BY RICK MASSIMO
Journal Pop Music Writer

PROVIDENCE -- "Like it says in the Bible, better late than never," singer David Lee Roth of Van Halen told the Dunkin' Donuts Center crowd last night as the hard-rock immortals played a show to make up for a concert postponed in March. Of course, by the end of the night, he had also semi- quoted Shakespeare ("all well that ends well") and perhaps naturally, himself ("You're gonna get some Rhode Island leg tonight for sure!").

"Better late than never" was an apt description of last night's show, though. In the larger picture, the reunited Van Halen -- guitarist Edward Van Halen and drummer Alex Van Halen, who got back together with Roth and brought in bassist Wolfgang Van Halen, Edward's son, in the fall -- haven't lost a step over their early-'80s heyday. Last October's show at the Mohegan Sun casino proved that.

But last night, after eight months on tour (minus a couple of months off for Edward Van Halen's unspecified health problem), they started off relatively slowly. There were huge breaks in the middle of four early songs -- after the guitar solo in the opener "You Really Got Me," before the Andrews Sisters-style vocal break in the speedy "I'm the One," a pointless dip into "Sunshine of Your Love" and "Magic Bus" during "Romeo Delight" and another into "I Don't Need No Doctor" and "Crossroads" during "Somebody Get Me a Doctor." It was easy to fear that they were breath- catchers for a band that had been on the road too long.

Still, the Van Halen elements were all in place -- while the set list spanned the four albums the Van Halens made with Roth, the band took a detour through some of the less-inspired material ("Mean Street," "I'll Wait") on which the band started to sound like the groups that had sprung up in their wake. But that stuff always existed side-by-side on records with the anthemic "Unchained" and the gloriously lunkheaded "Panama." It was a tension and a balance that kept Van Halen on top for years, and it was on display again last night.

And Edward Van Halen's guitar solo contained the dizzying speed of his trademark two-handed tapping on the fretboard, but the real masterwork on display was the freakishly precise use of the volume knob, producing swells that sounded like a string section.

It was heartening to see young Wolfgang Van Halen growing as a performer. Last fall's show was in the first handful of dates on the reunion tour, and while the teenager played and sang well, he understandably lacked the stage presence of his predecessor, Michael Anthony. Last night, he stretched out, contributing a solo on "Romeo Delight" and a solo introduction to "So This Is Love," holding down the distinctive background vocals and generally looking more comfortable.

A blazing "Hot for Teacher" seemed to get the band into top gear, and after catching their breath again with the moody "Little Dreamer," the rout was on, with highlights including a pounding "Jamie's Crying" and a rip-roaring "Ice Cream Man" (with an extended Roth acoustic guitar- storytelling intro). "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" ended the regular set and the synth-heavy hit "Jump" (with canned keyboards) was the encore.

Opening act Ryan Shaw announced his soul bona fides straight away with an a capella verse of "A Change Is Gonna Come," and continued to earn them with the classic-soul update "We Got Love" and the "Shotgun" rewrite "Do the 45," but oversang most of his endings and underwhelmed with the self- help anthem "Choosing Me."

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