Sammy who? Roth and Van Halen together again.

If you had told David Lee Roth 30 years ago that on his 53rd birthday he'd be playing a sold-out arena gig with Van Halen - with Eddie's 16-year-old son, Wolfgang, on bass - he'd probably have called you crazy. A Van Halen reunion with Roth seemed unlikely all but a few months ago, but time (and the promise of a huge payday) has obviously healed any rifts between Roth and the Van Halen brothers. There was enough hugging and kissing between Roth and Eddie Van Halen throughout the show to reinforce that point.

Perhaps the genuine feel of the proceedings was the reason so many turned out for this chance to see, as Roth put it, the "three-quarters original, one quarter inevitable" lineup run through 25 pre-Sammy Hagar cuts. The set list obviously skewed toward the hits, but there were lesser-known cuts like "Romeo Delight," "Atomic Punk," and "Little Dreamer" thrown in for good measure. Songs rolled by at breakneck pace with few pauses between them. "You Really Got Me" gave way to "I'm the One," which was followed by "Runnin' with the Devil." Excellent renditions of "Unchained," "I'll Wait," "And the Cradle Will Rock" and "Hot for Teacher" anchored the latter part of the set.

Where most bands conserve energy by scattering ballads throughout their set list, Van Halen opted for a different route. Alex Van Halen rattled off a five-minute drum solo mid-set, while the rest of the band left the stage. He got a break when Roth picked up an acoustic guitar, noodled around for a minute, and told a story about rolling joints on a Pink Floyd album cover that eventually led into "Ice Cream Man." Was the energy the band exhibited anywhere near where it was during its peak? No way. But it was certainly better than what's been passed off by other high-profile reunion acts that have toured this year. Having a younger face like Wolfgang up there seemed strange at first, but certainly helped shake the image of a geriatric arena act. And for those who were worried about his abilities, don't be. He deftly handled the backing vocals and bass lines of exiled original bassist Michael Anthony.

Sammy who? Roth and Van Halen together again.

Josh Ritter

Beachland Ballroom

Thursday, October 11

During his encore, Josh Ritter stood center stage at the Beachland Ballroom slowly strumming an acoustic guitar. The Thursday night Ballroom audience, still abuzz from the spectacular hour and a quarter of music Ritter and his bandmates had just delivered, was having trouble quieting itself. As Ritter strummed a bit more forcefully he stepped away from the microphone and began to sing sans amplification. The crowd quickly fell silent as Ritter delivered what is likely to have been the most agonized and mournful rendition of Bruce Springsteen's "The River" ever delivered, transforming Springsteen's bar-stool autobiographical lament into an old man's resigned self-eulogy. It was a rare and beautiful encore performance that merely capped an evening full of such rarity and beauty.

In a mumbo-jumbo culture plagued by nonsensical "reality" television and fleeting pop stars who are fabricated in the manipulated minds of what can only be considered a frighteningly gullible American public, it's astonishing to discover that any sort of cultural relevance actually does still exist. So much so that one can find oneself a bit taken aback when finally encountering the real thing. Ritter proved his music to be the genuine article on the Beachland stage the other night. Coming on like a weird amalgamation of Lyle Lovett, Tom Waits, early Elvis Costello and the aforementioned Springsteen, Ritter - backed by a top flight band and a spot-on septet of horns from nearby Oberlin College - roared through much of his catalog during what will likely be one of the area's better live shows this year. Focusing on the uptempo pop-oriented feel of his latest record (The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter), Ritter balanced the show perfectly between the new rave-ups ("Mind's Eye" and "Right Moves"), the old highlights ("Kathleen," a fan favorite and signature tune), and the outrageously beautiful ("Lawrence, KS" and the indomitable "Girl in the War"). Combine that with Ritter's quirky, hyper humor and personality and you've got a show not soon to be forgotten. - Kurt Hernon

Sonia and Disappear Fear

Beachland Tavern

Sunday, October 15

No, the woman in overalls behind the drum kit providing alternately driving, complex and subtly jazzy percussion behind singer-songwriter Sonia Rutstein isn't named "disappear fear." That's Laura Cerulli, the other half of the two-woman act that's billed confusingly as Sonia and Disappear Fear. But there's nothing confusing about the thrust of Rutstein's music. She blends musical styles like a master chef blends ingredients to form a homogeneous creation filled with diverse flavors - folk, rock, blues, Latin - that interact and speak to each other. Appropriately that's the message of Rutstein's new album, Tango, with songs in English, Spanish, Arabic and Hebrew about dissolving the borders that divide people. She made that clear as she introduced the song "Shorashim" from the new disc, talking about being at the Canadian/US border and watching seagulls flying back and forth "without passports ... of any kind" and thinking about "what it is God has created and what is created by man." The passionate song revealed her folkie, activist roots.

The set-closing "Telepatia Sexual" came at the subject of erasing barriers from a different direction, with a sultry Latin melody, rapid-fire beat and Spanish lyrics. In between, Rutstein switched from acoustic to electric guitar and electric keyboard while Cerulli provided her own stream of banter during the tuning breaks about everything from fruit to signing their mailing list. Though some of the tunes showed the restraint one would expect from two musicians, focusing on the heartfelt lyrics, others, such as "Moment of Glory," rocked so hard it sounded like twice as many players were onstage. With Rutstein playing electric guitar, the title track from the 2004 CD No Bomb Is Smart, was explosive. In addition to providing her versatile drumming, Cerulli added harmonies as seamless as those provided in the earlier version of disappear fear by Rutstein's sister Cindy Frank. Though the Sunday night crowd at the Beachland Tavern was small, it was clear each person there connected deeply with the band's material and performance. - Anastasia Pantsios