Excluding broken-down vocals, Van Halen rides again

David Lee Roth once claimed to be "as Indiana as the first day of summer," which is a great line for someone who was born in Bloomington and says he learned to tie his shoes in New Castle.

Roth returned to Indiana to sing with Van Halen on Sept. 2, a date on the other end of summer, and he's not nearly fresh or strong enough to still give voice to the mighty rock band.

Wednesday's estimated audience of 12,000 at Klipsch Music Center almost had it all, thanks to guitarist Eddie Van Halen, drummer Alex Van Halen and bass player Wolfgang Van Halen (Eddie's son) slamming hard rock and catchy melodies into irresistible collisions.

Describing the music as an iron fist wrapped in a velvet glove doesn't quite do it. This was more of a candy-coated iron fist delivering a knockout punch across an early-show grouping of "Romeo Delight" (from 1980's "Women and Children First" album), "Everybody Wants Some" (also from "Women and Children First") and "Drop Dead Legs" (from 1984's "1984").

Roth, however, drove the crowd to distraction by glossing over lyrics, changing the cadence of lines and falling short of high notes. An anti-musical presentation has been part of his shtick for years, but he's bringing down an otherwise spectacular show. The 2012 "reunion" tour was preferable, because Roth more or less implied lyrics and stayed out of the way.

On Wednesday, fans and the Van Halen trio shared enjoyable connections when Roth was removed from the equation. The songs "Beautiful Girls" and "Feel Your Love Tonight" allowed Eddie and Wolfgang to carry the sing-along choruses, which the crowd lustily embraced.

Regarding Eddie's towering guitar prowess, he was back on the Klipsch stage for the first time since a disturbing Sammy Hagar-fronted show in 2004 that found Van Halen shuffling to and fro and admitting he was "lost" when attempting to conjure up his iconic solo segment. Today, he appears to be man redeemed -- healthy, relaxed and even cordial toward long-running frenemy Roth.

Eddie's solo featured variations on his "Eruption" and "Cathedral" compositions, eventually making its way to a straight rendition of "Eruption" that gave way to the band's cover of the Kinks' "You Really Got Me."

Roth had his moments, describing "Dance the Night Away" as the band's victory in selling "Ricky Ricardo rumba to the heavy metal generation." He encouraged people to take it easy on Miley Cyrus because she's merely in her 1982 David Lee Roth phase, and he tossed the amusing "If you don't like my driving, stay off the sidewalk" non sequitur into one tune.

But, in the big picture, Eddie must wonder what he has to do to make Van Halen great again. He's back to playing the superior material of the first six albums, Wolfgang has emerged as an accomplished musician and Eddie and Wolfgang are ably singing the high-toned parts formerly handled by ex-bass player Michael Anthony. So how do you solve a problem like DLR?

There's likely no turning back to Hagar or a new experiment in the spirit of Gary Cherone. As ridiculous as it sounds, the Van Halen trio could pull off a live-karaoke tour in which fans portray the lead singer every night. Auction off each song for a cause, and you'd make history.

Call Star reporter David Lindquist at (317) 444-6404. Follow him on Twitter: @317Lindquist.