Sammy Hagar: The Best of All Worlds

By: Christie Bilbo

Dos Equis hosted Sammy Hagar and the guys on August 22. The night was scorching and full of excitement. With temperatures soaring over 100 degrees, the heat didn’t keep people away. Everyone was prepared for a night of fantastic music and hanging out with friends.

This was the first concert I attended, where I saw more men in groups. Typically, it’s husbands and wives, girlfriends, and boyfriends. Not this time. Large groups of men were there to witness what could only be explained as a dude concert. I could only see a sea of muscle shirts, Van Halen shirts, Sammy Hagar concert tee shirts, Cabo Wabo shirts, and board shorts.

The testosterone was roaring, and the beers were flowing. Men were reliving their glory days of discussing concerts they attended. I overheard conversations about Monsters of Rock and “Those were the days!”

There were so many epic things happening at this concert besides the bands. I can’t even begin to tell you how great this show was. I witnessed the bouncers kicking people out left and right for sneaking down on the floor who didn’t have floor tickets. I watched one drunk man refuse to move out of another person’s seat, and two bouncers had to pick him up by pants and elbows and drag him out.

However, the best was the drug deal that went down…it was only a joint that was being sold, but it caused one helluva ruckus. The guy sitting next to me sold someone a joint a few rows before me. I’m not sure how security caught wind of it, but the next thing I knew, the dealer was running through the crowd. He was ditching his cowboy hat. He shucked his shirt. People were pointing to security, which way he was bobbing and weaving. I don’t know if they ever caught him. All I know is that his buddy was sitting beside me, laughing about everything. The funny thing is, the buddy who was next to me ended up staying for the show, and I can only assume the dealer was kicked out.

I was shocked that the concession workers who pulled the coolers ran out of water. I thought they would have refilled their coolers, but they didn’t. They had ample beer but no water, so I had to make the trek to the concession stand to get a can of Liquid Death water. (I will give you a hint…bring and refill an empty water bottle. It’s crazy to spend $8 for a can of water that gets hot fast on these hot days.)

Loverboy hit the stage at 7:00 p.m., kicking out tunes like “Notorious” and “Lovin’ Every Minute of It.” Despite the sun shining down on everyone, the crowd was already starting to build momentum for what would only be an epic night.

The guys played eight songs and made sure they hit their best songs. With hits “Hot Girls in Love,” “Turn Me Loose,” and “Working for the Weekend,” the crowd was hyped. By the time Loverboy finished their set, no person in the venue was worked up for the main act.

When the Red Rocker hit the stage, the crowd was electric. He brought Michael Anthony, Joe Satriani, and Jason Bonham with him. They played for an impressive two hours and 44 minutes nonstop. They hit the stage at 8:25 p.m. and rocked the faces off everyone there. The crowd was on their feet with the opening song, “Good Enough” by Van Halen.

I have only attended a few concerts where the crowd was on their feet during the whole set. I saw more air drumming and guitars being played. I witnessed men bonding and having the best time of their lives. Some of the wives I saw were sitting in their chairs watching the show on the jumbotron while their significant others had the best evening of their lives.

When Sammy Hagar and the guys went into “Panama,” I can’t explain how the air in the venue felt. There was so much excitement. During “Mas Tequila,” he doled out tequila to people in the front row.

I’ve been to a lot of concerts, and I have never seen an artist sign as many items as Sammy did that night. He signed flags, hats, shirts, and a boot. He was gracious to his fans and never once complained about how many items people wanted to be signed.

I will say this about this concert. I love music. Foo Fighters is my favorite band, and to see live. Followed closely by Gojira. (If you don’t know who they are, look them up.) Never have I ever seen Sammy Hagar in my 52 years, and let me tell you what, this man put on one of the top 3 concerts I have ever seen. It was that great. The music was perfect. The sound guys had it dialed into where you could hear everything he said, and it wasn’t too loud when he talked. The music was everything that I loved and more. The band just killed it. The crowd was perfect, with the extra excitement of the drug deal going down next to me and the chase through the crowd.

I would highly suggest that if you haven’t seen Sammy Hagar in person, you must put this on your bucket list. I’m so glad that I did.

Side note…on the way home, I got a speeding ticket, and of course, I was driving too fast at 85 in 70 mph. When the police officer asked why I was speeding, I told him I had been to the Sammy Hagar concert and was jamming along to the song “I Can’t Drive 55.” Well, that ticket will cost me dearly, to $314.00. But as the song goes…” There’s too much traffic; I can’t pass…So I tried my best illegal move. A big black and white came and crushed my groove again!”

Rock on my friends!