Voices of Van Halen twice over, David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar, have joined forces to undertake a second leg on their popular 2002 summer tour. The former Van Halen vocalists appeared at Hersheypark Star Pavilion on Wednesday, August 14, 2002, in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Their pairing together on this package tour was a major media announcement in the music industry.

     An oversight must have neglected to print a parental advisory warning on the concert tickets. Blue language and naughty words were used liberally by both Roth and Hagar. Sexual content was a primary motivator during the evening. Partying, fast women, and bingeing were major themes reinforced by videos projected throughout both band performances.

Diamond Dave masters the money shot

     David Lee Roth was supported by a strong back up band. His backing musicians included James Lomenzo on bass, Ray Luzier on drums, and Brian Young on guitar. Roth was the quintessential Party Ringmaster, a farcical cross between a Pied Piper and Peter Pan. His preoccupation with the female form was evident by his selection of video clips and his verbal repetition of illicit innuendoes.

     With video images as a backdrop, Roth's band walked out on stage and began jamming on "Hot For Teacher". Diamond Dave appeared and demonstrated one of his highkick jumpspins. Roth was wearing a blue and white get-up with blue diamonds on his legsides. Immediately, the band banged out "Panama". Roth's vocal rap during the bridge was extended, and the song coda featured excellent high vocals.

     Roth's male bravado personae was classic rock'n'roll posing and pomp. He was obviously obsessed with the opposite sex. His outrageous stage antics turned excessively blue during "Mean Streets". Speaking to a woman in the front row, Roth asked if she was old enough to have a drink with him. Halfway through the song, he inquired, "Wanna sip?"

    Roth commenced to simulate masturbating a litre bottle of Jack Daniels onto two women standing dead center in the front row. Traci, a Gettysburg resident, was all smiles when asked about Roth's risque business. "I thought it was neat, very cool". Traci commented that it was real liquor he doused onto her and sister-in-law, Jodi.

     Instead of performing an original solo song like "Living In Paradise", Roth sang the 1964 Kinks British Invasion classic "You Really Got Me". With Lomenzo's thumping bass, a lead solo in the bridge, and a funky break with Roth's quip, "You sexy MoFo", this cover tune cranked.

     The Van Halen rocker, "Beautiful Girls", should have been a subtitle behind Roth's name on the ticket stub. Visions of sexy chicks dressed as sliver sex kittens, close up shots of female figures, and writhing girls were splattered as visuals. Clearly, his primary passion is partying in the fast lane with goodtime women. Diamond Dave's liquid libation on stage was snorts of whiskey.

     Roth commented how the Pennsylvania countryside reminded him of rural Indiana where he grew up. His complement was that the area struck him as very American. Later, Roth removed his shirt and tossed his hat into the audience to exhibit his firm physique. Wearing only a blue and white bandana, Diamond Dave was projecting his assured confidence.

     "Ice Cream Man" was Roth's major moment during his performance. Sporting an acoustic guitar with the half-moon projected onto the videoscreen, Roth talked about a friend Stanley who drove an ice cream truck where they kept their beer chilled in the icebox. An impromptu remark was, "Stanley was the ice cream man, and I grew up to be an action figure".

     His lengthy rap segued into an unplugged rendition of this Van Halen classic. The song then kicked into overdrive as the band came back out to support Roth. In the aftermath of applause, Diamond Dave repeated a familiar Elvis Presley cliche, "Thank you very much" with his accent.

     The rocking "Everybody Wants Some" was a concert highlight. Roth treated the Hershey fans with another highkick jumpspin. His xxx-rap included an ad lib, "Let's do it Pennsylvania style, oh you delightful little slut!" Roth was screaming to guitar leads and growling to bass lines.

     For his grand finale, Roth sang the Van Halen mega-single "Jump" from 1984 as his lone encore. The pavilion crowd sang the stanza as a synthesizer carried the melody. Roth twirled a short silver bar as a stage trick. Young's guitar solo coda was a cue Roth used to leap off the drumriser for one final jump. Diamond Dave hesitated departing to soak up audience applause by encouraging their response.

The Red Rocker whacks the worm

     Sammy Hagar and his Warboritas turned in a powerful performance. The Warboritas feature Mona on bass, Jesse Harms on keyboards, Vic Johnson on guitar, and David Lauser on drums. Hagar's band blended style and substance with alcohol, creating a potent musical concoction on stage that energized the Hershey natives. Hagar's party mentality was his solitary concern during the Warboritas stage time.

     Prior to Hagar's set, an infomercial extolling his musical career ran on the video screens shortly before a Cabo Wabo curtain was pulled across the stage. 50 lucky Hagar fans were herded into two standboxes on either side of the drumkit. Bob Dylan's "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" with its "Everybody must get stoned" lyric played over the p.a. system to induce a festive mood.

     Fired up and ready for action, Sammy Hagar and the Warboritas began their set with "Shaka Dobbie (The Limit)". Hagar was storming about the Hershey stage on electric guitar. Without pause, he struck with the Van Halen rocker, "Runaround", wrapping himself in a large sheet tossed on stage with a message scrawled by a fan.

