DAILY SOUTHTOWN
Sam, Dave bring back Van Halen memories
Tuesday, June 4, 2002
By Eloise Marie Valadez
Staff writer

It was as close to a Van Halen reunion as fans would get anytime soon.

Sammy Hagar and David Lee Roth landed their double-bill concert at the
Tweeter Center in Tinley Park on Saturday evening and led audience members
down a memory lane of two decades worth of rocking tunes.

Titled the "Sam and Dave" tour, the show placed each of the rockers in the
spotlight for a 90-minute segment of his signature music and Van Halen
favorites.

While the performance energy was explosive and revved up for both former Van
Halen frontmen, the concert overall didn't come close to the dynamic sounds
they exhibited during their stints with Van Halen.
Hagar took the stage to audience cheers at exactly 7:30 p.m. and, from the
beginning, threw a high-voltage beach party.

Known to his fans as the "Red Rocker," Hagar delivered a rebel rousing set
of his own hits as well as a handful of Van Halen tunes.

The singer/guitarist never stopped moving as he ran across the stage,
summoned drinks from his waitresses who were waiting behind the scenes (he
has his own brand of tequila), sprinkled sand from Cabo Wabo on the stage
and donned a number of T-shirts and beach towels taken from the audience.
Dressed in bright yellow print pants, yellow shirt, sunglasses and colorful,
jazzy looking sneakers, Hagar proved a rambunctious spitfire in concert. His
band, the Waboritas, provided a highly charged musical backdrop for the
rocker.

Included on his playlist were "There's Only One to Rock," "Mas Tequila" and
"Give to Live."
The highlight of Hagar's set, however, was the appearance of Van Halen
bassist Michael Anthony who performed a selection of the band's hits with
the rocker.

Hagar said Anthony is making only a few appearances on the tour. Fans, who
welcomed Anthony with cheers, were treated to a performance of VH tunes,
including "Why Can't This Be Love," "Dreams," "Top of the World" and
"Poundcake."

While Hagar's vocals have held up pretty well, David Lee Roth's ability to
hit the high notes has diminished.

Fans also welcomed Roth to the stage with open arms and shouts, but the
singer, known for his high screams, gutsy vocal delivery and flamboyant
antics on stage, didn't quite hit the mark this time around.

Appearing in skin-tight, black, leather pants, the long-haired and buffed
rocker was still high energy in his performance, throwing in his signature
karate-like kicks (though not as many nor as high as in the past) and risque
mannerisms.

Audience members, though, were eager to hear Roth's Van Halen hits, and his
segment was filled with them.

Early on, Roth did well with "Hot for Teacher," "Panama," "Runnin' With the
Devil" and "Dance the Night Away."

Near the concert's end, his parched performance of "(Oh) Pretty Woman"
didn't cause near the sparks of his Van Halen renditions.

Other tunes performed by Roth included the blockbuster "Jump," "So This Is
Love," "Unchained" and "Ain't Talkin' Bout Love."

For Van Halen admirers in the audience, the Hagar-Roth pairing seemed to
satisfy a hunger to hear the old rockin' hits again.

Now, bring on Eddie!