WHAT A TEMPER!: RED: SAMMY HAGAR

I was originally scheduled to see Baroness at the Black Sheep in Colorado Springs on August 20th, ticket already in hand, but I learned that Sammy Hagar was on his "Four Decades of Rock" tour with a stop in Loveland, Colorado. As far as I can tell, there was no advertising for the show, the loyal fans hearing about it by word of mouth, as was my case. I had to pass on the Baroness show and instead went up to the Budweiser Events Center for a night with the red rocker, probably the only time I'll get to hear him perform pre Chickenfoot songs live.

Because there was no advertising, the events center was a little more than half full, as Sammy acknowledges midway through the show. "I'll tell you what, it don't look full but it sounds fucking full!" A very different crowd is drawn to the show, not the young and the beautiful, but an older and more grizzled, blue collar group of people. Many wearing Harley Davidson colors. No chatty, screaming girls.

Great, high energy performance by Sammy. Yeah, he may have had some trouble hitting some of those high notes and he's not shy about pushing his new product line, Beach Bar Rum, but it was still a fun evening out.

There’s a lot of rock ’n’ roll history in Hagar’s career. As the frontman for Montrose, Hagar sang now-classic rock hits such as “Bad Motor Scooter,” “Rock Candy” and “Paper Money,” while his post-Montrose days gave us legacy tracks such as “Red,” “Trans Am” and the format-crossing “Your Love Is Driving Me Crazy.” Hagar’s ode to speed – “I Can’t Drive 55” – is still a pedal-to-the-metal joyride nearly 30 years after its release.

Then there are Hagar’s Van Halen years with albums such as 5150, OU812, For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge and Balance and songs like “Right Now,” “Finish What You Started” and “When It’s Love” that further locked down his place as one of rock’s top frontmen.

These days when he’s not running his distilled spirits empire, Hagar spends his time singing in Chickenfoot with bassist Anthony, Joe Satriani and Chad Smith and doing his own gigs. This summer is the season for the latter.

Hagar’s tour begins in the Pacific Northwest and winds its way across the country, stopping in Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan, Ontario and Missouri before wrapping in San Francisco.

Hagar will be playing with his long-time band The Wabos Aug. 15-18 and Sept. 4. Anthony joins him for shows scheduled for Aug. 23-31 and Sept. 6-7. Carmassi and Church appear Aug. 31 & Sept. 6-7.

http://www.pollstar.com/news_article.aspx?ID=805258