Review & live photos by Jordan West
Sammy Hagar, the dynamic singer and businessman, is still having fun in his mid-seventies. Just like he did in the mid-seventies. His singing voice, as well as his infectious enthusiasm about everything he does, is a blessing in a sometimes negative field of the rock music genre for over 50 years. So many miserable types have come and gone in that time frame — too many to list — but Hagar has been a constant positive force, no matter what band he has had the pleasure of performing with.
He brought out a fabulous group with him to the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, another institution that has brought so much joy to the masses since 1968 and is still going strong now since being resurrected in 2014. The purpose of this tour, amongst other things. was to mostly honor the music he created with the late Edward Van Halen during their partnership in Van Halen. As we all know, EVH died in 2020, and there were reports that he and all his former bandmates were planning a career retrospective tour, featuring all former members, as well as dipping into their huge catalog of material. That never happened due to his unfortunate passing.
After a brief, but mildly satisfying opening set from 1980s radio hit makers Loverboy — a surprising choice as far as I’m concerned — I looked around at the swelling crowd inside the Forum. Lots of people were dressed in shirts that honored EVH, and there were plenty of his famous red, black, and white striped designs on various articles of clothing — from button-down polyester shirts to leggings and even shoes. Obviously, the Van Halen marketing crew has been doing their job.
Sammy Hagar is quite the market exec as well. His ventures into liquor branding and even restaurants have made him a fortune. Word is that he personally bankrolled this tour. I guess “when ya got it, ya got it,” and tonight it was a sold-out show. Ticket prices were not cheap, and the material sells itself. Add to that, his band features original Van Halen and Chickenfoot bassist Michael Anthony, and the great guitarist Joe Satriani, who, outside of his standout solo career, has performed alongside Hagar and Anthony in Chickenfoot.
They were joined by the thundering drums of Jason Bonham, the ultra-talented son of the late Led Zeppelin pounder John Bonham, and Australian keyboardist and vocalist Rai Thistlethwayte (Sammy Hagar: “ Try pronouncing THAT when you’re drunk!”) who added his talents to not only the keyboards on the later Van Halen material, but also supplied great support to the high notes of Anthony’s vocals. The stage was a simple setup. Just a second level platform for the drums and keys, and, of course, a place for plenty of bottles of Hagar’s brands of Santo tequila, Beach Bar rum, and Red Rocker Lager beer.
As the lights went down, and a career retrospective video was shown on the screen behind the stage, Hagar and company came out blazing with “Good Enough,” the first track off Van Halen’s 5150 album from 1986. With its opening yelp of “Hellllloooo Baby” setting the tone for an evening of fun, Hagar was like a ringmaster in a rock n’ roll circus, marching around the stage, projecting infectious energy. “Ohh, we gonna have some fun tonight!” he confirmed.
True to the original video and recording, guitarist Joe Satriani brought out a cordless electric drill for the intro of “Poundcake” and soon handed the power tool off to Hagar who teased Michael Anthony with it before concentrating on the song. Satriani showed off some incredible guitar licks but didn’t stray too far from the originals. During “Runaround,” he mimicked EVH’s crunchy tone about as well as any song in the set. Hagar seemed to struggle a bit vocally during the early part of the show, but seemed to find his groove by the time the band covered his 1982 solo hit, “There’s Only One Way To Rock.”
Hagar donned a red Gibson Explorer guitar for that number, and quipped “I’m gonna fuck Joe up with this. I used to say the same thing to Eddie.” It seemed to me that it made Hagar a bit more comfortable with the guitar, and his vocals fell into place, along with support from Anthony’s extreme high vocals as well as Thistlethwayte’s high tenor. Hagar, who really is a gifted guitarist, traded bits with the master Satriani, and it was very satisfying watching the two of them interact.
“Judgement Day,” the heaviest song of the set, is tailor-made for Joe Satriani. His natural tones and the original sound blend very well. Michael Anthony shared lead vocals with Hagar. Jason Bonham’s heavy drumming, along with Anthony’s booming bass, brought the material to new levels. During the David Lee Roth era songs “Panama” and “Ain’t Talkin’ Bout Love,” the energy and spirit of the classic lineup returned to the Forum for the first time since 1984. Anthony took lead vocals on both, and even yelled “Let’s do this for Eddie” during the latter.
But the “Van Hagar” songs were first and foremost on this band’s mind. “5150” was performed for the first time since 1987. Hagar told a story about how Eddie Van Halen had been playing a “weird” guitar and how strange the tone on one particular song was. He said that when deciding on songs for this tour, they could not reproduce it, but Satriani said that he could. The song was “Summer Nights,” also off 5150, and, true to his word, Satriani nailed it. Right on cue, during the line in the song that says “wadda ya say fella’s this might call for a toast,” Hagar cracked open a beer. He raised his arms skyward, and asked the audience his signature in-concert question: “Are we having any FUN yet?” The audience roared.
After a spirited version of the radio hit “Top Of The World,” in which a rotating spaceman was shown on the video screen, the party atmosphere really kicked in with “Best Of Both Worlds,” yet another one from 5150. As Satriani played the songs catchy opening riff, Hagar asked Anthony what time it was, and he screamed “5150 time” as the two of them and Thistlethwayte marched their synchronized, robotic “5150 walk” across the stage, adding to the fun. The crowd loved it, and a spirited Hagar was all grins as he wailed and interacted with the audience, even catching a “Cabo Wabo” work shirt that was thrown onstage and wearing it during the number. They played a bit of Kool and the Gang’s “Celebration” during the breakdown, with Jason Bonham singing the tag line.
