By THOR CHRISTENSEN / The Dallas Morning News

In the 23 years after David Lee Roth left Van Halen, it was easy to forget what a dynamic duo he and Eddie Van Halen made: hard rock's most lovable loon, paired with one of its most spectacular guitarists.

That old magic quickly came rushing back Saturday night as the band's reunion tour stopped at the American Airlines Center. Mr. Roth - decked out in sequins and top-hat and looking like Tom Jones in Alice in Wonderland -grinned from ear to ear as he jujitsu-kicked his way across stage and twirled his mike stand like it was a giant baton.

Meanwhile, Mr. Van Halen let his fingers handle the showmanship. He's been through a lot over the years - throat cancer, hip replacement, alcoholism - but he still played with the exact same pyrotechnic swagger he had when he uncorked "Eruption" in '78.

Together, Mssrs. Roth and Van Halen ad-libbed the show's best moments. Four songs into the set, they rammed the Who's "Magic Bus" into "Romeo Delight" with brilliant results. Next, they jazzed up "Somebody Call Me a Doctor" with call-and-response blues (shades of Robert Plant and Jimmy Page) and jolted "Everybody Wants Some" with a bit where Mr. Roth imitated a car engine and Mr. Van Halen mimicked his imitation.

After bad-mouthing each other for decades, the two seemed truly happy to be back together. When Mr. Roth led a chorus of "Happy Birthday" to mark Mr. Van Halen's 53rd, the guitarist leaned over and gave the singer a kiss, a display of affection that never happened on the Police's recent reunion tour.

But as warm and nostalgic as the evening got, it wasn't without rough patches.

The big question mark going into the tour was Mr. Van Halen's 16-year-old son, Wolfgang, who replaced the recently fired bassist and backing singer Michael Anthony. On bass, young Wolfie was adequate, but as a vocalist, he failed to hit the high harmonies that are key to so many of the group's songs, from "Runnin' with the Devil" to "Panama."

Mr. Roth, 53, had vocal trouble of his own, straining for the high notes and missing them in a half-dozen songs like "Jamie's Cryin' " and "Dance the Night Away." Granted, he was never Pavarotti to begin with. But every little flaw in his voice was on display Saturday.

Still, it barely mattered. You come mainly to see David Lee Roth entertain, which he did with gusto whether he was salsa dancing through "Beautiful Girls," spinning yarns in "Ice Cream Man" or carrying a giant inflatable microphone (wink, wink) through a storm of confetti in the show-ending "Jump."

"Are you guys having half as much fun as we are up here?" he asked, prompting a roar from the capacity audience. A huge chunk of the crowd was 40 and up, but there was also plenty of fans who weren't even born when Van Halen II first blasted from every Pontiac Trans Am in America.

If you missed Saturday's show, the group returns to the AAC on March 3.

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