I grew up a fan of Van Halen. In my room as I was growing up were several posters that risked having the push pins shaken off from all the times my buddies and I turned it up to “11” and air-guitared “Hot for Teacher” or pretty much anything from the Diver Down album.
I endured Van Halen through all the lead singers over the years, although I am now partial to Sammy Hagar, just because the guy seems really smart - his drunken stupor days are long behind him, he has a great club in Cabo, and a prosperous little tequila business.
Nevertheless, Van Halen is (was) on tour again, with Diamond Dave as the front runner. The parenthetical “was” is related to some issue with Eddie Van Halen’s health, which, as of a couple of weeks ago, interrupted everyone’s desire to see the original band together again. Except for the fact that Michael Anthony has now been replaced by Eddie’s son, Wolfgang. Hey, three out of four ain’t bad.
Probably for the best, anyway. From the reviews I’ve read, the shows have been a disaster with Eddie scolding his teenage son for missing notes and lacking stage presence. Huh. That and the fact that Wolfgang has been scolding his father for showing up to work drunk and with a cigarette in his mouth. Guess his bout with esophageal cancer and 10 trips to rehab haven’t convinced Eddie to get into better shape.
But I digress. The real reason for this post is to talk about an amazing clip going around with David Lee Roth singing Runnin’ with the Devil - a classic number from their first album. The story goes that Dave wasn’t feeling the first couple of takes, so the producer sent him out for a big hamburger and an even bigger joint. The result is what you hear in this post - Diamond Dave raw, stoned, and at his best. It’s quite a treat.
