Crib Notes

REAPPEARING ACT: David Lee Roth (left) works his mojo at the Van Halen show Sunday, Feb. 10, at Philips Arena.

(All photos by Perry Julien. See more below the jump.)

A few conclusions from Sunday night’s Van Halen concert at Philips Arena:

• David Lee Roth is one campy dude.
• Wolfgang Van Halen may only be 16 years old, but he’s a helluva bass player.
• His father, Eddie Van Halen, is still a guitar god.
• After years of acrimony between Roth and the rest of Van Halen, they really seemed to be enjoying themselves.

The band performed to a sold-out crowd in Atlanta, opening with “You Really Got Me” and closing with its best-known song, “Jump.” My seat was about 10 rows from the stage, and nobody sat down from the opening notes until the final song. The crowd was primarily baby boomers, many of whom brought their kids to see one of the definitive bands of a bygone era.

David Lee Roth sported a six-pack of abs, and wore an open shirt to show them off. And Eddie Van Halen — still skinny after all these years — stayed shirtless for the entire show. The two former adversaries seemed to revel in being on the same stage again. Roth was often pure camp with his top hats and the exaggerated grin of a Vegas showman, but he was in fine voice and it was a charge to see the original band (plus Wolfgang) back together again.

One of the highlights came when the other band members left the stage and Eddie Van Halen performed a long solo that led into “Eruption.” But two-thirds of the way through, the P.A. system went out. Van Halen gamely played on, then stopped as the crowd began to applaud and chant, “Eddie! Eddie! Eddie!” (more…)

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