1/26/07, 5:21 pm EST

Assignment Three Finalist: Janelle Schneider on Van Halen (Fresno, California)

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Note: This is not an official Rolling Stone article. What follows is a submission to the “I’m From Rolling Stone” writing competition.

VAN HALEN - 1/22/07

by Janelle Schneider
Age: 49

With crashing guitars, thundering drums and a banshee vibrato ripped straight from his throat, Diamond Dave was back, it was 1978 again and the devil was in the house.

Van Halen’s Reunion Tour 2007 skidded to a brief stop Monday in Fresno, CA at Tokyo Garden, to a packed house and excitement so palpable it was almost embarrassing. Surreally ensconced on a 10- by 12-foot stage in the downtown bar/restaurant, for two full hours, the meisters of arena rock became the Center of the Known Universe, emanating the swaggering life-force that slammed a generation of stoners in the head in their impressionable years and left permanent concussions.

And this crowd clearly hadn’t gotten over it.

Shrieking at levels rivaling guitarist Eddie Van Halen’s shredding leads, the audience was enraptured of the “tour of the century!” (as frontman David Lee Roth crowed with characteristic modesty) and the string of adrenaline precursors that the band mercilessly turned out, breaking only for a breath, a beer and a set-break: “Running with the Devil,” “Panama,” “Jamie’s Crying,” “You Really Got Me.” Flashy and acrobatic, Dave strutted and preened, reminding everyone that he is the original model for upstarts like Panic! At the Disco and My Chemical Romance.

Only a few months reunited, the performance was seamless and, except for shallower hairlines and a few facial furrows, it’s hard to tell that it’s been more than a quarter century since Van Halen exploded into public consciousness with its debut, eponymous album. The only other clue was the presence of Eddie’s 16-year-old son, bassist Wolfgang, who easily held his own with his elders – but then, the catalog is probably embedded in his DNA.

DNA or something equally irrevocable is the only explanation for a band this tight, this relentless and this exuberant after this many years.