Sammy Hagar is the Ted Nugent of my generation.
He’s never had any massive hits as a solo
artists but he has had enough mild ones that he’s
ingrained in rock fans brains (although admittedly
he had some massive hits during his tenure as
frontman for Van Halen). He’s also connected
so wholly with his audience that he’ll never
go away. And I hear he makes good tequila.
This DVD is a full scale arena show from Sammy
& Co. The band here is pretty excellent. I
was kinda shocked watching how brilliantly his
band plays, this is quite possibly a better band
than Van Halen. Let the anger begin! That’s
right; I said the Wabos are better than Van Halen.
Sammy does all the expected hits here from “Mas
Tequila” to “I Can’t Drive 55”
hitting a Bob Dylan cover (“Rainy Day Women
#12 & #35”) along the way before getting
to what I’m sure a large chunk of the audience
was there to see, a set of Van Halen classics
featuring bassist Michael Anthony. I mean hits
too- many of these songs aren’t even included
on Van Halen’s greatest hits but unquestionably
should have been. In short, these are the songs
fans of the Sammy years really want to hear. He
rips through “Summer Nights,” “Finish
What You Started,” and “Best of Both
Worlds” as well as a sloppy, guitar driven
version of “Right Now” (which picks
up a little bit towards the end). This song really
needs the piano hook. The Wabos have a percussionist,
couldn’t they have required he play the
piano for one song as well!? My only other real
gripe is that there is no material from Marching
to Mars, the best Sammy solo album in my humble
opinion.
Overall this CD is what you are expecting it
to be. Fun. Sammy Hagar seems like he’s
in a really good place and it shines through on
this DVD. The interview extras here are an interesting
watch as well as you get in depth one on ones
with every member of the band in addition to Sammy.
Hagar and Anthony are both class acts, long live
Van Hagar.
Key Tracks: “Mas Tequila,” “Best
of Both Worlds”
Reviewed by Mark Fisher
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