Sammy Hagar Turns Back Clock Once Again in St. Louis
–by Sean Derrick
The ageless wonder that is Sammy Hagar Kicked off the summer leg of his continuing Best of All Worlds Tour in front of a sold-out Hollywood Casino Amphitheater in St. Louis, Missouri on Saturday night .
Hagar is back on the road to bring the popular celebration of Van Halen’s music to the masses for the first time in 2 years after a successful residency at Park MGM in Las Vegas. Hagar ended his last Best of All Worlds Tour at the same St. Louis Venue, a fact he referenced during the show, even going so far as to joke about having a St. Louis residency.
The show was brought about 2 years ago as a way of celebrating the life and music of Eddie Van Halen (who passed away from Cancer in 2020) by making sure the vast majority of songs in the setlist would be Van Halen songs. The shows have been tremendously popular, for the celebration of Eddie, but also for the simple fact that these songs aren’t played anywhere else, and many haven’t been played anywhere since Sammy last fronted Van Halen in 2005.
The show was electric from the first notes of “Why Can’t This Be Love” to the last cords of the Eddie tribute “Encore, Thank you, and Goodnight”. Sammy was his normal energetic self, hitting all corners of the stage with the energy of someone half his age. Hagar is 78 but has more energy than I certainly do at 56. Yes, I am envious, with the vast majority of people his age retired or worse, Hagar is defying logic. Who knows how he stays young (although he tells you he is old), maybe I need to start drinking his line of tequila (Just kidding, I have enough problems with my kidneys the way they are now.)
Whatever the magic elixir is Hagar’s voice is still super strong. Is it perfect? of course not, but damn, if I can still sing half that good if I ever make it to 78 I will be incredibly happy. The sold-out crowd Saturday night certainly left happy after a nearly 2-hour set that made many feel like they jumped into a time machine to relive the late 80’s and early 90’s all over again.
As the voice of Van Halen for 15 years, including four #1 albums, nine Top 40 singles, and ten Billboard US Mainstream #1 singles Hagar and bassist Michael Anthony literally made-up half of the iconic band’s lineup. Having Anthony in the mix the band usually plays 1 or 2 pre-Hagar Van Halen songs. Saturday, they chose “Ain’t Talkin’ ’bout Love” and had Anthony, an accomplished singer in his own right, sing lead and knock it out of the park.
In between many songs Hagar told stories and talked about what certain songs meant to him, his love for St. Louis, and stories about the band (including ribbing new keyboardist Nathan Mercado). One particularly funny incident happened Saturday night. Hagar left the stage during “Ain’t Talkin’ ’bout Love” and “Satch Boogie” to take a breather and lost track of time. By the time he realized he needed to get back on stage he couldn’t get his shoes back on so he played the rest of the show barefoot. His description of walking barefoot on concrete (and the thought of running around on stage barefoot) made my feet hurt.
Hagar and the rest of the band (Anthony on bass, Mercado on keys, Joe Satriani on guitar, and Keny Aronoff on drums) are a tight knit group that feeds off of each other, both musically, and emotionally.
The setlist from 2024 is a bit different than this year’s version. Gone are “Panama”, “The Seventh Seal”, “Judgment Day”, “Poundcke”, and “When It’s Love” and “Jump” for this tour (so far) and have replaced them with selections like “Bad Motor Scooter” and “Love Waks In”, and “Encore, Thank You, and Goodnight”. So, it isn’t quite as heavy as the last time, but that is ok. It’s good that he changed up the setlist so that people can’t say it’s just the same show. It’s not. It’s a vibrant, exciting, and open window time machine to the past, featuring the artists who recorded the songs. It’s a chance for parents to bring their kids (adult or not yet) to a show to share the excitement they experienced when they first heard the songs decades ago. I saw a father embrace his teenage son over some of the songs played. It was proof that music (and Sammy Hagar) are timeless.
Another ageless wonder, Rick Springfield, opened with an energetic 9 song set of his own. Performing hits like “Jesse’s Girl”, “Affair of the Heart”, “Don’t Talk to Strangers”, and “Love Somebody” the baby between him and Hagar (Hey, he is ONLY 76, after all) is another one of those freaks who don’t listen to conventional wisdom. You know the “experts” who tell them that they should be retired and sitting in a rocker instead of literally jumping around on stage. Well, Springfield and Hagar rock all right, just not the way conventional wisdom would want you to believe. And I am all for telling conventional wisdom to piss off.
Go check this tour out (if you can get a ticket) whether it is on one of the current tour stops, or back in Vegas this fall. It will be one show you will not regret. Check out redrocker.com/tour for upcoming dates near you.
And be sure to check out the gallery of interactive images after the Setlist below
Sammy Hagar Setlist:
Why Can’t This Be Love (Van Halen song)
Top of the World (Van Halen song)
Runaround (Van Halen song)
Best of Both Worlds (Van Halen song)
Summer Nights (Van Halen song)
There’s Only One Way to Rock
5150 (Van Halen song)
Love Walks In (Van Halen song)
Cabo Wabo (Van Halen song)
Mas Tequila
Bad Motor Scooter (Montrose song)
Right Now (Van Halen song)
Ain’t Talkin’ ’bout Love (Van Halen song, sung by Michael Anthony)
Satch Boogie (Joe Satriani song)
Good Enough (Van Halen song)
Heavy Metal
I Can’t Drive 55
Encore:
Eagles Fly
Encore, Thank You, Goodnight
