Van Halen exiles link up for 'heavyweight' tour

Former Van Halen frontmen Sammy Hagar and David Lee Roth had never met each other before getting together at record mogul Irving Azoff's office last winter to talk about a joint tour.

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SAMMY HAGAR AND DAVID LEE ROTH

WHAT: Rock concert

WHEN: Tomorrow night at 7

WHERE: The Gorge Amphitheatre

TICKETS: $49.90 and $65.65 at Ticketmaster, 206-628-0888 or www.ticketmaster.com

The idea was immensely appealing and sure to be one of the most talked-about tours of 2002, but Hagar was suspicious of Roth's motives.

"I got Dave on the phone and I said, 'Let's meet in person. I've got to look you in the eye and make sure you're reputable,'" Hagar said in a phone interview.

"I was really down on him. I was giving him (bleep) on the phone and he took it really well. So I thought, well, I guess this guy really wants to do it."

Roth, who shares the stage with Hagar tomorrow night at The Gorge Amphitheatre, had made several attempts to reconcile with former bandmates Eddie and Alex Van Halen, to no avail.

"At first, I thought Dave was just trying to get back with Van Halen," Hagar said. "Everyone knows he's been trying ever since I left. So I thought maybe he was trying to use me to get them so jealous that they'd take him back again."

What surprised Hagar the most is that the two rock stars hit it off.

"If you walk into a room with a guy that messes with your ego, that's where there's going to be problems," Hagar said. "Dave's got a huge ego. I mean, this guy's ego is bigger than everybody else I know put together. But because he didn't rub mine wrong there wasn't a problem."

Hagar also realized that Roth, one of the most flamboyant personalities in rock, is pretty much "on" all the time.

"All that personality you see in a video or an interview, the guy's like that just sitting in a room. He's out there. But it's entertaining to me. I was laughing. I said, 'Dave, are you always like this?' And he said, 'Like what?' Totally dry. When he laughs, he laughs hysterically and then stops suddenly."

Roth served as Van Halen's original, over-the-top frontman, but departed in 1985 after an acrimonious split with the Van Halens. Arena-rock veteran Hagar stepped in, leading the band through a stable, highly successful period that ended in 1996 when the Van Halen brothers began recording again with Roth without informing Hagar. The soap opera continued when the Van Halens dumped Roth and began working with Extreme singer Gary Cherone, who was dismissed after one album.

The Sam and Dave tour -- dubbed "Song for Song: The Heavyweight Champs of Rock 'n' Roll" tour -- opened May 29 in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. The final performance of the opening leg is tomorrow at The Gorge, where Roth opens. A second leg begins July 23 in Louisiana and continues through early September.

Hagar and Roth have taken turns closing the show, and each is performing about 90 minutes of songs from his respective era of Van Halen tunes. Hagar's set encompasses his solo career as well as his stint as lead singer for Montrose. It features such songs as "Red," "Three Lock Box," "Why Can't This Be Love," "5150," "Poundcake," "Little White Lies," "I Can't Drive 55" and "Mas Tequila." Backing Hagar is his longtime band, the Waboritas.

"I wouldn't do any of the Dave-era songs," Hagar said. "And he certainly couldn't sing any of the Van Hagar-era songs. I don't think that'll happen, unless he does something to really piss me off."

Roth's set features such songs as "Hot for Teacher," "Panama," "Runnin' With the Devil," "You Really Got Me," "Atomic Punk," "(Oh) Pretty Woman," "Everybody Wants Some" and "Jump." More so than Hagar's band, Roth's backup group (featuring guitarist Brian Young of Van Halen tribute band Atomic Punks) is intended to duplicate the classic Van Halen sound of the '80s.

Young mimics the amazing sound of Eddie Van Halen's guitar.

"As great as Eddie is -- and I would never take anything away from him as a musician, an innovator -- there's a billion guys out there who can play note-for-note exactly like him using with the same equipment," Hagar said.

"Eddie can be cloned, and Roth's doing it. But I'm not."

Hagar's set is the more unusual of the two. It resembles his Cabo Wabo Cantina in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, complete with waiters, bartenders and a bar crowd.

"The curtain goes up and the audience sees this smoky, dingy club," Hagar said. "I have about 50 people on stage and we serve people drinks all night like we're all in a real bar.

"I can't live without this set, without this crowd on stage with me. If I turned around and looked and nobody was behind me, I think I'd feel kind of lonely."

Hagar isn't anticipating any animosity among concertgoers who may prefer Roth over Hagar, or vice versa.

"If fights broke out, it would ruin it for me. I couldn't deal with that," Hagar said.

"There's a big trunk to this tree that's Van Halen. And even if they're in different camps, everyone loved Van Halen."

P-I pop music critic Gene Stout can be reached at 206-448-8383 or genestout@seattlepi.com.

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