VAN HALEN BRINGS ROANOKE EXCITEMENT

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, February 27, 1992                   TAG: 9202270290
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: TRACIE FELLERS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
VAN HALEN BRINGS ROANOKE EXCITEMENT
It's been a long time since superstar-caliber, hammering rock 'n' roll came to the Star City. But on Wednesday night, Van Halen - just honored with a Grammy award for its latest album - brought it back to the Roanoke Civic Center with enough musical fury to make fans forget a long, dry summer and sparse fall.
From the moment Sammy Hagar sang the first words of "Poundcake," the close-to-sellout crowd seemed to go into overdrive - and the level of excitement never appeared to ebb.
A representative of Cellar Door Productions, the Virginia Beach company responsible for bringing Van Halen to Roanoke, would not say how many fans had purchased tickets. The company's policy is not to give a count of ticket holders unless the show is a sellout, he said.
But at the general-admission concert, fans filled up the floor and nearly all the seats that allowed a view of the stage. Others stood on stairs and in the aisles. No matter where you were, you were bound to be hit by Van Halen's huge, hard sound and boundless energy.
Not surprisingly, Hagar was the most animated of the four rockers in the group. He raced from one end of the stage to another, dancing with footwork reminiscent of a childhood hopscotch game revved up to 100 mph.
As he shouted, screamed and screeched his way through songs from "Panama" to "Right Now" and "When it's Love," Hagar did not look or sound like a man who's just recovered from strep throat. The only time his voice showed strain was on a solo acoustic number about the importance of giving love in order to receive it.
After he completed the song, Hagar told the crowd it was the best he could do - fans responded with cheers and applause, and Eddie Van Halen gave Hagar a brotherly hug.
But rockin' the house wasn't forgotten among the warm fuzzies. Eddie followed the hug with a solo of his own, a virtuosic reminder to anyone who might have forgotten why he's known as a master of the guitar. He improvised on a single melody line, departing from it often with intricate fingerwork, but returning to it again and again.
There aren't many guitarists who can make the instrument sound like both a flock of chirping birds and a chainsaw.

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB