The Canadian band Loverboy proved to be the ideal warmup for Hagar and company.
If one half of Van Halen — post-original frontman David Lee Roth-era singer Sammy Hagar and original bassist Michael Anthony — goes on tour for the first time in decades, mostly playing Van Halen material (including a few from Roth’s time), why not bring two accomplished musicians with them?
Especially given. Original guitarist Eddie Van Halen died of cancer in 2020, and original drummer Alex Van Halen appears to have decided to retire musically, with a new book about his relationship with his gifted brother set to be released in the fall.
Hagar and Anthony have been joined by lightning-fast guitarist Joe Satriani and booming drummer Jason Bonham, son of Led Zeppelin’s legendary John, and the quartet will perform at Toronto’s Budweiser Stage on Wednesday night as part of The Best of All Worlds Tour.
Anthony and Satriani had previously played with Hagar in Chickenfoot, as had Anthony and Bonham in The Circle, which contributed to the on-stage alchemy.
England’s Bonham reminded the audience that his 17-year-old self had gone to see Van Halen 40 years ago, and if you had told him one day he’d be behind the drum kit — with images of his famous father plastered all over it — playing with Hagar and Anthony, “I would have said you were as mad as a hatter.”
They’ve also hired famed Australian artist Rai Thistlethwayte on keyboards and backup vocals to handle those iconic synth intros from the 1980s.
However, because Van Halen’s Hagar era spanned from the mid-80s to the mid-’90s (with a brief reunion tour from 2003-05), the two-hour show, which had the audience on their feet from the start with opening song Good Enough, featured a lot of Van Hagar material, including standouts Best of Both Worlds, Right Now, Why Can’t This Be Love, and When It’s Love.
But a true surprise, such as Anthony taking lead vocals on the very early Van Halen song Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love — with a brief shout out to his old bandmate “Let’s do it for Eddie!” — proved potent as Hagar exited the stage for the last time.
Hagar defied his 76 years on the planet as he effortlessly handled vocals and occasionally guitar playing while wearing a Red Rocker Lager T-shirt — advertising his just-released-in-Ontario new beer, which he told me backstage was a cross between Mexican and Japanese beer.
“I like to strap on a guitar to make Joe sound better,” quipped Hagar, who also opened many cans of Red Rocker Lager on stage, yelling “Surf’s Up!” during the first one and threw them to fans in the front to finish.
His tequila was also flowing during the party-hearty tune Mas Tequila, and another audience favorite was Hagar’s early solo single I Can’t Drive 55.
Canadian ’80s rock stalwarts Loverboy opened Wednesday night, with frontman Mike Reno’s red headband still in place, as well as original members Paul Dean on guitar, Doug Johnson on keyboards, Matt Frenette on drums, and Ken “Spider” Sinnaeve replacing the late Scott Smith on bass.
The band entertained the audience with eight songs in 45 minutes, including singles like The Kid is Hot Tonite, Loving Every Minute of It, Turn Me Loose, and Working For the Weekend.
It turned out to be the ideal warmup for Hagar and company.
