Usually, when a 78-year-old individual tumbles inside a Strip hotel-casino, EMTs, security and concerned tourists rush to the scene.
But Sammy Hagar, closing in on his next birthday, popped up instantly and continued his rock show after falling over a monitor at Park MGM’s Dolby Live on Friday night.
He was not injured. He was not embarrassed. He was not demur.
In fact, Hagar posted the clip on Instagram himself. The clip shows him falling backward during Joe Satriani’s solo on the show-closing “Encore, Thank You, Good Night.”
Hagar (while upright) recalled the incident on Saturday night, asking the crowd, “Did you see my Instagram of me falling last night? Joe didn’t even notice. He just kept playing.”
Hagar then closed his eyes and tilted his head skyward, Satriani-fashion. The guitarist laughed and nodded.
Hagar still has amazing bounce-back capacity. He turns 79 on Oct. 13, celebrating as any near-octogenarian would — with a party in Cabo. The Red Rocker hosts his birthday party and concert annually.
Saturday, after his tumble talk, he said, “I want to live to be 100!” He paused and added, “The problem is, I would lose too many friends. I’ve already lost too many.”
In their return to Dolby Live, Hagar and his buddies in the Best of All Worlds Band soared in “Eagles Fly” fashion — and they played that majestic number Saturday. Satriani, original Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony, drumming icon Kenny Aronoff and keyboardist Spider Cherry are Hagar’s current Vegas bandmates.
As the band secretly planned, they played “Jump” second on Friday, powering through the David Lee Roth-era No. 1 single (Van Halen’s only top-charting hit). That track is now “retired” from the Hagar set list.
Elsewhere, Van Hagar favorites “Humans Being,” “5150,” and “Right Now” had the crowd up and singing. The addled anthem “Mas Tequila,” “Heavy Metal” and “I Can’t Drive 55” were in the set list both nights.
Saturday, vocal great Jeff Scott Soto (Yngwie Malmsteen and, in 2006-‘07, Journey) and slick guitarist Steve Nowicki (writer for “The Howard Stern Show” and a big Van Halen/Hagar fan) joined for “55.”
The series continues Wednesday, Friday and closes Saturday. Expect more special guests. The great guitarist and Van Halen devotee Caleb Rapoport of Nerd Halen is due out Wednesday. The drawing card, of course, is Hagar, who is still a (cough) legend of the fall.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.