Sammy Hagar, the Red Rocker, roared into Wolverhampton for an unforgettable show that spanned classic tracks from Van Halen, Montrose, Chickenfoot and his solo career. Aside from a couple of dates with Chickenfoot and a guest slot at Sabbath’s Back to the Beginning, sightings of Hagar on this side of the Atlantic have been few and far between. In fact, you have to go all the way back to 1995 when Van Halen were over here as special guests of Bon Jovi and Sammy last toured the UK under his own name in 1982. And joining him on this long awaited and long overdue return were original Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony, guitar maestro Joe Satriani, powerhouse drummer Kenny Aronoff, and keyboardist Nathan Mercado.

Right from the opening number ‘There’s Only One Way to Rock’ it was evident we were going to be in for a very special evening and the crowd roared their approval as Sammy led the band into ‘Top of the World’, the first of many Van Halen songs that were played to perfection. ‘Runaround’ raised the bar even higher, and was one of many opportunities to appreciate just what a fine supporting vocalist Michael Anthony is. It would be unfair to describe him as providing “backing vocals” as he offers so much more than that, and indeed later in the set he got to take over front and centre for a rousing ‘Somebody Get me a Doctor’, giving Sammy the chance to take a break. With Joe Satriani on stage you knew it wouldn’t be too long before they revisited Chickenfoot and the thumping ‘Big Foot’ was a reminder of what a great band they were. The first tip of the hat to Montrose came by way of ‘Bad Motor Scooter’ from all the way back in 1973, complete with archive video footage of Evil Knievel doing his thing.

The next few songs were all about Van Halen, starting with ‘5150’ and the sentimental power ballad ‘Love Walks In’, Sammy then taking us on a journey down to Mexico and the ‘Cabo Wabo’, complete with him and Mikey handing out shots of tequila to some of those lucky enough to be in the front row. Classic rock radio anthem ‘Why Can’t This Be Love’ sounded as enormous as ever and sparked yet another mass sing-a-long from the Civic Hall choir. Joe then got his chance in the spotlight with a dynamic rendition of ‘Surfing with the Alien’, before Sammy re-joined his band mates for ‘Good Enough’ the final Van Halen song of the night. ‘Heavy Metal’ was supported by video footage of the cartoon film from which it was taken, and was highlighted by some terrific interplay between Kenny, Nathan and Sammy.

An emotional ‘Encore, Thank You, Goodnight’ was offered as Sammy’s tribute to the late Eddie Van Halen, inspired by a dream he had about the mercurial guitarist. And although it felt like a show closer there was still time for one last dance as Jason Bonham was welcomed on stage for a thundering version of ‘Rock and Roll’. Although the gig was downsized to the Civic Hall from its original Birmingham arena date, this was no bad thing as the raucous crowd were able to get to experience the full bells and whistles arena production and witness Sammy & co up close. Make no mistake, this show rocked hard for almost two hours and, given we may never see him back over here again, was simply unmissable.

Set list:-

There’s Only One Way to Rock
Top of the World,
Runaround
Best of Both Worlds
Big Foot
Bad Motor Scooter
5150
Love Walks In
Cabo Wabo
Mas Tequila
Why Can’t This Be Love
Right Now
Somebody Get Me a Doctor
Surfing With the Alien
Good Enough
I Can’t Drive 55
Heavy Metal
Eagles Fly
Encore, Thank You, Goodnight.
Rock and Roll