Van Halen: version whatever, Bankers Life Fieldhouse February 22, 2012. After Roth, Hagar, Roth briefly again, Cherone, Long Hiatus, Hagar briefly again, Roth and now a few years of stability, its the same line-up that toured in 2007. Then, they had a Greatest Hits setlist and no new music (the industry refers to this as a Heritage Act). Today we get a new record, titled A Different Kind of Truth. Whether you like the new record or not, the new tour represents a different kind of Van Halen. Not the Roth era Van Halen of old, no. Its an old (aged) Van Halen, lacking the full frontal assault of the hay day.

By good, I mean acceptable, certainly short of astonishing or amazing and this was a good concert by that definition. It was good in terms of song execution, choice of songs, and the very high quality jumbo digital screen behind the stage, which played nearly non-stop through the show. Of the screen size, Roth commented he had seen one that big once before when they called them drive-in theaters. Where I sat in the lower bowl of the fieldhouse, the sound was good too. So it had all these very positive and impressive elements, what was missing? Well, gusto for one thing. It sort of lacked the classic Van Halen swagger that comes with knowing you are the best band in the world. It lacked craziness and balls out absurdity from the old days. The boys were sort of going through the motions. Of course Dave exclaimed he forgot the words once, which was vintage Roth, but it came across to me as though it was a planned part of the show. And you wanna know what? I just read the Rolling Stone review of their Madison Square Garden show and guess what? Roth forgot the words to the same sang and recovered with the same line about meeting everyone at the chorus. So yes, it certainly sounds as though this is a planned part of the show.

David Lee Roth - Instead of the excitement of never knowing what crazy get-up David would wear or what he might do next, he had a guy stationed in front of the stage, lets call him The Prop Guy, whose job it was to hand Roth his next stage accessory from a touring case by the stage. When the prop is no longer needed, Prop Guy takes it, puts it back in the case and waits for his next cue. So the Roth today isnt the DLR we knew and loved back in the day. Hes older, wiser, somewhat tamed if you will. Instead of zany antics, hes all about vaudeville-inspired schtick and he looks like Steve Martin up there. At one point in the show, he pointed his fingers like pistols and acted like a cowboy shoot em up. If you ever saw the movie Parenthood, where Steve Martin has to entertain the kids as a slapstick cowboy at his sons birthday party, you know exactly what I mean. Toward the latter part of the show, just before the Ice Cream Man intro, theres a break where David shares a short film of his herding dogs. He loves them. I get that. Good film. I enjoyed it. Very touching side of Dave revealed, but was it Van Halen in the sense of did it fit the show? No. This would NEVER have happened in 1978-1984. Just my view. In fairness however, David Lee Roth nailed the vocals for all the mainstream hits, including but not limited to Jump, Panama, and even Tattoo. Job well done. There were other times where his vocals were not quite as sharp, but that was to be expected. These are not the kinds of songs that are easy to sing past ones 30s. But the effort was made and he absolutely delivered when it counted, but again, job well done. Dave is a professional entertainer.

Eddie Van Halen looks a lot healthier and happier than in the past and thank God for that. Those Howard Hughes years that Eddie seemed to be going through were frightening. And you know come to think about it, I dont think I recall seeing one cigarette hanging out of Eds mouth all night. That would be awesome if he kicked the smokes. But he seemed to be going through the motions for the most part. Its the same guitar solo hes been doing for years now, a medley of instrumentals which includes Spanish Fly, Cathedral and others concluding with Eruption. Nevertheless, Eddies solo segment is always amazing and entertaining. Eddie on his worst day sounds better than a lot of guitar slingers, so how can I complain? Unchained, I couldnt even tell what he was playing at the start of the song and its always been one of my favorites. Otherwise, a solid delivery, maybe just a little lackluster in my view.

Wolfgang Van Halen. Well what can you say? The kid has the chance to play alongside his Dad and Uncle Alex, some of the best musicians in their class, in front of 20,000 people each night and what kid wouldnt want to take part in that? It has to be a real natural buzz for him and he has the goods. He delivered and held his own. To that extent, no we didnt get the famed Michael Anthony bass solo, complete with Jack Daniels bass, but you can go see Chickenfoot for that.

Alex Van Halen was spot on. He is looking more and more like Charlie Watts, but he did a great job. No flaming drum kit, but then again those days were over a long time ago.

A lot of folks, self included, wondered why in the world would you pair The Mighty Van Halen and Kool and the Gang together on one bill? In reality, it worked better than one might expect! Kool and the Gang were dynamite and entertaining as a support act. The house was not full during their set and the merch booths were full, so I guess you could say they did their job.

Again a very good time and Im glad I went, but the glory days of Van Halen are well behind. Happy Trails!

KOOL AND THE GANG SETLIST: Fresh, Tonight, Emergency, Misled, Too Hot, Hollywood Swingin', Jungle Boogie \ Where da boogie at?, Ladies' Night, Get Down On It, Celebrate

VAN HALEN SETLIST: You Really Got Me, Runnin With the Devil, Shes The Woman, Romeo Delight, Tattoo, Everybody Wants Some!, Somebody Get Me A Doctor, China Town, Hear About It Later
Oh, Pretty Woman, Drum Solo, Unchained, The Trouble with Never, Dance The Night Away, I ll Wait, Hot For Teacher, Women In Love, Girl Gone Bad, Beautiful Girls, Ice Cream Man, Panama, Guitar Solo, Aint Talkin Bout Love, Jump

VAN HALEN
KOOL and THE GANG

After seeing Van Halen perform to a fieldhouse size crowd two nights before, it was interesting, ironic and almost tragic to see three world-class, highly trained and talented guitarists perform for about 50 people in a small club. However I have the notion the California Guitar Trio would have it no other way than a small intimate crowd. Every show seems to be a little different. Always an entertaining, if not jaw dropping, show, this was no exception.

