Review: Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony honor Van Halen as summer tour hits Charlotte

Four dates into Sammy Hagar’s “Best of Both Worlds Tour” — which also features former Van Halen bandmate Michael Anthony, guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani, and second-generation rock drummer Jason Bonham — the 76-year-old vocalist repeatedly talked about how happy the tour made him.

“To finally get to do this and do it right,” he said, revealing that the idea came up when he and Anthony were sitting on a beach in Cabo San Lucas together when someone pointed out it had been 20 years since Hagar’s last reunion with the band.

“Twenty years?” he marveled. “We’re doing it.”

Of course, putting a tour together without Eddie Van Halen, who died in 2020, could be tricky. But after recruiting Satriani — who played in Chickenfoot with Hagar and Anthony — it became possible.

“It’s the best we can do,” Hagar added.

And their best was pretty darn good considering Hagar and Anthony are in their 70s and Satriani isn’t far behind at 68. Bonham’s the baby of the band at 58. But you wouldn’t have known that just by watching them Friday night at PNC Music Pavilion, as Hagar did half-jumping jacks and Anthony handled the hair-metal-worthy high notes on occasion.

Opening act Loverboy went on 15 minutes early due to weather concerns. With four of its five original members still in tow (bassist Scott Smith was lost at sea in 2000), Loverboy powered through hit after hit before ending its set with the obligatory Friday-afternoon radio staple “Working for the Weekend.”

Thankfully the rain held off through two-thirds of Hagar’s set, which opened with “Good Enough” and “Pound Cake.” Not only did Hagar pepper his set with Van Halen hits he led (“Right Now,” “Why Can’t This Be Love” “Best of Both Worlds” among them), but they also included “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘bout Love” and “Panama” from the David Lee Roth era, with Anthony capably handling lead vocals on the latter.

Australian musician Rai Thistlethwayte — who has toured as part of Satriani’s band — was a welcome addition, filling out the sound with backing vocals, keys, and guitar. He seemed to be having a great time doing it.

Satriani ably recreated Eddie Van Halen’s recordings, raking a power drill down the strings and zipping through the intro of “Summer Nights.” He did less improvising than his predecessor, sticking closely to the original songs. Meanwhile, Bonham showcased a canny ability to capture the unique sound of Alex Van Halen’s snare on songs like “5150.”

Rain started falling during “Right Now” — which seemed fitting thinking of the video (“Right now it’s raining”) — but it wasn’t enough to put a damper on the festivities.

I’ll admit I was skeptical going into the show, given the fanfare that Van Halen with Roth was met with when the band kicked off their long-awaited reunion tour in Charlotte in 2007. But a huge, enthusiastic crowd turned out to hear Van Hagar-era songs, as well as Hagar’s solo classics like “I Can’t Drive 55.”

He and Anthony’s bond is palpable on stage, whether they’re harmonizing into the same microphone or Hagar is razzing Anthony for drinking too much on a night off. It was actually quite sweet seeing Anthony receive such appreciation from the fans after his rather cold dismissal during the Roth reunion.

He is the only member from the classic Van Halen lineup still playing on stage — and he and Hagar are pulling it off quite well.

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