Audio By Carbonatix
The things that make up a “best” concert aren’t the good things. Those you don’t remember. It’s the crazy shit; like when I fell twice in a filthy mosh pit at a Black Lips show and couldn’t get back up on my own, or when, this past spring, David Lee Roth threw a total ’80s diva shit-fit on stage at the BankAtlantic (now BB&T) Center.
See also– Van Halen – BankAtlantic Center – April 10– Best Concerts of 2012
Yeah, there were “better” shows this year than Van Halen. Built to Spill at Culture Room brought the emotional musical magic, and afterward, my friends and I took a dorky picture with Doug Martsch. And there were “cooler” experiences, like when I chatted with Kendrick Lamar backstage at his show at Sunset Cove Amphitheater at the Black Friday Festival. I mean, and R. Kelly’s Single Ladies Tour basically changed my life. But David Lee Roth gave Broward County something you don’t get to see every day: a tantrum in front of 20,000 people.
The crowd sucked. And sometimes a crowd will make or break a show, but not when Eddie Van Halen and Roth are performing. Then it’s like there is no crowd, there’s just you, Eddie’s fingers moving like butter on a roll, his radiant, mischievous smile, Roth’s glittering ensembles and his screams at a stagehand.
I went to the cold theater alone, spent like $40 on a hot dog, got sexually harassed by 14-year olds (best audience members, btw), and it was the best concert I went to in 2012. When it became clear that David Lee Roth was shitfaced, I was tickled, though a little nervous. But when he started yelling at the crew, fuck this and fuck that, oh man, I knew this was the show I wanted to be watching. I felt terrible for the guy who bore the brunt of his “fuck”s, but in my honest opinion, it’s an honor to be screamed at by such a fascinating phoenix such as Diamond Dave.
