IGB
2012-03-28 06:44:47 UTC
Van Halen fans cheer return of original singer
David Lee Roth helped build supergroup; concertgoers glad Sammy Hagar
era over
Jon Fassnacht
Reading Eagle
David Lee Roth forever; Sammy Hagar never.
That seemed to be the consensus of the hundreds of fans standing
outside the Sovereign Center on Monday hours before Van Halen's
concert.
Hagar helmed the enduring hard rock band for about 20 years starting
in the mid-'80s. The band's second incarnation sold millions of
albums, but its music left many longtime fans cold.
"Sammy Hagar had no business being in Van Halen," said Frank DeGrazio
of Trooper, Montgomery County.
The mercurial Roth has returned to the fold for a tour and new album.
Monday's stop in Reading is the band's third recent show in the area,
following appearances in Philadelphia and Atlantic City, N.J.
DeGrazio, 43, won tickets to the show from Philadelphia-based radio
station WMMR, but said he and son Sal would have bought tickets
otherwise.
"There's just something about the way Eddie Van Halen plays the
guitar," the father said. "The way he plays, his hands move so fast."
Sal, 19, wasn't alive during the band's initial foray with Roth, but
said hearing the band's music on the radio and his dad's stereo made
him a fan. Sal's ice hockey team, coached by his father, warmed up to
the band's "Unchained."
Steve, who only gave the initial T. for a last name, drove from Fall
River, Mass. The 32-year-old has been a fan since the early 1980s.
"Diamond Dave, dude," said Steve, when asked what he liked about the
band. "It's about time. It's not Van Halen without David Lee Roth."
Sharon Johnston, standing a few feet away, agreed.
"Sammy turned me off," said Johnston, 48, of Bristol, Bucks County. "I
drifted away but now Dave's back. Yeah!"
Steve Seiberlich of Philadelphia, Johnston's son, said he's been a fan
for all of his 25 years.
"I just love the sound," he said. "It's just great music."
The love for the band's earlier material hasn't seemed to translate to
"A Different Kind of Truth," the Roth-led lineup's first album since
"1984."
A few of the crowd members said lead single "Tattoo" was good, but not
the album as a whole.
At least it's not Van Hagar.
David Lee Roth helped build supergroup; concertgoers glad Sammy Hagar
era over
Jon Fassnacht
Reading Eagle
David Lee Roth forever; Sammy Hagar never.
That seemed to be the consensus of the hundreds of fans standing
outside the Sovereign Center on Monday hours before Van Halen's
concert.
Hagar helmed the enduring hard rock band for about 20 years starting
in the mid-'80s. The band's second incarnation sold millions of
albums, but its music left many longtime fans cold.
"Sammy Hagar had no business being in Van Halen," said Frank DeGrazio
of Trooper, Montgomery County.
The mercurial Roth has returned to the fold for a tour and new album.
Monday's stop in Reading is the band's third recent show in the area,
following appearances in Philadelphia and Atlantic City, N.J.
DeGrazio, 43, won tickets to the show from Philadelphia-based radio
station WMMR, but said he and son Sal would have bought tickets
otherwise.
"There's just something about the way Eddie Van Halen plays the
guitar," the father said. "The way he plays, his hands move so fast."
Sal, 19, wasn't alive during the band's initial foray with Roth, but
said hearing the band's music on the radio and his dad's stereo made
him a fan. Sal's ice hockey team, coached by his father, warmed up to
the band's "Unchained."
Steve, who only gave the initial T. for a last name, drove from Fall
River, Mass. The 32-year-old has been a fan since the early 1980s.
"Diamond Dave, dude," said Steve, when asked what he liked about the
band. "It's about time. It's not Van Halen without David Lee Roth."
Sharon Johnston, standing a few feet away, agreed.
"Sammy turned me off," said Johnston, 48, of Bristol, Bucks County. "I
drifted away but now Dave's back. Yeah!"
Steve Seiberlich of Philadelphia, Johnston's son, said he's been a fan
for all of his 25 years.
"I just love the sound," he said. "It's just great music."
The love for the band's earlier material hasn't seemed to translate to
"A Different Kind of Truth," the Roth-led lineup's first album since
"1984."
A few of the crowd members said lead single "Tattoo" was good, but not
the album as a whole.
At least it's not Van Hagar.