Roth-Van Halen tour in Cleveland

A 16-year-old has replaced the original bassist.

By JOHN BENSON

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

And the cradle rocks again.

Finally after two decades, die-hard Van Halen fans and Sammy Hagar haters can stop their whining.

Despite the battered egos and apparent bad blood between David Lee Roth and the members of Van Halen, the band he left in 1985, the two entities have reconciled for what amounts to the second-most-desired rock ’n’ roll reunion (Led Zeppelin is No. 1) of the past three decades. 

Though the tour is highly anticipated, it’s hardly surprising considering over the past decade Van Halen’s image has taken more hits than Britney Spears (ouch!). In fact, this Roth-Van Halen reunion was scheduled to take place in 1996 after Eddie Van Halen fired Hagar and momentarily reunited with Roth for two bonus tracks added to the group’s greatest-hits release.

However, after Roth’s ego took center stage at an appearance at the 1996 MTV Awards, Eddie quickly remembered how Diamond Dave’s departure from the band a decade before was a blessing in disguise. If you’re wondering how much animosity exists between Roth and Eddie, just consider the guitar wizard picked Extreme’s Gary Cherone to sing on the horrific 1998 album “Van Halen III.”

Rehab helped

It took one more reconciliation with Hagar in 2004 before the Van Halen reunion with Roth would happen. Actually, it was clear David was Eddie’s only choice. Thankfully he went to rehab to make it a done deal. We can only guess how close Eddie came to drunk dialing Scott Stapp.

Considering Van Halen appears unable to do anything in a conventional manner, the words “Van Halen reunion” aren’t altogether accurate because original bassist Michael Anthony, supposedly banished from the group for his penchant to associate and tour with Hagar, has been replaced by Eddie’s 16-year-old son, Wolfgang “Wolfie” Van Halen.

The switcheroo sends a double message to Anthony: Not only shouldn’t you mess with the Van Halens, but apparently a 16-year-old can fill your shoes. Um, shouldn’t Wolfie be, say, in high school studying for midterms, text messaging his buddies and making fun of the dinosaur rock act Van Halen?

Not surprisingly, the tour was announced in late August and instantly sold out many dates around the country. However, tickets still remain available for the band’s Wednesday show at Quicken Loans Arena.

As for the set, fans are in for quite a spectacle. If the 2002 “Sam and Dave Tour,” which featured the unlikely co-headlining pairing of Hagar and Roth, taught us anything, Sammy may have the pipes, but Dave has the tunes. And now Van Halen fans will finally get early material from the band that hasn’t been performed at a VH show in over two decades.

Sure all of the group’s major radio hits are in the set list. This includes “Runnin’ with the Devil,” “Jump” and “Panama.” But this time it’s different. Granted, Hagar sang the tunes with all his sentimental gusto (all the while winking to Dave on the side lines), but the true appeal of this show is the fist-in-the-air material that was ignored during the Red Rocker’s administration.

Surprise gems

In fact, nearly a third — as it should be — of the band’s set is dedicated to the group’s landmark self-titled 1978 album, which arguably set the ’80s hard rock archetype. Among the surprise gems getting stage time are “I’m the One,” “Atomic Punk” and “Ice Cream Man.” Other somewhat obscure tracks currently being played include the highly underrated “Little Guitars,” the raucous “Beautiful Girls” and the anthemic “I’ll Wait.”

Considering all the band members, sans Wolfie, are in their 50s, with Roth looking more like Broadway legend Carol Channing than a bare-chested sex machine, it appears the rocking chair will be rocking on this memorable night down a mean street memory lane.

One can only wonder how long détente will last, while in the meantime Hagar is celebrating his 60th birthday in Cabo San Lucas this weekend — no joke — invariably waiting for the Roth experiment to implode. Until then, Van Halen fans get the best of both worlds.