it was raising money for. Then again, even Woods himself made minimal mention of the event's purpose when he hobbled out -- he recently suffered a knee injury -- to introduce the SoCal quartet, as if to say, "None of us are Bono, so let's cut straight to the rock 'n' roll."

To be fair, there was a private ceremony and auction before the concert that, along with ticket sales, scored more than $1.5 million for the Tiger Woods Foundation. The musicians themselves made personal contributions, monetary and otherwise. And the crowd didn't appear eager to relive Live Aid or hand over any more cash beyond the $150-$200 they already spent per ticket. So, rock 'n' roll show it was.

Despite Roth's frequently tone-deaf vocals, Van Halen seemed in fine form and in high spirits, especially coming off a forced but brief touring break that saw guitarist Eddie Van Halen recovering from an ailment he never disclosed. Clearly, this is the preferred Van Halen line-up, free of the Sammy Hagar-era synthesizer bombast -- the band only played Roth- fronted songs, from its first six albums -- and chock-full of the enthusiastic and jocular delivery for which Diamond Dave is most beloved.

The band switched up the almost constant barrage of party anthems with a few masturbatory elements -- and we're not referring to Roth's infamous inflatable microphone, either. Forays into the blues, stripped-down acoustic numbers and, of course, the guitar and drum solos by the Van Halen brothers (Eddie's teenage son Wolfgang, replacing founding member Michael Anthony, spared us a bass demonstration) gave the show a little variety or the attendees ample time for bathroom breaks, depending on whether you favored flashy musicianship or FM-radio melodies. The former was best exemplified by Eddie's frequent finger ballet up and down the fretboard; the latter, in "Runnin' With the Devil" and "Panama."

As for Roth, he's an eternal cheeseball with a Botox-induced, Cheshire Cat grin, but damn if he was going to give less than 100 percent. His tireless performance and showmanship ensured that he connected with his audience for the entire two-hour show -- part aerobics instructor, part class clown. And, really, who better to headline a children's charity show than rock's biggest kid?

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