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Sammy Hagar - DVD release party

By Terry Perkins
SPECIAL TO THE ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
06/21/2007

Sammy Hagar, who has become one of St. Louis’ favorite rock ’n’ rollers over the past three-plus decades, returned to town Wednesday night to debut his new DVD, "Sammy Hagar and the Wabos: Livin’ It Up! Live in St. Louis," recorded at Hagar’s concert last year at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater.

As a special treat for his hard-core fans, Hagar chose the comparatively intimate Pageant to screen the DVD — and opened the evening with an acoustic set backed by his band, the Wabos.

Unfortunately, Hagar has been battling throat problems, and his usually powerhouse vocals were reduced considerably during the 90-minute performance.

But Hagar still managed to project his undeniable charisma and appeal as a performer, and the capacity crowd loved every minute of it.

Hagar and the Wabos used a couple of new songs, "Out in the Sun" and "Open Up," as bookends around tunes such as "Little White Lie," "Who Has the Right" and "Tropic of Capricorn," drawn from solo CDs over the past decade or so.

The musical highlights of the live set were Hagar’s stirring versions of Led Zeppelin’s "Whole Lotta Love," and "Dreams," a nod to his days as the lead vocalist with Van Halen. Given his throat problems, Hagar pushed his vocals a little too hard to reach the high notes on those songs. As a result, the second half of the concert became more of a long monologue by Hagar, occasionally interrupted by a song.

That was just fine with Hagar’s fans, who were captivated by his tales of living in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, at his Cabo Wabo Cantina, and his praise for everything St. Louis — from the Cardinals to the mostly red attire of the audience.

The loudest cheers came when Hagar, who will turn 60 on Oct. 13, announced that he would be returning to St. Louis to play the Fox Theatre on Nov. 13 and 14 as part of a 60-concert tour celebrating that landmark birthday.

After hearing Hagar sing, despite his vocal problems, the screening of his new DVD seemed anticlimactic, and many fans slowly drifted out of the Pageant, content with having heard Hagar live once again.

Sammy Hagar and the Wabos
June 20, 2007
The Pageant, St. Louis, MO
DVD release party - Livin' It Up! In St. Louis
FM broadcast KSHE-St. Louis

Acoustic set:
01. Out in the Sun
02. Red Voodoo
03. Whole Lotta Love ->
04. Black Dog ->
05. Whole Lotta Love
06. Sammy St. Louis Rap
07. Dreams
08. Who Has the Right
09. Sammy Stoner Rap
10. Little White Lie
11. Song???
12. Sammy Rap ("getting old is fucked up!")
13. Tropic of Capricorn

Electric:
14. Open Up
15. Band Intros
16. New DVD Rap

Sammy is one cool dude. A few years ago he was playing with Bob Weir, I think it was a benefit for something around Christmas time. The place was a small bar and we were hanging around out front during sound check. After a little while Sammy came out and I asked him if it was ok to tape. He put his hand on my shoulder and said "Dude I don't give a shit what you do" That nailed it for me, even though I saw him as the Red Rocker in the early 80's, I'm a fan for life.

Sammy has always been a guilty pleasure for me. One of the best rock shows I ever saw was Sammy at Winterland in '78 when he was recording the All Night Long live album and his group was still basically the Montrose band, before he went totally over the top. SEARING rock 'n roll!!

Beyond all the cartoonish behavior over the years, Sammy Hagar can really really bring it, and he has written some amazing rock songs as well.

Love Sammy !!!

go see him at Cabo Wabo on his birthday !!!
what a party!