Sammy Hagar The Best Of Two Worlds

Last updated on May 19th, 2019 at 08:19 pm

The season-opening night for Mystic Lake’s Amphitheater featured two big names from the ’80s stage: Sammy Hagar and Vince Neil.

Motley Crue always has been my favorite band. Now, with that being said, everyone has known for years Vince Neil hasn’t been at the top of his game.

Vince’s show last night took it to another level. It was cringeworthy. He mainly let the audience fill in the singing for him, using the microphone to spray the crowd. When he did decide to sing, it was off-pitch and/or incoherent. Vince also, at times, missed or sang the wrong lyrics to some of Motley Crue’s most famous songs.

It was unfortunate the set was short though. Neil’s band was spectacular and didn’t get their chance to shine. Zoltan Chaney’s drumming is worth the admission alone.

Sammy Hagar, Vic Johnson, Sammy Hagar And The Circle, Mystic Lake, — Sammy Hagar Messing With Injured Lead Guitarist Vic Johnson

Sammy Hagar and his band, The Circle, on the other hand, was the better of the two worlds. The legendary Red Rocker worked the stage, and (gasp) it looked like he was enjoying himself!

Sammy and his bandmates, bassist Michael Anthony (formerly of Van Halen), drummer Jason Bonham, and lead guitarist Vic Johnson led the crowd through Sammy’s musical past. The set featured tracks from his stints in Montrose and Van Halen and his solo career. The only thing missing was a little Chickenfoot.

Sammy Hagar started out the night with the song “Trust Fund Baby,” from the 2019 release, Space Between, before he got the crowd rockin’ hard with the classic “There’s Only One Way To Rock.”

Sammy and The Circle played several of Van Halen (Van Hagar)’s hits, and the crowd erupted on songs like “Finish What Ya Started” and “Right Now.” The performance of the latter featured a video in the background which tried to encourage people to get involved in various forms of charity, including a link to give food donations.

The show was ramping up as Sammy and the band played a killer version of Led Zeppelin’s “Rock And Roll” plus Hagar solo songs “Mas Tequila” and “Heavy Metal,” Montrose’s “Rock Candy” and Van Halen’s megahit “Why Can’t This Be Love.”

That is how you do Rock And Roll: spanning 40 plus years with a little snippet of every area of Hagar’s career. It was classic rock at it’s finest.

Side Notes: Lead Guitarist Vic Johnson was pretty immobile as he had taken a tumble a couple shows before tonight’s event.

Tonight’s show ended early due to inclement weather, with Hagar and The Circle playing 16 songs compared to 18-19 songs on average.

Sammy Hagar And The Circle Setlist: Mystic Lake Amphitheater On May 17, 2019