Van Halen - Des Moines IA 2/6/08

Let me preface my following remarks saying that I am a "Van Hagar" fan as much as (or maybe slightly more than) a Roth fan. But I have liked both eras over the years.

Much has been written about Van Halen over the years and this past turn of the calendar has brought us the much hyped return of original frontman David Lee Roth as well as the unceremonious exit of original bassist Michael Anthony (replaced by Eddie's teenaged son Wolfgang).

This reunion/resumption stopped in Des Moines IA on February 6th 2008. The nearly sold out crowd of close to 15,000 greeted the band with thunderous applause. After a half-hour set by reggae artist Ky-Mani Marley (yes..he's a son of Bob...), Van took to the stage. What followed was more than 2 hours of some of the best rock tunes to hit the airwaves in the last 30 years. Song after song after song of classic tune-age.

Roth was in very fine form vocally. He did not shy away from the high notes (although he missed a few), and he was the showman that we all remember him as, complete with that permanent smile on his face. He did not attempt many acrobatics, but seemed to concentrate more on the music and actually singing the songs. I always appreciated Roth's vocals and lyrics to "I'll Wait" and "Mean Streets" and it was great to hear those songs again.

Wolfgang was the surprise of the night. While he can't match the energy and showmanship of Michael Anthony nor the vocals of his predecessor, young Wolfie was very solid on the bass guitar. He has a small solo part and was able to add some energy and style to the overall sound mix (which was both excellent and LOUD).

Eddie was in fine form. His hands flew all over the neck of his guitar. At times all the hammer-ons and whammy bar noises bordered on overkill, but I have to remember that Edward essentially invented that style of playing in the first place. It seemed like Ed might have lost half a step over the years, but he can still play circles around 95% of everyone else. (I also noticed how old and gnarly his hands looked when they were magnified on the Jumbotron screen...)

Alex Van Halen is always overlooked as one of the great drummers of his generation. He deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Baker, Bonham, Moon, Apiece, Peart and other such power rock drummers. AVH's solo was a great blend of dexterity and improvisation, using real drums and triggered/synthesized percussion sounds.

All in all it was a great night. Roth and Eddie seemed to truly enjoy each other's company again (either that or they were putting on a great act). The crowd sang along to every song all night. It was a very enjoyable evening for all.

Its kinda funny...because in my own musical endeavors I don't really draw upon the VH influence nearly as much as I did when I was younger (or at all really any more...) My own life and music is in a much different place than it was when I used to be a die-hard Van Halen fan those many years ago.

The passage of time and the myriad of seemingly-self-destructive problems the band has had, made me lose interest in them over the years. Essentially...slowly but surely they became an artifact of my own musical past. Irrelevant might be too harsh of a word, but suffice to say I didn't carry a torch for them nearly as much as I used to.

But for one night, even if only for a fleeting two hours, it was fun to be sixteen again. And maybe that's good enough...

Setlist:

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You Really Got Me
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I'm the One
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Runnin' With the Devil
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Romeo Delight
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Somebody Get Me a Doctor
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Beautiful Girls
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Dance the Night Away
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Atomic Punk
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Everybody Wants Some
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So This is Love?
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Mean Street
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Pretty Woman
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Drum Solo
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Unchained
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I'll Wait
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And the Cradle Will Rock
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Hot For Teacher
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Little Dreamer
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Little Guitars
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Jamie's Cryin'
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Ice Cream Man
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Panama
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Guitar Solo
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Ain't Talking 'Bout Love

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Encore:
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1984
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