Darby
07.16.05, 06:28 PM
http://www.thetimesherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050716/NEWS01/507160301/1002
Delayed Dave Dazzling
Ex-Van Halen singer makes waiting pay for 10,000 fans
By JAMIE CARRACHER
Times Herald
SARNIA - The sound rolled like thunder from space when he finally took the stage.
But for more than 30 minutes, the crowd was kept waiting.
They cheered: "Diamond Dave. Diamond Dave." They waited patiently. The emergence of former Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth only would be on the man's own terms. And it came with the famed Van Halen song Hot For Teacher, which Roth belted out and kicked his legs to, belying his 50 years.
Just moments before the start of the show, Lisa Galbraith, 39, of Sterling Heights was waiting in the front row against the metal partitions that separate the crowd from the security.
She's seen him a few times before, she said. She'd characterize his show as "interesting."
As the security guys turned the garden hose on the crowd, granting those close enough with a bit of relief, Galbraith had one wish.
"I hope he gets out pretty soon," she said.
The safety and security of the fans during this second day of Sarnia Bayfest, while a concern, has been remarkably unremarkable, organizers and emergency personnel said.
"It's definitely quieter than past years," said Jeff Brooks, quality assurance manager with Lambton EMS. He and Ray Gowan, an advanced paramedic, were standing just to the side of the stage at the start of the Roth's set.
Gowan attributed the docile crowd to the wide ranges of ages attending, which spanned from very young for Canadian Idolwinner Kalan Porter to the older for Roth. In past years, three to five people have been taken from the concert via ambulance every night. Thus far this year, no one has needed the escort.
Festival organizer Michele Stokley said she was not surprised by the well-behaved crowds.
"With more security and zero tolerance, I think that helps," she said.
She pegged Friday's concert attendance at about 10,000, less than the festival's usual Friday attendance. Even though one ticket allowed people to see both Porter and Roth, Stokley hadn't been sure people would attend both shows. But she said it seemed like many people did.
Roth, who hasn't been part of Van Halen since 1985, went on to solo success with his own rendition of the Beach Boy's California Girls, but he never again returned to the fame he enjoyed with the hard-rock band.
Kyle Reid, 35, of Windsor has seen Roth a couple of times before, including one time in Detroit. When he heard the star would be performing at a small venue such as Bayfest, he jumped at the chance to get tickets.
Cloaked in his Van Halen 2004 tour T-shirt and home-crafted Van Halen ring, he was loading up on beer as he got ready for the big show.
"He's pretty energetic considering he's got no hair," he said.
Go ahead and ask Reid who his favorite Van Halen frontman was - he loves talking about it. It's Roth, easily.
"I got to say he's the best," Reid said. "(Under Roth) they were the loudest band for 15 years."
Ryan Funk, 20, of Port Huron came to the show with a few of his friends. Also sporting a Van Halen shirt, Funk said he enjoys Roth's on-stage antics.
"I was a big Van Halen fan (from) when Roth was in the band," he said.
Friday night's set was heavy on Roth's solo music. It also was chock-full of Van Halen classics, which Roth fidgeted to like a battery-operated toy.
Funk said Roth's style makes him unique.
"(I like) his showmanship on stage," Funk said. "(He was) always one of the outstanding frontmen of rock 'n' roll."
Contact Jamie Carracher at (810) 989-6279 or jcarracher@gannett.com.
Originally published July 16, 2005
Delayed Dave Dazzling
Ex-Van Halen singer makes waiting pay for 10,000 fans
By JAMIE CARRACHER
Times Herald
SARNIA - The sound rolled like thunder from space when he finally took the stage.
But for more than 30 minutes, the crowd was kept waiting.
They cheered: "Diamond Dave. Diamond Dave." They waited patiently. The emergence of former Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth only would be on the man's own terms. And it came with the famed Van Halen song Hot For Teacher, which Roth belted out and kicked his legs to, belying his 50 years.
Just moments before the start of the show, Lisa Galbraith, 39, of Sterling Heights was waiting in the front row against the metal partitions that separate the crowd from the security.
She's seen him a few times before, she said. She'd characterize his show as "interesting."
As the security guys turned the garden hose on the crowd, granting those close enough with a bit of relief, Galbraith had one wish.
"I hope he gets out pretty soon," she said.
The safety and security of the fans during this second day of Sarnia Bayfest, while a concern, has been remarkably unremarkable, organizers and emergency personnel said.
"It's definitely quieter than past years," said Jeff Brooks, quality assurance manager with Lambton EMS. He and Ray Gowan, an advanced paramedic, were standing just to the side of the stage at the start of the Roth's set.
Gowan attributed the docile crowd to the wide ranges of ages attending, which spanned from very young for Canadian Idolwinner Kalan Porter to the older for Roth. In past years, three to five people have been taken from the concert via ambulance every night. Thus far this year, no one has needed the escort.
Festival organizer Michele Stokley said she was not surprised by the well-behaved crowds.
"With more security and zero tolerance, I think that helps," she said.
She pegged Friday's concert attendance at about 10,000, less than the festival's usual Friday attendance. Even though one ticket allowed people to see both Porter and Roth, Stokley hadn't been sure people would attend both shows. But she said it seemed like many people did.
Roth, who hasn't been part of Van Halen since 1985, went on to solo success with his own rendition of the Beach Boy's California Girls, but he never again returned to the fame he enjoyed with the hard-rock band.
Kyle Reid, 35, of Windsor has seen Roth a couple of times before, including one time in Detroit. When he heard the star would be performing at a small venue such as Bayfest, he jumped at the chance to get tickets.
Cloaked in his Van Halen 2004 tour T-shirt and home-crafted Van Halen ring, he was loading up on beer as he got ready for the big show.
"He's pretty energetic considering he's got no hair," he said.
Go ahead and ask Reid who his favorite Van Halen frontman was - he loves talking about it. It's Roth, easily.
"I got to say he's the best," Reid said. "(Under Roth) they were the loudest band for 15 years."
Ryan Funk, 20, of Port Huron came to the show with a few of his friends. Also sporting a Van Halen shirt, Funk said he enjoys Roth's on-stage antics.
"I was a big Van Halen fan (from) when Roth was in the band," he said.
Friday night's set was heavy on Roth's solo music. It also was chock-full of Van Halen classics, which Roth fidgeted to like a battery-operated toy.
Funk said Roth's style makes him unique.
"(I like) his showmanship on stage," Funk said. "(He was) always one of the outstanding frontmen of rock 'n' roll."
Contact Jamie Carracher at (810) 989-6279 or jcarracher@gannett.com.
Originally published July 16, 2005