Thousands of excited spectators rush to their seats as the lights go down and the music stops.

Suddenly a curtain is raised onstage; Eddie Van Halen appears playing a screaming guitar with the lead singer. David Lee Roth stands on a platform above him, yelling out to the crowd. Bassist Wolfgang Van Halen and drummer Alex Van Halen join them as they begin pounding out one of the band?s many hits, ?You Really Got Me”.

In one of the most anticipated concerts of the winter season, the classic rock band Van Halen played in Fresno at the Save Mart Center to a full house of screaming fans.

Van Halen is currently on a nation-wide tour despite Eddie Van Halen?s recent stint in rehab for undisclosed circumstances. The band will go on to play venues such as The MGM Grand in Las Vegas, a sold out show at the Staples Center in L.A. and Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Even after 35 years, Van Halen still puts on high-energy shows. Eddie Van Halen pounded out screeching solos, like in the song ?316?, and biting rhythms on his guitar. With almost 15,000 watts of power coming from the stage speakers alone, Van Halen rocked the house.

Eddie and the band played about 26 songs during the show. From the opening song to ?Jump?, the encore, the band hardly rested.

After the group had performed a few songs, everyone but Alex Van Halen left the stage. As they left, he kicked into a drum solo at least 15 minutes long, continuously surprising the crowd with new beats and different sounds.

After Alex’s impressive solo, the band returned to the stage for a few more songs but left a second time for a 10-minute guitar solo by Eddie Van Halen, met with screaming enthusiasm from the audience. Despite his current troubles with apparent substance abuse problems, Eddie still manages to put on a decent performance.

Eddie Van Halen first formed the band in 1972 in Pasadena, California under the name ?Mammoth?. The band featured Eddie on vocals and electric guitar, Alex on drums and Mark Stone on bass guitar.

The band hired David Lee Roth to sing vocals. It was Roth who first suggested the name change to Van Halen. They soon signed a record deal and released their first self-titled debut album. The band went on to release a total of 14 albums and perform on around 15 tours, including world-wide trips.

However, over their years of success, drugs and personality conflicts have wreaked havoc on the band members. Members quit and reunited while the band struggled to continue their reign as one of the greatest rock bands in the last few decades.

Despite the fact that Van Halen reached its pinnacle of success in the late 70s to the early 80s, the band still seems to remain popular among many teenagers as well as their adult counterparts who grew up rocking out to the band.

With the last song still echoing in my head after the concert, I recognized the Van Halen show as one of the best performances I have ever witnessed. They still stand as the embodiment of any rock fantasy and bring true rock to the stage.

Van Halen CDs are available on iTunes and at most major record stores.