Diamond Dave Still Shines

March 11, 2003 | Wayne

This post was written by guest author, The One and Only Wayne.

Each Saturday until April 26, Universal Studios is celebrating Mardi Gras with a pretty well-known musical guest. I missed Sugar Ray (darn) and The Allman Brothers Band (oh my), but it didn’t matter. Why? Because for weeks I had been looking forward to seeing the great Lynyrd Skynyrd (that a tough one to spell). Oh, to hear such timeless rock classics as “Simple Man”, “Gimme Two Steps”, and “Saturday Night Special” would have been quite the experience.

So, you may imagine how disappointed I was when, 5 days prior, I learned that the band had cancelled their appearance. I was alone in my car, but I’m sure that if you’d seen me my lip would have been sticking out in a semi-pouty manner. Minutes later I perked right up when Mr. Radio Voice told me that David Lee Roth was now going to perform on the 8th. Huzzah! Oh, happy day!

See, that’s because David Lee Roth rocks. Van Halen was a groundbreaking band when they released the self-titled “Van Halen” in 1978. Eddie Van Halen is a true genious with a guitar, but it was Roth who put a voice to the music, and for that matter, to the music videos. Constantly jumping around and high-kicking, belting out the high notes all the while, Roth brought a huge amount of energy to the stage. Until this past Saturday, I had only tasted the phenomenon that is Roth on MTV and VH1 (I just love Behind the Music).

Let me tell you first, that he still kicks and jumps high, now combining the two in what could be an impressive martial arts move. Second, let me inform you that he still has that trademark voice that he had 25 years ago. Thirdly, let me recommend that everyone go see him perform if given the opportunity, because he only seemed washed-up two, maybe three, times over the course of the hour-longish set. Once is when he offered to let an audience member to “reach between his legs and ease the seat back.” A little while later, he mentioned that this was his first gig all year, which made me feel a little bad for him. All he wants to do is keep rocking your socks off. He should be playing clubs or something, at least. Get a better agent, buddy.

His new band was pretty good. The bass player remained for the most part in the background, letting the guitarist and drummer do most work. This makes pretty good sense to me, as few Van Halen/Roth songs focused on bass. The drummer (forgive me, but I don’t know the guys names) sounded like he should be playing something much heavier, like Slayer, Testament, or the Misfits. I don’t remember Alex Van Halen being this noticable, and heavy, but the music was better for it. The louder, lower mix made the songs seem much newer than they actually are, and if done right, makes for a better experience than seeing old guys play the same old songs.

Van Halen songs are about Eddie Van Halen showing his skill with the guitar, and Roth’s new guy did a decent job reproducing the classic sounds of hits like “You Really Got Me Now,” “Panama,” and “Eruption” However, he doesn’t play it as cleanly and, whether done intentionally to make things sound newer, the end effect is that you constantly compared it to the cd you have at home.

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guests, music, reviews, Wayne