Newsgroup: it.arti.musica.strumenti.chitarra
Titolo: [EVH] It's not 1985 anymore, but Van Halen still rocks

Nope, it's not 1985 anymore, but Van Halen still rocks
Michael Deeds, Idaho Statesman
11-18-2004
NAMPA - Midway through Van Halen's two-hour concert Tuesday, Sammy Hagar 
told
his audience, "Boise, you hit the jackpot!"
Huh? Considering that ticket prices got slashed a week earlier, punishing 
loyal
followers, most of the 5,463 fans probably wondered what the heck the Red
Rocker was bragging about.
Actually, by that time, they probably didn't care. Van Halen, playing one of
the final shows of its much-hyped reunion tour, actually revived the 
blissful
magic of a true arena-rock concert.
If Hagar and guitarist Eddie Van Halen are feuding behind the scenes as
rumored, you couldn't detect it. Both performed like men 10 years younger,
smiling and sprinting around the stage.
Hagar's voice was surprisingly strong, even stretching for notes on "Why
Can't This Be Love." But he also mailed in a few lyrics because he was busy
autographing T-shirts, an obsessive, all-night-long practice that was
incredibly annoying yet strangely endearing. Walking around with shirts on 
both
shoulders, he sometimes looked more like a vendor than a frontman.
Eddie Van Halen wasn't quite what we remembered; shirtless and sinewy, he 
was
beginning to resemble - gulp -Iggy Pop.
But who cared how he looked? Van Halen's guitar pyrotechnics, while far from
album perfect, were fascinating. It was spine-tingling just to see the 
original
whammy-bar god.
Fans loved it - especially radio-station contest winners standing inside the
immense stage, inches from the action. When Gen-Xers in the crowd weren't
hoisting beers and bellowing "Yeeeeaaaaaaaahhh!" they danced and grinned,
hammered into blissful oblivion by the sky-high volume. (Incidentally, what 
was
it about a Van Halen concert that brought out every breast augmentation in
Boise? Was it Eddie's artificial hip?)
To be picky, the set list wasn't quite the best of both worlds. Only about a
third of the show drew from the classic era of hairy-chested vocalist David 
Lee
Roth. The rest was Van Hagar fare. But only a fool longed for Roth, who has
proven that he can't deliver anymore. (Unless, perhaps, it's a baby. Roth
has been riding with a New York ambulance crew, training to become a
paramedic).
You didn't miss Roth during highlights such as "Unchained" and
"Panama"; Hagar left the spotlight to Eddie's defining riffs.
But where was "Runnin' with the Devil"? Or, sheesh, "Hot for Teacher?
(Hagar, toting his Sharpie, could have substituted the words "Hot for
T-shirts!").
Bassist Michael Anthony did the tired Jack Daniel's gag he's done for
decades. Drummer Alex Van Halen kept his solo short and slick. Hagar showed
what a consummate entertainer he is, dragging out a tiny palm tree and
solo-strumming "Where Eagles Fly" and "I Can't Drive 55" - the
night's biggest sing-along.
Eddie's guitar solo was 15 minutes: Part "Eruption," part
"Cathedral," part channeling his inner child on a psychiatrist's couch.
While he writhed in front of a dozen amps, creating a noise that resembled a
dying sperm whale, you realized that . hey,as long as dude plays
"Eruption," it's all good.
Which it was. Van Halen isn't exactly what it was 20 years ago, but who is?
As Roth used to say, this must be just like livin' in paradise. 

 [zap!]
Mah, a parte che mi son fatto un giro, per curiosità, e ho subito beccato i
fan sfegatelli di D.L.Roth, abbastanza accaniti contro Hagar ; D
Ed effettivamente anche contro Eddie e Alex...ma va beh...
Non riesco a coniugare il titolo dell'articolo con il suo contenuto...Sarà
che l'ho letto alla veloce, ma mi sembra che l'immagine che ne vien fuori
sia abbastanza sotto tono...boh. Mi dà l'idea di uno che non si vuol
sbilanciare, ma che pensa abbastanza male dell'intera faccenda.
Piuttosto, non ho capito quest'allusione a Roth...che gli è successo? E'
scoppiato di brutto? Erano 15 anni che non ascoltavo i VH...probabilmente
mi sarò perso qualche passaggio :)
m, curioso.
-- 
email: manchee...@THIStiscali.it

 ha scritto nel messaggio 
news:ly1qtwyes6he$.1qczewejc6sya.dlg@40tude.net...

l' impressione che ho avuto è quella di un reportage in fin dei conti 
benevolo nei confronti di una band che reca evidenti i segni dell' età ma 
che dimostra in quanto a carica, una decina di anni in meno. certo i 
commenti non sono favorevoli ad hagar come persona ma ne attestano una 
ancora alta dote professionale. Il commento a Roth si ricollega ad un 
recente soccorso stradale effettuato dallo stesso nei confronti di un 
estraneo.
cia
peps