The Planets Are Now Aligned: David Lee Roth and Van Halen To Reunite

I had never felt so old and past my prime as the day a friend a mere 6 years my junior asked me if I liked any Van Halen songs (he had just procured a copy of their greatest hits). "Only the Dave songs", I told him, to which he replied "Which ones are those?" Not only could he not tell the two halves of the catalog apart, but he was also unaware that the band had had more than one frontman. Wow.

I was thirteen years old when Roth and VH parted company, and in the twenty odd years since, I have wasted a considerable amount of time and brain cells trying to physically 'wish' Dave back into the band, and with their brief (and cruel) 1996 tryst, I thought I had almost succeeded. It's not that they were my favorite band (I loved them, to be sure, but favorite is too strong a word), but I pinpoint Dave's departure as the last time that hard rock was actually fun. Just look at the current crop of metal goons occupying rock radio. They bring the noise, and sing like constipation is next to godliness, but come on guys, whatever happened to spandex, drinking Jack Daniels on stage, and pyrotechnics? (Kid Rock, to be fair, did his best to get the party started again, but well...) And that Hagar character...what kind of replacement was that? Sure, he seems like the kind of guy you could drink a beer and play darts with, but the VH records of his era piss all over the original spirit of the band, and at their worst are the dirtiest word in rock: boring.

And now comes word that the once impossible dream is now set to happen. My active 'wishing' has again paid off, and this time it's apparently the real deal. On the heels of the announcement their induction of their induction into the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame comes news of an impending summer tour. Sure, it won't feature original bassist Michael Anthony (Eddie's 15 year old son Wolfgang will handle bass chores), but beggars like me can certainly not be choosers.

A hot tip if you want to see this show was badly as I do: see one of the first 5 concerts--they may be getting along now, but Ed & Dave are absolutely combustible personalities and the tour is more likely to implode than finish. I hope I am wrong; I fear I am not.

Thank you for indulging this mostly embarssing glimpse into my adolescence.

Downloads:
Van Halen "The Full Bug" ( from the album Diver Down)
Blue Highway "I'll Wait" (from the bluegrass tribute Strummin' With The Devil)
For more rabid Roth news and debate, check out the ever-zealous Roth Army.