David Lee Roth Cancels His Final Concerts

Photo: Debby Wong – Shutterstock

Classic Rocks ultimate showman may have taken his final bow on a Texas stage opening for Kiss. Probably not the way David Lee Roth wanted it all to end.  Nonetheless, instead of closing out his career with a Las Vegas Residency, David Lee Roth  has cancelled all of his final performances at the Mandalay Bay’s House of Blues in Las Vegas. Initially he had just cancelled his New Years Eve and New Years day performances and had actually rescheduled them for mid February. The postponed shows were due to concerns over the spread of the Omicron variant. However,  just  little while ago, David Lee Roth  cancelled the entire run with no rescheduled shows. No definite reason was given behind the final shows cancellations.

It is a bit concerning that no reason were given why the final shows were cancelled. Hopefully it’s because of concerns of the lightning fast spread of the Omicron variant. We are based in New York and so many people we know, some who have even been triple vaccinated are still getting Covid. It’s a scary time and no one should be upset with David Lee Roth if he cancelled the shows out of Covid concerns. We just hope that there are no other health reasons related to David Lee Roth for cancelling the shows.

Many die hard Van Halen fans are very much upset over David Lee Roth’s decision to hang up his rock and roll shows. It’s understandable that fans want to continue to see their musical heroes perform forever. Yet, anyone over the age of sixty knows very well first hand that life can get physically tougher as we all get older. Everyone ages differently dues to genes and lifestyle. David Lee Roth’s decision to retire should be met with respect. It’s sad that there are those fans who continue to make fun of his voice and everything else.

David Lee Roth has given so much to the story of classic rock. His six albums he released with Van Halen…Van Halen (1978), Van Halen II (1979), Women and Children First (1980), Fair Warning (1981), Diver Down (1982) and 1984 (1984) are all legendary rock and roll classics. His first two solo albums Eat ‘Em and Smile (1986) and Skyscraper (1988) were monster rock and roll albums. Some of his other solo records may have been a little weak but his fifth solo record the DLR Band  was a much underrated great rock and roll record.

David Lee Roth bought a flair to the rock and roll stage that we had never seen before. He took what Freddie Mercury had been doing and added a much more macho side to it. MTV loved David Lee Roth and his penchant to show up with a posse of beautiful barely clothed women and other sorts of people of all types. He was one of the most entertaining showmen we have ever seen. How much of it was an act and how much of it was genuine is a question that may never be answered. Some stars never drop character.

Have we seen the last of David Lee Roth on the concert stage? David Lee Roth says we have. If it’s truly his swan song, we wish him a happy and most healthy retirement. Thanks Dave. Thanks for the entertainment.

David Lee Roth Cancels His Final Concerts article published on Classic RockHistory.com© 2021

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