     Hagar slowed down just long enough for a blonde clad in a skimpy red bikini to hand deliver him a blue margarita to which he proclaimed, "I don't want to get drunk before the show, I want to get drunk during the show!" Partying hard was a concept embraced with wild abandon by both Roth and Hagar. Hagar's choice of party fuel was his Cabo Wabo Tequila.

     Hagar's concert arsenal assaulted the audience with three heavy Van Halen artillery hits in a row. Their version of "Best Of Both Worlds" absolutely rocked the house as a major highpoint of the evening. Johnson's guitar work was just outstanding. Hagar rolled on stage before leading a clap-along break during the bridge. He caught a stylish red shirt tossed to him from a female fan at the completion of this popular rocker.

     Without hesitation, the Warboritas cranked out a tight rendition of "Why Can't This Be Love". Hagar got up close and personal with his standing fans penned in the boxes on stage, weaving through both groups. He commented on his poor choice of stage wardrobe, thanking the woman for the shirt she tossed to him. He put on the shirt and introduced local Gettysburg-born drummer David Lauser, which received a huge roar of approval. Hagar pounded two beers together at once and passed them to Lauser to share a double chug with him.

     Hagar strapped on an acoustic guitar and began telling a story of one morning in 1987 at 2:00 AM when his next door neighbor came knocking. The tale recounted how he and neighbor Eddie composed this number together. Correcting his wife with the humorous retort, "Baby, it is tomorrow", Hagar quoted lyrics from his predecessor's period, "I reach down between my legs, ease the seat back", as an inference to masturbation.

     This mellow percussive jam then crashed into a rousing take of "Finish What Ya Started" with a rearranged guitar passage. After several vocal pauses for dramatic effect punctuated with a cow bell, Hagar reached the lyric climax and exclaimed, "I need some pussy!", as the band commenced an intense jam complete with burping bass and an excellent solo coda by Johnson.

     "Eagles Fly" was another performance peak for Hagar. With 'Red Rocker' inscribed in the neck of his red acoustic guitar and a wide blue sky video, Hagar sang with Mona on harmony vocals and Harms on keyboards. Hagar handled the tender acoustic bridge solo beautifully with the half-moon projected over his shoulder. The full band then kicked in on the number launching the song into the stratosphere.

     After another visit from both bikini clad blondes bearing blue margaritas, Hagar drank one and splashed the second one into the audience before singing "Mas Tequila". With a funky mix of pounding drums and crunching guitar, Hagar played a horn solo. As the audience chanted "Hey" and pumped their fists in the air, a super-sized blue tequila bottle descended from the rafters. Hagar took an electric guitar and smashed the huge pinata open, which initiated a dazzling light display with smoke and streamers. Hagar revealed a large green worm inside the broken bottle and proceeded to French-kiss the tequila toy.

     Wearing a wizard's hat given to him by his daughter, Hagar's final encore was the soaring "Dreams". Those 50 fans that had been standing throughout the concert were brought out across the stage to move and groove to the chorus as Hagar worked the line, high-fiving all of his guests. Johnson ripped off one last cloned guitar solo as the production came to a close. Hagar belted out, "I personally thank David Lee Roth for coming fucking on tour with us!"

     Walt Guss, 30 from Harrisburg, labels himself a Van Hagar fan, feeling the Warboritas are a much more talented band. His favorite songs included "I Can't Drive 55" and "When It's Love" which, "Was very good". Guss actually had a brief close encounter with Hagar after a solo gig in Atlantic City. He added, "It's nice to see David Lee Roth sing Van Halen classics. I have to respect Roth for having the balls to tour".

     Certifiably, there is life after Van Halen. V.H. bassist Michael Anthony turned out to perform on stage with Sammy Hagar on the first night of this tour leg. However, the Van Halen Brothers were recently released from their record label following Eddie Van Halen's battle with cancer. Van Halen 3, featuring former Extreme vocalist Gary Cherone, has bust Van Halen's future musical fortune as a functioning unit.

Roth setlist: Hot For Teacher * Panama * And The Cradle Will Rock * Mean Streets * Dance The Night Away * Runnin' With The Devil * I'm The One * You Really Got Me * Beautiful Girls * So This Is Love * Atomic Punk * Little Dreamer * (Oh) Pretty Woman * D.O.A. * Yankee Rose * Ice Cream Man * Everybody Wants Some * Ain't Talkin' Bout Love * Encore: Jump

Hagar setlist: Shaka Dobbie (The Limit) * Runaround * Three Lock Box * There's Only One Way To Rock * Heavy Metal * Top Of The World * Right Now * Best Of Both Worlds * Why Can't This Be Love * Finish What Ya Started * Eagles Fly * Rock Candy * I Can't Drive 55 * Mas Tequila * Encore: How Do I Know When It's Love * Dreams

RockonTour   Issue #12
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Double Debauchery between Dueling Mouthpieces
David Lee Roth & Sammy Hagar Tour Detente

by Timothy Tilghman