It was time to spotlight Satriani, and he performed a blazing rendition of “Satch Boogie” from his 1987 Surfing With The Alien release. His dive-bombing guitar sounds were all his own, and it was great to see him playing something from his own “turf” for the first and only time of the evening. Jason Bonham, playing a huge “Alex Van Halen” inspired drum kit, complete with tubular “octobons,” gave the song a lot of extra punch. He hits his drums very hard — much like his late father John, whose face was emblazoned on not one, but three kick drums.
Bonham continued his “lead drumming” during the intro to “Seventh Seal,” a polarizing track from Van Halen’s excellent Balance album from 1995. Video clips from Ingmar Bergman’s classic film of the same name were shown on the video screen, which I thought was a nice touch. Thistlethwayte’s keyboard intro to “Right Now” was slightly more melodic than EVH’s original track from 1992’s For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge collection. The song’s key was adjusted just slightly, though not enough to radically drift from the recorded version. It was interesting to note that for the first time all night, Bonham’s snare drum duplicated Alex Van Halen’s signature tone. Satriani soared with his solo and brought the song to new heights — so much so that I think even EVH would have approved.
After a take on “Why Can’t This Be Love” that brought out lots of singing from the audience, with Anthony sharing the lead vocals with Hagar, the band took a bit of a break to reflect. Hagar, now sporting a red shirt with the Red Rocker Lager logo on the front, told the audience how great it sounded at the Kia Forum. “You can hear the people, you can SEE the people, and you can SMELL the people!” he exclaimed.
Hagar then directed the conversation to drinking. He climbed up to the stage’s second level and addressed drinking habits with both Thistlethwayte and Jason Bonham, who has been sober for years. Bonham explained that he had one of his last drinks with Hagar in Cabo San Lucas many years before, and then for some reason, led the crowd in a sing-along of the John Denver hit “Country Roads” before the band kicked into Hagar’s own “Eagles Fly” from his 1987 EVH co-produced album I Never Said Goodbye. Bonham’s drums, combined with Anthony’s loud bass playing, transformed the previously soft sounds of the song into a “power ballad” punctuated by some stinging guitar from Joe Satriani. It was yet another highlight of the evening for me.
“NOW can I start drinking?” Hagar asked his bandmates. As the band locked into a drum led groove for an intro, including Satriani playing variations of Jimi Hendrix’s “Third Stone from the Sun” on a guitar with an EVH designed red, white and black striped finish, Hagar brought out a bottle of his tequila and some cups, and poured shots for fans in the front row. Eventually, the singer’s Gary Glitter inspired song “Mas Tequila” was performed, and it was like being at his annual birthday in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, only a bit north in Los Angeles. The party atmosphere had now hit its peak, as the song’s “One shot, two shot, three shots…hey…hey” lyrics lit up the video screen.
The group then launched into “Heavy Metal,” Hagar’s song from the 1981 film of the same name, which was also on 1982’s Standing Hampton LP. Hagar joined in on guitar and shared vocals with Michael Anthony, as well as Thistlethwayte. “I Can’t Drive 55” had the audience singing along at a frenzied pace before Bonham brought the song to a crashing end.
The stage darkened briefly, and Satriani was soon alone under a spotlight sending out squealing sounds on his guitar before shifting into the chugging “Space Station #5” from the classic Montrose album of 1973. The LP’s cover appeared on the video screen and Hagar amazingly duplicated his original vocal key — 50 years later! This quickly segued into “Big Foot,” from Chickenfoot’s second release III from 2011. Satriani, Anthony, and Bonham established a huge groove during this number, until Thistlethwayte’s familiar keyboard into Van Halen’s “Jump” took the atmosphere in a different direction.
The stage and riser glowed in EVH signature red, white, and black, and hearing Hagar’s vocals on such a huge hit was a bit strange, but this was his show tonight, and the crowd seemed to be loving every second of it.
Just like that, another shift in momentum brought the band and the show home with the ballad “When It’s Love” from 1988’s OU812 album. Hagar, by now, seemed to be struggling a bit with the high parts of the vocals, but hell, the guy is almost 77 years old, and had been singing his ass off for the last two hours! It was an interesting choice to close out a set, I would have thought that it would be included earlier, but it’s a great song, and the audience loved it. “Sammy Hagar at your service” he announced at the song’s end, and a huge “Thank You” appeared on the screen as a loud heartbeat boomed over the PA system, as the band waved and left the stage.
In an evening filled with nostalgia, all inside the Kia Forum seemed to have gotten their money’s worth and more. It was a wonderful tribute to the great music that Hagar and all the great musicians he has worked with over the last 50 years have created. The fact that Sammy Hagar can still sing so many of the songs in virtually the same key as when they were recorded is incredible, and a tribute to his fine, natural gift.
Even though it is a shame that this evening did not include the late Edward Van Halen or the retired Alex Van Halen, their presence was felt. I give props to the band members — Sammy Hagar, Joe Satriani, Michael Anthony, Jason Bonham, and Rai Thistlethwayte — for recreating so well the music that has meant so much to so many fans.
