The last Van Halen Tour featuring Sammy Hagar was 20 years ago in 2004. Fast forward to 2015 and Van Halen embarked on their last tour as Van Halen with David Lee Roth returning to vocals.
A lot has changed in 20 years. Eddie Van Halen lost his battle with cancer in 2020, bringing one of the most iconic and influential rock bands to an end. His older brother Alex, now 71, is due to release his autobiography in October and recently began auctioning off all his music memorabilia including all his drum kits and instruments.
While Alex will always wrestle with the grief of losing his younger brother, and Wofgang Van Halen has no desire to resurrect Van Halen, the legacy lives on. Tonight at Riverbend that legacy, a celebration of Van Halen, was on full display. This was the 25th stop on The Best of All Worlds Tour. The lineup included Sammy Hagar, Joe Satriani, Jason Bonham, Rai Thistlethwayth, and original and founding member of Van Halen Michael Anthony. Unfortunately, Jason Bonham was unable to play the show tonight. Instead, Cincinnati was treated to world-renowned Kenny Aronoff as a fill-in. The show kicked off after a stifling hot day in Cincinnati. Sammy even mentioned he thought he was in Mexico earlier today when arriving in Cincinnati due to the heat.
Support for the evening began with a set by Canadian rockers, Loverboy. Loverboy, who is best known for their hit "Working For the Weekend," treated those who braved the remaining early evening heat with an hour of their riff-laden hits which included "Lovin Every Minute of It" and "Turn Me Loose" which included a memorable intro. Loverboy sounded good live, a testament to their ability to continue touring over the years. They have retained their chops live.
Just as the sun set, a video montage began of snippets of Sammy and references to Van Halen subtly and respectfully. Immediately following the video Sammy and the boys set the stage for what they had in store by tearing through Good Enough. At 76 Sammy can still sing and he did Van Halen justice tonight to the 14,000 in attendance. This applied to the entire band. Joe Satriani was next level representing Eddie Van Halen tonight. He lived up to being one of the most legendary guitar players of all time. The tone and accuracy of his playing were an accurate representation of how Eddie Van Halen sounded. It was the attention to detail that cannot be overlooked. A great example was displayed when Joe began his intro "Poundcake." It was evident he spent time rehearsing to ensure the drill sounded accurate to the album's intro. Joe did his homework and studied Eddie. As a lifelong fan of Van Halen and a fan of Joe Satriani, my respect for what he did tonight will be lasting. Michael Anthony is already a beast with his famous Jack Daniels bass, but his shining moments were his vocals. At various points during Judgement Day, Sammy and Michael were just hitting the high notes together in perfect harmony. Absolutely incredible. Sammy knew what he was doing, adding Rai at keys which was on full display with "Right Now" in particular. "Right Now" was easily one of the crowd favorites tonight. While Jason was not able to play tonight, Kenny led those in attendance to believe nothing had changed. A true testament to why he is one of the most talented drummers on the planet.
There were so many moments tonight where I looked at my friends in attendance in awe at how sonically accurate the band sounded. Those moments included hearing the band play "5150" live, which transitioned into "Summer Nights." Sammy only continued to sound better as the show progressed. His range and ability to sing tracks from all the Van Halen periods was simply inspiring. There might not be anyone on vocals better at his age playing an energetic two (2) hour rock show. I got goosebumps when the drumming intro started for "The Seventh Seal" and it brought me back to the last time I saw Van Halen which was during the Balance Tour in 1995 in Chicago at the World Music Theatre. Maybe some would say a deep cut, maybe so but Balance remains one of my favorite Van Halen albums. The hits continued with "Eagles Fly, I Can’t Drive 55" along with "Jump." The show ended with a poignant rendition of "When It's Love" which started beautifully with Rai leading into that piercing shot of Satriani again bringing Eddie back to life with his guitar. What a way to end the night.
This tour was a fitting tribute to one of the most influential and pivotal bands in rock and roll history. Sammy Hagar assembled all the right pieces and left us all on Top of the World.
