David Lee Roth
Chumash Grandstand Arena – Paso Robles, CA
Tuesday, July 22nd, 2025
Review and Pictures: Marie Randall
David Lee Roth kicked off his Roth Show tour at the Mid State Fair in Paso Robles, CA on Tuesday, July 22. At a few minutes before 9:00 pm, Diamond Dave swaggered onto the stage with the big wheel and other midway rides as his backdrop. Appropriate for the carnival barker of rock.
Panama got things started. The show relied heavily on nostalgia with an all-Van Halen set list and no solo Dave material, pleasing the casual VH fans in attendance. Die-hard fans were rewarded with deep cuts like Drop Dead Legs.
It’s well known that Dave’s vocals aren’t what they once were, however this has been remedied with the addition of five background vocalists. They helped beef up the vocals and provided onstage foils to Dave’s shtick.
Roth’s days of jumping off the drum riser may be in the rear view, but he makes up for it with his infectious 100-watt smile and showmanship. His between-song yarns are entertaining as ever as are his use of props: his fluorescent red mic stand which doubles as a baton, and his fringed tambourine and bull horn.
Earlier in the day, the world got the news that rock icon Ozzy Osbourne had passed away. Dave paid his respects to the Prince of Darkness by reminiscing about Van Halen’s first tour in ’78 as the openers for Black Sabbath. Dave recounted, “I once asked a Buddhist monk, ‘Do you think there’s laughter in heaven?’ And he told me, ‘No, I don’t think so.’ So Ozzy Osbourne, save me a seat, and when I get to hell, we’ll have a drink, Brother.” The band then tore into Atomic Punk, a song Dave said Van Halen always referred to as their Black Sabbath song.
Dave’s band is tight, the highlight being guitarist Al Estrada who faithfully replicated EVH’s famous riffs. His band consists of Ryan Wheeler on bass, Francis Valentino on drums, Danny Wagner on keyboards, and backing vocalists Kurt Lykes, Juneau Lake, Stevie Notes, and Andre Washington.
DLR Set List:
Panama
Drop Dead Legs
I’m The One
I’ll Wait
You Really Got Me
Runnin’ With The Devil
Romeo Delight
Dance The Night Away
Mean Street
Atomic Punk
Jamie’s Cryin’
Unchained
Oh, Pretty Woman
Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love
Hot For Teacher
Everybody Wants Some
Jump
Dave, the eternal ice cream man, still delivers. My advice, go see the legends while they’re still here with us. Don’t put it off. One day they won’t be here.
The Roth Show tour continues with dates into September.
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