The only thing more exciting than the moment the house lights drop and Eddie Van Halen [ tickets ]'s guitar slices through the darkness as Sammy Hagar bellows "Hellooooo, baaaaaabyyy!"--is experiencing that moment for the first time in almost a decade.

Thousands of fans did just that on Sunday night (6/20) during Van Halen's second consecutive show at the Worcester Centrum, and reacted by erupting into a cacophony of screams and applause. Those cheers only increased when the stage lights burst to life and revealed Eddie, brother Alex (drums), Hagar and Michael Anthony (bass), who are touring together for the first time since a nasty 1996 split.

The group got things started with "Jump," an odd-yet-logical choice: odd because it is a cut from the band's pre-Hagar years with original singer David Lee Roth, who is persona non grata with the quartet these days ("He's just not a friendly guy and we didn't get along too good," Hagar recently said when recalling his unlikely co-headlining tour with Roth in 2002); logical because it is, to date, the band's sole No. 1 hit.

Hagar was on more-familiar ground with most of the night's setlist, which included signature Hagar-era songs such as "Poundcake," "Runaround," "Top of the World, "Why Can't This Be Love?," "Best of Both Worlds" and "Right Now."

Other nuggets included "Humans Being"--a show highlight, as this tour is Hagar's first opportunity to perform the 1996 cut, which surfaced just weeks before his divorce from the group--as well as "It's About Time" and "Up for Breakfast," two of three new songs recorded for the forthcoming "Best of Both Worlds" hits compilation, due out July 20.

The third new cut, "Learning to See," was one of only two songs the group had performed the previous night but dropped from the setlist for the sake of those fans who attended both shows; it, along with The Kinks' "You Really Got Me," were swapped out in favor of 1995's "Seventh Seal" and 1988's "Finish What Ya Started," the latter of which turned up during the encore.

Throughout the night, Hagar--decked out in a red T-shirt, red pants and red sneakers--was in constant motion, dashing around the Van Halen [ tickets ]-logo-shaped stage, high-fiving elated fans, signing autographs, holding up fan-made banners and trying on the endless stream of Red Sox hats that audience members tossed at him.

The blonde, shaggy-haired singer--whose voice sounds as strong as it ever has, and whose beach-bum appearance belies his 56 years--belted out "Dreams" while walking around a catwalk in the lighting truss suspended high above the stage.

Absent from the performance was material from the group's most-recent album, 1998's poorly received "Van Halen 3," which featured Hagar's short-lived replacement, local singer Gary Cherone. A welcome holdover from Cherone's lone tour with the band, however, was Anthony's turn on lead vocals during the 1979 cut "Somebody Get Me a Doctor," which followed a rumbling, distortion-filled solo that the bassist served up via his signature Jack Daniels guitar.

Elder Van Halen brother Alex--whom Hagar introduced as "the human time machine"--proved during his thunderous drum solo that, were he playing in a band that didn't feature one of the most revered rock guitarists of all time, he would likely get more recognition for his exceptional percussion skills.

During his moment alone in the spotlight, Hagar strapped on a guitar and sang two tracks from his non-VH solo catalog: "Eagles Fly" and "Deeper Kind of Love."

The night's final solo was also its most-anticipated; Eddie Van Halen--who, during his band's six-year hibernation period, underwent hip replacement surgery and successfully battled oral cancer (but smoked several cigarettes during his performance, nonetheless)--was a man reborn. Shirtless, wearing cargo pants and work boots, his long, dark hair pulled into a kabuki-style knot atop his head, Eddie tore his way through a six-string display that featured familiar licks--including 1978's "Eruption," 1982's "Cathedral" and 1991's "316"--as well as an abundant amount of improvised shredding.

As he neared the end of his solo, his hands left his guitar, but the sound of his playing continued to fill the arena; the trick was revealed when his 13-year-old son, Wolfgang, walked on stage playing a guitar decorated with his father's signature red, black and white design. "This is the future," Eddie yelled into the mic as he held up his son's arm at the end of their performance.

The group ended the night with the Roth-era hit "Panama" and the Hagar-era power ballad "When It's Love," which worked better as a closer than one might expect; the sweat-drenched, charged-up band gave it a more-visceral run-through than the 1988 album version, and the lyrics came off more like an ode from the band to its long-suffering fans than a typical boy-meets-girl number.

Critics have said that the so-called Van Hagar reunion is fueled by the band members' desire to replenish their bank accounts. If that's the case, then these guys should consider giving up music and taking up a career in acting, because the smiles, hugs and friendly gestures that the four musicians shared during their performance sure seemed genuine.

Before leaving the stage, Hagar led the crowd in a rendition of "Happy Birthday" for Anthony, who was celebrating his 50th; then, as they'd always done in the past, the four reunited bandmates gathered at the front of the stage, joined hands, raised their arms in the air and took a bow.

Setlist:
Jump
Runaround
Humans Being
Up for Breakfast
Bass Solo
Somebody Get Me a Doctor
Poundcake
It's About Time
Drum solo
Top of the World
Unchained
Why Can't This Be Love
Eagles Fly/Deeper Kind of Love
Seventh Seal
Best of Both Worlds
Guitar solo
Dreams
Ain't Talkin' Bout Love
Right Now
Finish What Ya Started
Panama
When It's Love

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