By Jed Gottlieb

It wasn't what many expected from the David Lee Roth/Van Halen reunion tour, but fans at Tuesday night's sold-out TD Banknorth Garden got to see Diamond Dave and Eddie Van Halen rocking with the bliss of joyous honeymooners.

The band's nasty 1985 split was a distant memory as Roth, Eddie, Alex and young Wolfgang Van Halen, who has replaced founding bassist Michael Anthony on bass guitar, smiled ear-to-ear, high-fived and hugged through a set of standards from the first six Halen records.

During the two-hour set, the formerly acrimonious frontman extraordinaire and guitar god couldn't stop joking around and trading sincere grins. Whatever problems they once had, or still have, Dave and Eddie are keepingthem off the stage.

While the band played a lot of classic-rock radio staples, including "You Really Got Me," "Running With the Devil" and a searing "Panama," the quartet isn't purely a nostalgia act.

Except for Eddie's 16-year-old son, Wolfgang, the baby boomers were in tip-top shape -- a chest-baring Roth could have passed for a Navy SEAL and Eddie bounced around like a Godzilla energizer bunny. While Roth's voice has lost some range, his ability to frame Eddie's guitar is intact.

On the histrionic "Atomic Punks," "Everybody Wants Some!!" and "Mean Streets,"Eddie confirmed he's the pinnacle post-Jimi Hendrix hard-rock guitarist. Apologies to Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck and Steve Vai, but it's been Eddie who's reimagined and reinvented the six string since Jimi.

And it wasn't just Tuesday night's lighting-quick hammer-ons and tremolo dive bombs that shook the 15,000 fans. He pulled out Clapton-like blues licks and feedback echo effects that would have made Tom Morello wet himself.

Wolfgang played his role well. His bass thumped and his harmony vocals worked, even on tough numbers such as "Dance the Night Away" and "Beautiful Girls."

History tells us this lineup won't last, so Halen junkies should know the treat they got. A few kung fu kicks from Dave, a not-half-bad Alex drum solo and Eddie on fire. It's almost like Sammy never happened.

Ky-Mani Marley opened the show with some originals and a couple of father Bob's standards. But he was basically ignored by the few who showed up for his short set.

VAN HALEN, with KY-MANI MARLEY at TD Banknorth Garden, Tuesday night.

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