For the first time since last December, Van Halen performed live without any major flaws. Rolling Stone reported that unlike December, in which the band seemingly lost its edge, played an explosive set at Tiger Woods’ Tiger Jam charity concert, complete with Diamond Dave’s outlandish stage antics and Eddie’s guitar prowess.

The legendary Los Angeles quartet not only played their classic catalog with a lion’s ferocity, the band dove headfirst into the musical fountain of youth as well:

The 40-something audience enjoyed the run through the Van Halen double-barrelled greatest hits catalogue: “And The Cradle Will Rock…,” “Runnin’ with the Devil,” “Beautiful Girls,” “Everybody Wants Some!!” and even the cover of “(Oh) Pretty Woman” from Diver Down. In all, Van Halen offered a great evening to be old and rich (top tickets were $200), with the profits going to help the young and poor. Everybody won — which in Vegas is normally an impossibility.

What would a Van Halen show be without any banter from Diamond Dave? Exactly. The frontman put on a performance for the ages as if it were 1978 all over again.

While David Lee Roth can’t seem to do anything with his voice but fall flat, the man was born to be a headliner in Vegas: Top hats! Outlandishly dated outfits! Roundhouse kicks! “I can not play golf for shit,” Roth told the crowd. “But I can ruin my knee with the pros.”

Through all the garbage that has plagued the band for years, it finally seems to have washed away like a bad dream. There is a God. Van Halen are back and on top of the world for the first time since the Reagan Administration won another four years in 1984. It’s finally time to jump back in the DeLorean, crank up “Hot For Teacher” and hit the highways once again.

Categories: News
Tags: Van Halen