I attended the July 25th concert at OKC’s Ford Center. Tickets sales were probably not that what promoter’s were hoping, but an none the less the crowd on hand was exceptionally enthusiastic. Dave opened the show here, which I was quite relieved upon hearing. I read some of the previous reviews of the show and the setlist on our night contained the same songs, some in different order. For the most part, people have been pretty hard on Dave in previous reviews. Now I don’t know if it was because of the 3 or 4 week layoff, or if Dave is hoping someone in the Van Halen camp will take notice, but he was not at all bad. In an article I read, Dave described his band as “shit-hot”, and I won’t disagree. All the Van Halen songs were played true to form, but Yankee Rose was fairly week. I seen Van Halen with Dave at least 3 times and I can tell you he has always been an ass, that’s just Dave. Now I will also tell you that he has always forgotten or otherwise blown off words and even quit songs in the middle in his Van Halen days. I said to myself after many Van Halen shows, “Dave ruins the show.” After seeing some previous reviews here, I expected more of the same. I was about as wrong as I could be. I think Dave hit 99% of the notes correctly and sang 99% of the lyrics. It was almost criminal of him. He still managed to make an ass of himself despite the effort. As far as the spandex goes.....well no male should be wearing it, but he really doesn’t look any worse in them now then he did in his Van Halen days. I would say he’s in great shape. OK, he couldn’t jump off the drum riser for crap, but I can live with that. It wasn’t Van Halen, but it sure provided a taste of how fun a reunion would be. So, I was pleasantly surprised with Dave’s show, but I am glad he opened. Why? Because when Sammy came on, he had more energy blasting through the place in his first song then Dave had in his whole set. His first 4 or 5 songs just lit up the place non-stop! I think he did “Heavy Metal” pretty early, like the fifth song or so and the place was going crazy. Sammy had already played one or maybe two Van Halen tunes early in his set, so I didn’t think OKC was going to get Michael Anthony, but we did and it took the energy level even higher. It was awesome to see the two jamming again. I thought the show was worked well between Michael and Mona. I’ve seen Sammy 4 or 5 times and was still blown away with his show. He is a professional, which is a little of what Dave is lacking. Half the show was Van Halen material, and that’s cool, but I could of personally stood a little more Montrose or pre-Van Halen Sammy. I’m not going to detail the whole show, cause it ROCKED, so why say more? Sammy is still kickin’ ass with or without Van Halen and still seems sincere in putting on a great show for his fans. I hope Sammy continues to crank it out and tour for years to come. Thanks!

Thanks to Lyndal S. for this review!

ADDITIONAL REVIEW

I have read all the reviews from different shows.....OK City frekin rocked. Dave had the place screaming and Sammy ended in great fashion too. Great sound...great songs. I listen to Van Halen EVERYDAY....I was very impressed. My voice was horse for 4 days!

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Thanks to Joel W. for this review!

ADDITIONAL REVIEW

Perfection! I must say after Dave left the stage the first time, the crowd started chanting, Sammy, Sammy, Sammy, of course Dave had to come back out one more time. (WHY?) My 23 year old son and I had front row tickets, and looking back at the crowd during both preformers show, you could tell who they came to see. As always Sammy out did himself, he always seems to poor himself out into the crowd and make everyone feel like they are importants to him. We do enjoy the cutting up Sammy does, keep up the great work. After the show he was so tired and still took the time to stop and take some pictures and do autographs. ( Thank you Sammy for the autograph you know where.)

Thanks to Julie Rhodes for this review!

ADDITIONAL REVIEW

David Lee Roth opened the show here in OKC coming out in an electric blue outfit, singing Hot for Teacher. He was in great shape-screaming, doing lots of high kicks, and at one point twirling the microphone stand . (my husband and boys thought that was pretty awesome) It was great to hear some of the old Van Halen songs since I hadn't seen him perform since 1978. He sounded good and I thought his band did a great job of playing the old Van Halen material, but it didn't seem like there was a rapport between Dave and his band like there was with Van Halen. Maybe I expect too much-Dave can't be VH all by himself, no matter how good his band is.

Then came Sammy! Before he came out they were showing a video on the big screen about his music career and clips from his interview on the Cabo WaboBirthday Bash Video. I really enjoyed that and thought it was a great way to start the show. Sammy opened with RED and really got the crowd rockin!

They sang the same set as previous shows but changed it around a little bit doing Heavy Metal early on with Mona and Jesse sharing the lead vocals. Just when I thought the crowd was as loud as it could get, Sammy puts on an OU hat that came up from the audience. That kicked it up a notch!! Sammy and the Waboritas looked and sounded great!! This was their first show after a 3 week break and they all seemed ready to rock!! Oh by the way, nice hair Jesse! (he's a blonde now) When Sammy started on the VH songs I noticed someone walking out on stage - Michael Anthony! What a treat. I wasn't expecting him to be in OKC since he wasn't at the last show. He jammed with the band just like old times, it was awesome to watch. Mona didn't seem to mind, she stayed on stage and sang backup.

