BRISTOW, Virginia – “Never say never, right?” says Sammy Hagar, who's beaming a huge grin as guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani plays the opening notes to "Panama," a song released 40 years ago by Van Halen, when it was fronted by David Lee Roth.
In the post-Roth years, some Van Halen diehards thought they might never again hear that song from the band's multiplatinum album "1984" in a live setting. But it's ringing out loudly on Hagar's The Best of All Worlds Tour this summer.
The tour's name plays off the title of the song "Best of Both Worlds," on Van Halen's "5150" album from 1986 when Hagar fronted the band. It's also the title of a 2004 Van Halen greatest hits collection with songs from the Hagar and Roth eras.
On tour through August in the U.S., the band – Hagar and Satriani, bassist Michael Anthony, an original member of Van Halen, and drummer Jason Bonham – is playing songs from Van Halen's extensive catalog including some from Roth's days.
Hagar and Anthony, who's also recorded and performed with Hagar in the bands Chickenfoot and Sammy Hagar & the Circle, have said they tried to kickstart a Van Halen reunion over the past two decades. But personality clashes and the death of guitarist Eddie Van Halen in October 2020 prevented the regrouping.
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Now, the timing felt right to bring some songs back to the stage.
"Mike (Anthony) and I just said, 'Let's put a setlist together and let's put a dream band together that would be more like Van Halen would be and let's go out and play mostly Van Halen (songs)," Hagar told USA TODAY earlier this month.
Also on the road is Rai Thistlethwayte, an Australian multi-instrumentalist from Satriani's band. Thistlehwayte plays guitar, keyboards and sings backing vocals, too.
"He sings great. So we've got a live band that plays just like the record," said Hagar, who notes that often recorded keyboard tracks were used for song such as "Right Now," which restricts bands' spontaneity.
"All the band members grew up on these songs. Jason Bonham … he knows them inside out," Hagar said. "Joe (Satriani), he worshiped Eddie. He's just going, 'Oh man, I get to play this song.' So, the enthusiasm that we're playing these songs with, quite honestly, it's just as good as it could possibly be."
That strategy played right into the desires of fans at the July 20 tour stop. Many among the more than 15,000 in attendance wore Van Halen merchandise, including red, black and white-patterned Eddie Van Halen Vans shoes.
Songs from the Van Hagar era dominated the forceful first half-hour. Satriani used a power drill to replicate the gritty guitar riffs in "Poundcake," and the powerful-voiced Hagar, 76, who energetically criss-crossed the stage, grabbed a guitar for his 1981 solo hit "There's Only One Way to Rock."
Anthony belted out several Roth-like screams while delivering lead vocals on “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love” from the 1978 debut album "Van Halen." He screamed out “Let's do this for Eddie,” as he led the crowd in choruses of "Hey, hey, hey," near the song's finish.
During the next song, "Top of the World," Anthony and Satriani converged and unexpectedly freelanced a few lines of another classic Van Halen hit “Dance the Night Away.”
“Hey, sometimes I even get surprised,” joked Hagar.
The crowd remained on their feet for most of the show, singing along or holding up their phones to capture the moment. The musicians seemed to be having just as much fun. Hagar told the crowd he and Anthony, 70, wanted the tour to be a "a big celebration of the music of Van Halen, the biggest part of my musical life," he said. "It's a celebration of the music … and people who supported that band."
During "Best of Both Worlds," the band tossed in a few measures of Kool and the Gang's song "Celebration," with Bonham singing lead. But for most of the night, Bonham, the son of the late and legendary Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, provided the thunderous hard rock foundation – matched with Anthony's booming bass.
That was most evident during "The Seventh Seal," the first track on the 1995 "Balance" album and one declared a "deep track" by Hagar. Bonham's drum and percussion solo kicked off the song, joined by ominous keyboard and bass accompaniment, then chiming guitars from Satriani.
Eddie Van Halen's presence remained. As Hagar introduced "Eagles Fly," a song from his 1987 "I Never Said Goodbye" release, he said it was one of the late guitarist's favorite tracks from Hagar.
In another nod to beloved guitar-slinger, Satriani wielded a red and white-striped Eddie Van Halen signature guitar he purchased new for the tour (Satriani actually bought four of them, he says).
Throughout, Hagar served not only as singer and guitarist, but stage director bringing attention to his bandmates. Hagar the lifestyle brand was evident, too. He wore T-shirts sporting logos of his Cabo Wabo nightclubs and Santo tequila. Hagar also handed out Sammy's Beach Bar Cocktails and poured tequila to some fans in the front row.
Near the show's end, Hagar again told the crowd, "We never say never," as Thistlethwayte played the opening notes of "Jump," which became a No. 1 hit for Van Halen.
After the finale, "When It's Love," Hagar thanked the crowd and said, "We are keeping it live, and alive, Mikey and I, and these boys right here. Thank you for loving this show."
Before the Bristow show, the Cooley family who made the 200-mile trip from Virginia Beach, Virginia, were preparing to meet Hagar backstage.
Back in 2013, Allison Cooley, 20, forwarded a video to Hagar showing her and her sister's response when their parents, Matt and Karen, said they had gotten tickets for the family to see him in concert. "He actually ended up posting that video on all of his platforms and it blew up from there," she said. "I've been a big fan and am super excited to be here."
"He raised her right," Hagar said, before posing to take pictures with the family.
Matt Cooley created a Hagar-Van Halen playlist for his daughter and is going to see the band again in Arizona, with his other daughter, Kaitlyn. "I'm a Van Hagar guy, but it's going to be fun to see those (older Van Halen) songs played," Cooley said.
Fans have been expressing their thoughts about the tour online.
After seeing the concert in Atlanta, Instagram user @alliec425 commented on Hagar's post about the show: "It was an amazing show! I loved every minute. I never got to see Van Halen before Eddie passed, but now I feel like I’ve seen Van Halen. Thank you for putting this together. Wow is all I can say!"
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