Somebody Get Them a Doctor?

When the burly-voiced showman David Lee Roth rejoined a fractious band he left 22 years earlier, long-time fans rejoiced and waited for the circus to come to town. But in what shape would it appear? On previous tours, drummer Alex Van Halen wore a neck brace - a pitiful mark of rock 'n' roll infirmity. Roth, now 52, is old for just a gigolo, and old for groin- imperilling acrobatics. Guitar god Eddie Van Halen is also 52, but with an artificial hip. His drinking marred the band's 2004 tour (with former singer Sammy Hagar) and if he ever does talk about his recent rehab stint, he'll do so with a tongue that had the cancer cut out of it in 2000.

Vital Signs

Eddie appeared first, announcing himself with a boasting flurry of notes. If performed by your average bedroom guitarist, the burst would represent a life's worth of practice; from the virtuoso, it was nothing more than a tossed-off prelude. Next was Roth, waving a red fair-warning flag as he stood in the back, high above the stage floor. Then, a famous guitar riff, followed by the earth-disrupting drums and bass of Alex and Wolfgang Van Halen, Eddie's brother and husky 16-year-old son, respectively. The worked-up, mostly male crowd was on its feet for a cover-tune rocker from the band's startling debut album. In 2007, as in 1978, Van Halen got us with You Really Got Me.

Turn Your Head and Cough

The band was fit. Manly Roth-era classics like Everybody Wants Some and set-closer Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love began big, and ended bigger. The smiling, shirtless, crop-haired Eddie was wiry. His insistence on smoking was disconcerting, although he gets full marks for the guitar-hero-cool ciggy-in-the-headstock thing. Gone was Roth's mane and lusty strut, replaced with a goofy Bert Parks grin and an awkward robotic toddle. Though his karate kicks were stiff, the bronze-skinned singer in leather trousers and emblazoned tunics was strikingly toned and in capable-enough throat.

Second Opinion

"I saw Eddie in 1990 in Helsinki," said a towering, blond Finnish man. "He should have been at the top of his game then, but he wasn't. Tonight, he's better." He was, with dive-bombing runs, whammy-bar workouts and fret- patting whatnots. A medley of solos that included the stunning, classically referenced Eruption showcased the most sonically ambitious guitarist of his time.

The Prognosis

A manically paced two-hour-plus show was a test passed. Roth, out of place early on, gradually grew into his midlife front-man role. He has an amiable bluesy manner when he chooses to use it, as he did with a harmonica intro to Somebody Get Me a Doctor and a storytelling acoustic start to Ice Cream Man. His genial rapport with some-time adversary Eddie bodes well for the future, and a tough version of And the Cradle Will Rock showed that the band is still capable of pulling off its darker material. So, as Roth snarled, "Rock on."

Van Halen plays Toronto's ACC again on Friday; Montreal, Nov. 10; Vancouver, Dec. 5; Calgary, Dec. 7; Edmonton, Dec. 9.

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