As always it was an excellent show! Sammy and the Waboritas haven't been through here since the Red Vodoo Tour 06/99 and it was great to see them again. I also enjoyed DLR, you gotta give the guy credit for getting out there and performing after all these years apart from VH.

Thanks to Sarah T. for this review!

ADDITIONAL REVIEW

1st off, Dave was, suprisingly, on time. He was also very entertaining. His band was tight, his presentation was fun, he did all those nostalgic, beloved VH songs. He did some nice kicks, hit a few high notes, and did a LOT better show than when he visited Tulsa a couple years ago. Although his voice got tired towards the end, he appeared sober, remembered the lyrics, and got the crowd into it. A very nice show, well worth the price. I'm standing there thinking..."man, I hope this isn't just a "Dave" crowd.".

Well, this is the 6th time I've seen Sammy in the last 3 years. His voice sounds like a studio album. I know how old they say he is, but I ain't buying it. He just freakin' rocks. Put him up there with Mike...it was awesome! There is no doubt who won this round. Sammy's just in a different class.

Now I'm just waiting on the "Planet Us" stuff. I was at the Vegas show...I can't wait!

Thanks to Jeff for this review!

ADDITIONAL REVIEW

Diamond David Lee Roth opened the show , I think Dave is still the showman he was back in the 70's 80's, I took my cousin who remember's the RedRocker, but David came out as the ring leader ! Vocal's great, everyone is complaining that Dave doesn't remember the word's, David has done it for year's(1978-1984). Get a grit Non VH Fan's. Then the Redrocker Sammy Hagar who I saw at the Texxas Jam in 79 , started with "RED" , thank you Sam for thinking about your true fan's, so good to hear that one, Sammy brought out Michael Anthony , the crowd went wild, the boy's are back!!! The Ford Arean went nut's, Sammy played all the song's of the VH day's, but to those This Is The Best Show on Tour , If you get a chance to see this Tour , Do It ! Great show Thank you Sam & Dave , Thank you so much for all the great music! and What a hell of a good Time!

Thanks to Troy Butler for this review!

ADDITIONAL REVIEW

First off, I would like to thank both Sammy & The Waboritas as well as Dave and his band for one of the best shows that I have seen in some time. The ticket price was worth EVERY penny! If you have a chance to see this tour, do it! Now for my take on both performances.
The largest suprise for me was the performance of David Lee Roth. I was pleasantly suprised to find that Dave could still rock! Dave did struggle at times vocally, and as great as Brian Young's performance was, I would have rather Brian not attempted Eruption. Brian did not pull this off very well. Brian also struggled somewhat on parts of "And the cradle will Rock". Overall, Dave sounded good (not great). His showmanship was top notch though. I would say that I would rate Dave and his band on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the best) that Dave and his group certainly earned a good solid 8.5. Thanks Dave on a job well done.

Now for Sammy, after a suprisingly good performance from Diamond Dave. My friend and I were both suprised and honestly a bit worried that Sammy might have some trouble topping what we just had seen. Sammy & The Waboritas came out and put our concerns to rest very quickly. My friend and I have seen the Waboritas four times now, so we are very aware of the caliber of this group that Sammy has backing him up. Sammy performed at a higher than I expected even out of Sammy! His voice was strong. He hit his notes flawlessly, the energy that Sammy and the Waboritas radiated to the audience was nothing short of amazing. He surely had to win over some of the DLR fans with that performance. The sound was mixed a bit better than Dave's was. The set list flowed very well. The mellow feel during Eagles Fly was a nice change of tempo. Sammy picked it right back up immediately. As always, Mona was an ace with the bass guitar, Victor Johnson held his own very nicely compared to Brian Young (you guys that have taken shots @ Victor are nuts! Brian is awesome, but... Victor is no slouch either.) Drummer for drummer, Sammy definitely had the upper hand. The Waboritas turned it out! And last but not least, the Factor---- MIchael Anthony. Sammy & The waboritas earned a solid 10. It was great seeing Mike again. Sammy made the statement "tonight, Mike is one of the Waboritas". Way to go Sammy! - It was / is not a VH reunion. Sammy has a band right now (I miss VH as much as anyone though). They (the Waboritas) are Sammy's friends, Eddie has to sit and watch for right now (hopefully he will go back to work, he is too much of a genius musically for his talent to go to waste!!!). Thank you Sammy!!!! Thank you to the Waboritas and Mike, all of you rock better than you ever have, I am not sure how, you keep getting better!.

If you compared this face off to two heavyweight boxers. It would have been a very early KO with Sammy winning. However, Dave would have been able to walk away with his head held high. He gave it his best, he performed very well and gave the audience what they wanted to see and hear. He was just outmatched. Against Sammy Hagar, nothing to be ashamed of.

Thanks to GMAN for this review!

Thanks to Matthew McManamey for the set list!