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Pop: hot tickets
By GINA VIVINETTO, Times Pop Music Critic
© St. Petersburg Times
published August 1, 2002
Roth and Hagar: All the Van Halen hits. And spandex.
[Publicity photos]
David Lee Roth
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Van Halen zealots have always been split about who the Pasadena, Calif., band's finest lead singer has been: David Lee Roth, who started with the band in 1974 and was fired by the Van Halen brothers a decade later, or his replacement Sammy Hagar, who was canned by Eddie and Alex in 1996. (I think it's safe to presume that poor guy from Extreme was never really a contender.)
In a move as bewildering as anything signaling the apocalypse, Roth and Hagar, who have always detested each other, are now touring together, and they're singing all the hits.
In this corner: Diamond Dave, 46 -- who gets Team Pop's vote -- covers the boisterous and bawdy tunes from his reign, including Dance the Night Away, Runnin' With the Devil, Jump and Hot For Teacher. Roth was a bit of a diva last time he played these parts, throwing a hissy fit at Jannus Landing and walking off the stage twice. Although now his bleached blond locks look more like Carol Channing's on a wicked bad hair day, fans still respond to his buff bod, which Roth still relishes in displaying. (Is that, er, spandex, Mr. Roth? Where does one buy that these days?)
In that corner, Hagar, 54, crooned some of VH's smarter songs. Though Why Can't This Be Love? and Finish What You Started lacked the mayhem of earlier hits, they were darn good Top 40 fare, weren't they? Plus, Hagar brought along hits of his own, such as the dreaded I Can't Drive 55. (On this tour -- and reports say it's so for the Ice Palace gig -- Hagar is joined by VH bassist Michael Anthony.)
Sammy Hagar
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Apparently both singers still aren't keen on each other, but they recognize a rewarding business venture when they see it.
"We're staying the hell away from each other," Hagar tells the press. "I fly privately. He has a bus for himself and his big ol' head."
One thing's for certain: VH1 viewers will have a terrific Sam & Dave Behind the Music next year.
David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar perform at 7:30 tonight at the Ice Palace, 401 Channelside Drive, Tampa. $25-$55. (813) 223-1000, (813) 287-8844 or (727) 898-2100.
Bringing his show home
We're proud of twangy nasal boy Tom Petty in the Sunshine State because -- don't you know, hoss? -- he was born and raised in North Florida. No matter how many fancy mansions he owns elsewhere, we'll claim him as our golden boy until the day he dies.
Petty, 51, got his start in the late 1970s as leader of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, cranking out feel-good, rootsy anthems such as American Girl, which everybody loved until it was used in that blasted Silence of the Lambs. With lean songwriting and a Dylanesque delivery, Petty was the South's answer to Springsteen. Gritty rockers such as Breakdown, Refugee and The Waiting offered brains and brawn. Petty was quick to show his tender side, too, with Don't Do Me Like That and the weepy duet with Stevie Nicks, Stop Draggin' My Heart Around, which, by the way, is a terrific couples karaoke song.
During the 1980s, nothing could stop Petty as he embraced the video medium with brilliant MTV clips for the psychedelic Don't Come Around Here No More and Free Fallin', proving that old rockin' traditionalists can be as energetic as a hootenanny. Petty then traveled with the Wilburys for a spell before scoring 1990s hits I Won't Back Down, Learning To Fly and Into The Great Wide Open.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers perform at 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Ice Palace, 401 Channelside Drive, Tampa. $30-$50. (813) 287-8844 or (727) 898-2100.
Teen headlines Christian concert
She's still a teenager, but Christian singer Rachael Lampa, above, already has worked with some big names. Her debut, Live for You, released in 2000 when she was 16, featured a duet with Aaron Neville and was produced by Brent Bourgeois and Brown Bannister, whose artists have included Point of Grace, Amy Grant and Steven Curtis Chapman.
She wrote five of the songs on the followup disc, Kaleidoscope, released in March.
Lampa headlines Summer Jam 2002 at 7 p.m. Friday at the Manatee Civic Center, One Haben Blvd., Palmetto. The quartet Newsong hosts the evening. Also on the bill: True Vibe, Brothers Keeper and Freddie Colloca.
Tickets are $10 at the door and are not available in advance. For more information, call (941) 722-3244.
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