A Class Act

I'm a huge Van Halen fan. Have been for 20 years (I "discovered" them in 1987, and yes, that puts me in the Sammy camp). Admittedly when Sammy left/got booted from the band, some of the magic was lost. I was excited Gary Cherone got the gig after Sammy, but that fell flat (no fault of Gary's). Then the breakups and makeups. The "almost reunions" and then nothing from the Van Halen Bros for so long. Mike getting the boot for daring to go on tour with Hagar (like he was just supposed to sit around for almost a decade). And then the past two months...

But to say I was excited the band finally got into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is a little of an understatement (even though I think the whole thing is a farce at times).

Of course, drama seems to plague the band. First Roth and Sammy joked that "who knows what'll happen" at the induction, hinting that there could be some good backstage antics/fights. Then Van Halen announced a tour with Roth, but without Mike. Then Ed and Alex weren't going to go to the induction. Then Dave hemmed and hawed (yeah, like Roth would ever shy from the spotlight). Then Ed announced he was going into rehab. Then Dave said if he couldn't sing with Velvet Revolver (the band that was tapped to play VH songs at the induction), he wasn't going. The only thing anyone knew for sure was that Sammy and Mike were going to be there.

Frankly, I was tired of it all. It's a big honor, and some of the children weren't going. It's embarrassing that Van Halen has become a punchline as opposed to just being the best band in the world/universe. I was pretty soured by it (and the past ten years of B.S.).

But as I FF'ed through the 4+ hrs of the live induction ceremony, I stopped at the part I was interested in: the Van Halen induction. The opening "package" reminded me that this band was it in their heyday. When these guys got together, magic happened.

After the package, the members of Velvet Revolver introduced the band as inductees into the Hall. Why this band was chosen, I can't guess. It was like watching five clowns behind the podium. Thank God they weren't drunk (or didn't act like it).

As expected, only Sammy and Mike were there to accept the honor (I can't believe Roth didn't show, but maybe he was discouraged from attending by the Brothers Van Halen). Mike started out by thanking the people and the band members who helped make the band what it was. You saw real emotion there. This guy got what it was all about-- a celebration of the accomplishments a band he was in had. He wished Eddie luck (maybe there really is something to the whole rehab thing-- I admit I thought it was an excuse to not attend). He also gave a shout out to Gary Cherone, which was a classy move. He said Gary was a part of the band, so he deserved some recognition. Poor Gary has been erased from existence (think you'll ever see a Cherone song on a future VH "Best Of"? Don't hold your breath), and that's tragic.

After Mike spoke, Sammy said some words. He, too, wished Eddie luck. He also expressed how honored he was that he was included. One of the B.S. parts of The RnR Hall of Fame is they can induct certain lineups and exclude others (for example: Gary didn't get an award). And not including Hagar could have happened-- especially since Van Halen pulled Roth back into the fold for a tour as the inductees were announced. Hagar knew the worth of the honor as well.

Which is what's so disappointing that Dave, Alex, and Ed didn't show. You get inducted once. Maybe Ed & Alex can be inducted with the Gary lineup, but I'm not thinking that'll happen. And while I like some of Dave's solo stuff, I don't think that'll be his second-chance ticket into the Hall. Childish antics robbed them of a chance to be honored by their peers.

Back to the show: after Sammy and Mike left the stage, Velvet Revolver sang "Ain't Talkin' Bout Love". I'll give the band the benefit of the doubt and say the mix sucked. If you're a fan of cymbals, then the performance was for you. If you like vocals, then you were out of luck because the mic was turned way down. And Weiland's movements were unnerving and distracting. Are we sure he's not on the nose-candy again?

After VR left the stage, Paul Schaffer's band (with Mike on bass) backed up Sammy in a rendition of "Why Can't This Be Love?". Again, the mix sucked. And I know Schaffer's band isn't hard rock (although Paul does have a healthy appreciation for bands such as Van Halen), but horns during the song? Didn't work. But at least Sam and Mike got to do their thing on stage. That could have been a last-minute addition as VR was supposed to play Hagar-era song "Runaround". And Dave's comments that he wasn't going to attend because he couldn't sing also lead me to believe that last-second changes were made.

And at the end of the show, we got to see the jam song, where the inductees and presenters (except Velvet Revolver) all come together. Sammy got some good solo time-- and I could actually hear him.

After they were inducted, we got to see a little bit of Mike and Sammy in the press area. They looked to be on top of the world posing for the cameras. And while I couldn't hear some of the questions, it looked as if Mike was explaining why he was booted from the band. His answer: an incredulous "I don't know". Sammy also answered a reunion question by saying Roth needs to go out on tour with the band. When that one's done, everyone needs to grow up-- himself included-- and go out together; he and Dave and the others.

It'll never happen, but it was a nice thing to say, and a nice dream to give a guy after 20 years.