Van Halen melted my brain!
OK, let's just get down to brass tacks: The Van Halen concert at the Staples Center last week was the most amazing musical moment of my entire year. Yes, even more than my beloved disco robots Daft Punk and the Ziggy Stardust 2.0 spectacle of Kevin Barnes and Of Montreal, the almighty VH cranked it up to 11 and handily blew away any and all competition.
The party started from the minute I pulled into my free parking spot a few blocks away from the Staples Center. Across the street, a circle of fortysomethings were blasting "Runnin' With The Devil" and shot-gunning bears with abandon. By the time I made my way to the box office, I spied Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins (with a gaggle of girls) hop out of a limo and head into the VIP entrance.
When I got my ticket, it came in an envelope with a note from the band's publicist and a sheet of official Van Halen letterhead. Being something of a major nerd and music memorabilia hound, I of course framed the letter and ticket. I am not ashamed:
When a found my seat, I nearly fainted. It was a mere six rows up from the floor, with the stage maybe 10 yards away. My inner 15-year-old didn't know whether to start screaming like a little girl or weep uncontrollably. Instead, I simply shooed away the squatter camped out in my precious real estate and reveled in it's awesomeness.
As for the show, it was absolutely everything a VH fan would dream of and so much more. The setlist was a fanboy's fantasy come true: they reeled off everything from the sure-fire hits ("Runnin' With The Devil," "Dance The Night Away," "Panama") to deep album cuts that had us diehards freaking out ("I'm The One," "Little Guitars," "Romeo Delight").
Bar none, Eddie Van Halen is the greatest guitar player of his generation. His solo was so amazing that even the crotchety older usher busy clearing the aisle near me stopped to watch him play in open-mouthed awe. His brother Alex is still the man on the drums, and his nephew Wofgang did the family name proud on bass and backing vocals.
Of course, it was the inimitable David Lee Roth at the center of this three-ring circus, and he held it down as well as he ever did back in the day. Although there were no striped bodysuits, Roth can still wail with the best of them, doing his whole martial arts thing and even playing the guitar. Seeing him and Eddie smiling and having such a great time together onstage was the best Thanksgiving present ever.
Other celeb sightings: a very blonde Robert Downey Jr., Steve-O, Cypress Hill rapper B-Real and Korn guitarist Munky.
For those unfortunate souls that missed this unbelievably night of truly classic rock, Van Halen is kind enough to bring the whole she-bang back to the Southland two more times before the holidays. See them light it up again at the Staples Center on December 14, while our friends down south can catch them at the Honda Center on December 18. Miracles can happen!
--Scott T. Sterling
