Review & Photos by Charlie Steffens
Since playing backyard parties in their native Pasadena, and the clubs along Hollywood’s Sunset Strip in the 70s, Van Halen has maintained a loyal following. Through the ups and downs, personnel changes involving lead singers, and the departure of original bassist Michael Anthony, the band has weathered it all fairly well. With the current lineup of guitarist Eddie Van Halen, bassist Wolfgang Van Halen, drummer Alex Van Halen, and singer David Lee Roth, Van Halen is actually more “Van Halen” than ever before.
On the fifth night of their extensive 2015 North American tour, Van Halen and opening act Kenny Wayne Shepherd played the Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre in Southern California. Van Halen has worldwide appeal, but you can’t help to think that a performance on their home turf will be extra special. Droves of people, young and old, sported their Van Halen swag.
Kenny Wayne Shepherd played a set with radio hits “Deja Voodoo” and “Blue on Black,” along with a moving homage to his friend and fellow bluesman B.B. King. Closing with the Jimi Hendrix classic “Voodoo Chile,” Shepherd really unleashed his guitar moxie, doing Jimi proud.
Van Halen opened with “Light Up the Sky,” and the crowd was won over immediately. Singer David Lee Roth, svelte and fit-looking, slid across the floor in between verses like a rock and roll Baryshnikov. The four members flashed ear-to-ear smiles; their mojo was in the air.
Plucking from a 23-song set list — songs were played that had not been performed
live in decades. “Drop Dead Legs” from 1984, and “Dirty Movies” from 1981’s Fair Warning were added for the first time. Eddie and son Wolfgang were both complementary and frequently outshining Roth at the mic, which is forgivable.
The band’s harmonies, second to Eddie Van Halen’s masterful guitar playing, remain unforgettable. Wolfgang, half the age of his bandmates, proved his mettle as both bassist and singer. Wolfgang and his uncle, drummer Alex Van Halen, comprise one of rock’s finest rhythm sections.
As expected, Eddie, silver-haired and goatee, played his guitar like the prodigy he will always be. “Feel Your Love Tonight” and “I’ll Wait” were but a couple of the high moments in the set, songs that showcased Eddie’s inimitable tone and flurries of guitar brilliance.
“When’s the last time you heard a goddamn drum solo like that?,” Roth said to the audience, following Alex’s impressive drum solo. Not nearly as agile as he was back in the 80s, yet still charismatic and outspoken, Roth shared anecdotes and wisecracks with the crowd between songs. A few verses into “Little Guitars,” he exclaimed, “Hey, who else does this shit without a teleprompter?”
The notes ringing from Eddie’s fingers in the beginning of “Women in Love” and the sentiment of “In a Simple Rhyme” struck a nostalgic chord. Not enough can be said about the harmonies between father and son. The nasty, hard-rocking power of “Dirty Movies” jolted the audience into submission.
At one point, Roth took center stage with a guitar and harmonica and told a rather drawn-out story, an intro to “Ice Cream Man.” The rumors about the brown M&Ms were dispelled. Perhaps the most valuable nugget that Roth shared as he waxed eloquently: “It ain’t who you love. It’s who wants to love you again.”
EVH’s incendiary guitar solo led into “Eruption,” then segued into “You Really Got Me,” a Kinks cover and the band’s first single from their 1978 debut album. The crowd went wild for “Panama,” which ended the main set. An encore “Jump” and another Van Halen show came to a rousing conclusion.
