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Oh yes, baby!! Oh yes!!!!

For a reunited Van Halen, there’s no turning back
Van Halen’s implosion, fed by bad blood and a cancer crisis, stalled the career of a band as famous for its internal discord as its rock-metal harmony.
Now Van Halen is back to finish what it started. Friday, singer Sammy Hagar, guitarist Eddie Van Halen, drummer Alex Van Halen and bassist Michael Anthony will reunite onstage in Greensboro, N.C., first stop on a blockbuster summer tour.
“It’s shaping up as one of the top tours of the year,” says Ray Waddell of Billboard. “Tickets blew out very quickly. The band had very hard-core fans at their peak, and there’s a real thirst to hear those songs again. Plus, there’s a strong curiosity factor about Eddie.”
Two years ago, fans were losing faith. The band remained idle after firing Gary Cherone, the voice on 1998’s poorly received Van Halen III. Eddie was in isolation battling tongue cancer. Hagar and original frontman David Lee Roth, both on the outs with Van Halen and barely civil to each other, launched the gimmicky Sam & Dave tour. A reunion seemed unthinkable.
Then, in mid-2002, Eddie announced he was cancer-free after two years of treatment. Last winter, Hagar initiated casual chats with Alex and Anthony.
“We didn’t plan this,” Hagar says. “I called Al about a dream I had, strictly personal. It had been seven years, and we just started laughing. He said, ‘Let’s get Ed on the phone.’ Then I’m talking to Ed, who says, ‘Come on over; I’ve got some music I want you to hear.’ Next thing I know, we’re in the studio.”
Alex adds, “It’s like an old shoe. It fit. It’s what we were born to do.”
Spanning three decades, the set list boast three new songs and hits predating Hagar, who no longer balks at taking on Roth’s role.
“In the old days, I had a bug up my butt about doing their early hits,” Hagar says. “I was more interested in doing what we’d just written. This time, I was the first one to say, ‘Let’s open with Jump.’ It’s one of the most important songs in the band’s career, and I love singing it now.
“It’s a humbling experience the second time around, and I have a new appreciation for the band’s history. There’s not a better catalog on the planet.”