SETLIST: Yamanashi Blues, Melrose Avenue, Sleepwalk (Farina, Farina, Farina), Chacarera, Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen), Train To Lamy, Toccata and Fugue, Miserlou, Blockhead, Marsh, Perpetuum Mobile, Prelude Circulation (Bach), Echoes (Pink Floyd), Andromeda, (Ghost) Riders In The Sky/Riders On The Storm (Stan Jones/The Doors)

ENCORE: William Tell Overture (Schifrin), Happy Trails (Evans)

Meet & Greet: Bert Lams

CALIFORNIA GUITAR TRIO

Once again, Tesla put on a strong set in Fort Wayne, IN and rocked what appeared to be a near sell out show. This particular show was among a small handfull of headline shows Tesla was doing while they had some downtime fromopening for the Scorpions tour. Apparently, their support spot on that tour yielded small, short sets, but here they played 90-100 minutes and the setlist was filled with fan favorites. Oddly none of the new songs from their latest release Twisted Wires were performed, however that was an odd release featuring old tracks with Tommy Skeoch and some acoustic versions of catalog tracks with Skeoch's replacement, Dave Rude.

From New Castle, IN a band called The Protest opened the show and was given a gratuitous amount of tim eto perform before the headline. Running through a handfull of originals in the first part of the set, the band concluded their show with numerous cover songs. The style of the original songs was hard modern era metal, compared to the 70's and 80's covers, so the set was fragmented between old and new rock, covers and originals. The message was even a little fragmented ranging from the Christian metal anthem of their original music to the Rock N Roll All Nite and Party Every Day message of the covers they performed.

SETLIST: Comin Atcha Live, Edisons Medicine, Gettin Better, The First Time, Signs, Thank You (Led Zeppelin cover), Song & Emotion, I Wanna Live, Breaking Free, Hang Tough, No Way Out, Mama Didn't Raise No Fool, Frank Hannon and Dave Rude guitar duet of rock classics, Love Song, What You Give, Into The Now, Modern Day Cowboy, Little Suzi

Meet & Greet: Tesla

TESLA
THE PROTEST

Opening the show was Jeff Massey of Chicago's Steepwater Band as Jeff delivered an entertaining set of heartfelt vintage rock and roots. Shortly after, the full Steepwater Band played a different venue nearby. There's been a steady increase in attention on Steepwater and for good reason.

The main event however was Todd Snider and it was probably the most packed I have ever seen the Bluebird for anything.

SETLIST: Big Finish, Ballad Of The Kingsmen, Stuck On The Corner, D.B. Cooper, Beer Run, [A Few Minutes], Age Like Wine > Beer Run, Play A Train Song, West, Nashville Grand Ballroom Gown, Don't It Make You Wanna Dance, Alright Guy [Hill Country Goodbye], Alright Guy, Ballad Of The Devil's Backbone Tavern, I Want You I Need You I Love You, Mission Accomplished, Easy Money, Conservative Christian..., Hanky Panky ENCORE: Looking For A Job, Enjoy Yourself

TODD SNIDER
JEFF MASSEY

A very disappointing turn out for this show, especially considering the tickets were free for download at the venue website. Unfortunately, it's just plain difficult to get people out on a Monday night for live music or so that seemed to be the case here. Joe's has apparently been struggling for the right attraction to draw a Monday crowd. At least temporarily, they have suspended the front bar sports in favor of Off-Track Wagering, which attracts a completely different demographic. So by my best count, Mike McClure and his band played to approx 38 people. Tables were set up in two rows on extreme ends of the hall, leaving the center section empty. That was awkward. McClure took requests for most of the night and most were shouted from our table. It was like having our own private Mike McClure show - and friends - thats not all bad.

McCLURE SETLIST: I Know / In My Ears / Saints In The Twilight / Out In The Fields / Dings / The Void / Driftin / World Go Round / Skies Are Turning Red / Wild Child / 50 Billion / Tom Skinner Song / Fightin For / Belly Of The Beast

Micky and the Motorcars were far less impressive, but played to a larger crowd of perhaps 56 people counting the bartenders. MMC is not a terrible band, they just have the misfortune of living in the shadows of their successful brothers in Reckless Kelly. If you had never heard of Reckless Kelly, MMC wouldn't be so bad. Not the most endearing or accommodating outfit and unlike McClure, Micky would not take requests, much to our dismay.

MICKY & THE MOTORCARS SETLIST: Any Longer Any More, Lawyers Guns & Money, Naive, Love Is Where I Left It,Carolina Morning, Grow Old, The Band Song, Twilight, How Far, July Youre A Woman, Law, Million Miles, Sister, Which Way From Here, 72, Big Casino, Tougher, 1000 Years
Stay With Me (Faces cover) ENCORE: Careless, Bloodshot

Meet & Greet: Mike McClure

MICKEY and THE MOTORCARS
MIKE McCLURE BAND

First time at the UNited Center for any event. This time Bob Dylan headlined with support from Mark Knopfler and band.