Live Review: Sammy Hagar and David Lee Roth near Boston
ByAug 28, 2002 10:00 PM
MANSFIELD, Mass.--Sammy Hagar and David Lee Roth squared off on Wednesday night (8/28) at the Tweeter Center, and Hagar delivered a combination of punches that Roth just couldn’t counter.
MANSFIELD, Mass.--Sammy Hagar and David Lee Roth squared off on Wednesday night (8/28) at the Tweeter Center, and Hagar delivered a combination of punches that Roth just couldn’t counter.
The two former Van Halen frontmen--whose tour is dubbed “The Sammy Hagar & David Lee Roth Tour 2002: Song for Song the World Heavyweight Champs of Rock"--have been alternating the opening and closing slots at each tour stop, and have framed the outing as a head-to-head competition.
Hagar took the stage first, backed by his band, the Waboritas. The shaggy-maned singer’s stage set-up--which normally features a large-scale replica of the interior of his Mexico-based Cabo Wabo nightclub--was scaled down to a simple array of red-cased speakers and a small pair of bleachers filled with contest winners.
The group kicked things off with “Shaka Doobie,” one of Hagar’s most-recent, least-known solo tunes. The setlist also featured other Hagar solo-fare, including “There’s Only One Way to Rock,” “Three Lock Box,” “Heavy Metal,” “I Can’t Drive 55” and “Mas Tequila.”
But the success of the novelty-pairing of Hagar and Roth is due largely to the fact that fans of Van Halen--a band that has been in semi-retirement for the past four years--are showing up to get the next best thing.
It is in that regard that Hagar-era Van Halen fans got the night’s largest payoff, as Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony--who has been popping up at a number of this tour’s stops--strolled on stage mid-set and sent much of the crowd into a cheering, screaming frenzy. Anthony, Hagar and company then tore through a batch of VH hits that included “Top of the World,” “Why Can’t This Be Love,” “Best of Both Worlds” and “Finish What Ya Started.” Hagar’s voice hasn’t waned a bit in the years since he first recorded those tracks, Anthony nailed the thunderous bass lines and supersonic harmonies, and the Waboritas did an admirable job of replicating the classic tunes.
Hagar upped the ante during his encore, when he, Anthony and the Waboritas were joined by the night’s second surprise guest, local favorite Gary Cherone, Hagar’s short-lived replacement in Van Halen. The two swapped verses during renditions of Van Halen’s “When It’s Love” and “Dreams,” and were also joined by Cherone’s former Extreme (and current Tribe of Judah) bandmate, bassist Pat Badger, as well as several members of the band Boston.
Following a quick set change, Roth and his power-trio of hired guns--which includes a guitarist recruited from a Van Halen cover band--fired off a barrage of classic Roth-era Van Halen tunes that opened with the visceral “Hot for Teacher.” Other crowd pleasers that the quartet rolled out included “Dance the Night Away,” “Pretty Woman,” “Ice Cream Man,” “Beautiful Girls” and “Jump.”
Dressed in purple-and-black-checkered spandex bellbottoms and an open shirt that showed off his ripped physique, the athletic Roth delivered his nostalgic set on a black, stripped-down stage featuring nothing more than a drum riser and a wall of black speakers. Almost all of the numbers were peppered with ample helpings of his trademark--though age-worn--screech, and frequent spinning high kicks.
The down-and-dirty set was an excellent display of his band’s musical ability--as well as a reminder of just how strong Van Halen’s catalog of hits is--and Roth showed that he still knows how to exude the sleazy rock-and-roll-frontman vibe that he perfected in the ‘70s and ‘80s. His voice hasn’t quite stood the test of time, but Roth gave the audience what they came to see; “Yankee Rose,” a hit from his 1986 solo album “Eat ‘em and Smile,” was the only non-VH song that surfaced.
Where Roth fell short was in botching many of the songs’ lyrics--often replacing them with nonsensical babble--and in generally exuding an uncomfortable aura. The California-beach-bum good looks and affable party-host demeanor of his heyday with Van Halen have been replaced by an eerie, Crypt Keeper-like countenance and a non-stop cycle of painfully forced-looking, sardonic, face-splitting smiles. He is not the David Lee Roth of his youth; he is an older David Lee Roth trying--perhaps too hard--to be the David Lee Roth of yesterday.
Roth’s set also stumbled a bit when he took shots at Van Halen, Cherone and Hagar, including the comment that Hagar now “works for me.” The crowd reacted to that jab with a strong chorus of boos.
Low points aside, Roth delivered what his fans wanted: the best impersonation of the original Van Halen lineup that he could muster without having the original Van Halen lineup.
In fairness, comparing Roth and Hagar is like comparing apples and oranges. The only thing that the two have in common is that they’ve both fronted--and been spurned by--Van Halen. That, and the fact that their marketability in 2002 has been greatly enhanced by joining forces.
Sammy Hagar and David Lee Roth are scheduled to appear together as presenters at Thursday (8/29) night’s MTV Video Music Awards.
Photo by Adam Bielawski