In the Van Halen review that went on the PG Web site Wednesday, I noted that something seemed to be missing from the band.

Seemed to me that maybe it was the vocal acrobatics of David Lee Roth.

Needless to say, it generated some reader reaction.

• Chris, who says he plays a bunch of instruments, offered this more technical analysis:

"There indeed is a problem with this band. But it's Alex, not DLR's raspy voice or EVH's left hand mechanics or more 'in-the-safe-box' approach to improvisation. Alex rushed almost every song. And his playing is too busy and he lacks proper dynamics, even for a rock drummer. Eddie and Wolfie had trouble keeping up with uncle speed racer, because he kept either pushing the tempo inappropriately or he accelerated slightly when doing a long fill clockwise around the whole kit. This in effect pushes the 1 beat 'early' which can be cool, but not if the effect is to up the BPM. This caused a lack of synchronization between bass, drums, guitar unless wolfie and eddie followed uncle speed racer down the rat hole."

• A.J. saw it another way:

"They definitely weren't tight -- Dave sounded really ragged and (my guitar whiz friend tells me) it was EDDIE who was all over the place tempo-wise, and that Alex was solid as a rock. I felt like I was seeing a decent local band (you know, where none of the members look anything alike) with EVH sitting in."

• A friend in the industry whose opinion I respect said:

"I agree [about Roth]. Van Halen were good but not great. Eddie was great, so was alex. And Wolfie I thought did well too. Dave was actually sort of a distraction to me. He's in good shape, still mobile, but just...ANNOYING to some degree, y'know?"

Yeah, I do.

• Sylvain thought the problem was with my own tastes:

>"So, how are your Elvis Costello albums? You are so off the mark on your review it's laughable. Show me another frontman who brings it like Dave.... you just don't get it and obviously you aren't a VH fan."

Yes, I have more EC records than VH records, and they're fine. Another frontman? How 'bout Iggy Pop? He brings it a lot more than Dave. So does Elvis Costello, who could sing the chrome off a bumper.

• Roy thought I went to the wrong show:

"I don't know what show you were watching, but wed night show was ROCKING. The crowd was definitely lame on the floor considering all the bad outfits, but from where I was sitting 6 rows back in the igloo, EVERYONE there was jamming. Maybe you should put away your New Kids on the Block records and start listening to some real rock."

New Kids on the Block wasn't "real rock"? You're kidding.

• Nathan, from Minneapolis, thought the problem was Pittsburgh.

"I've seen them twice so far on the tour, and I'll see them in Duluth, GA, next week. I think you live in a slow city called Pittsburgh, just as bad as Philly!!! I live in Minneapolis, corporate city USA buddy....Best Buy, Target, 3M, General Mills...I can go on and on...Bro. Go listen to Maroon 5 like all the other morons, and try to write a decent review with meaning!! East coast dumb &*#@s!"

I sent him back a simple email:

Super Bowl IX

Steelers 16 Vikings 6

Stanley Cup Finals 91-92

Penguins-North Stars

Pittsburgh wins series 4-2

'nuff said

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Justin Sane of Anti-Flag standing in front of Lenin's tomb.

Pittsburgh's latest ambassador to Russia is none other than Anti-Flag.

The spiky political punk band, touring in advance of the release of "The Bright Lights of America," rocked Russia this week, hitting Moscow on Tuesday and St. Petersburg on Wednesday.

It's the band's first trip to the country, and it was a bear-sized success, according to singer Justin Sane.

He sent us an email dispatch on Thursday with an update:

"Life here has been the best! Cold, of course, but extremely interesting and exciting. Flew into Moscow from Heathrow via Warsaw. Greeted by incredibly hospitable hosts.

"Up early the next morning and took the subway to Red Square where we indulged in the purchase of mindless consumer [stuff] (souvenirs for the family... Moscow magnets, traditional style Cossack hats, Russian dolls) in what was once the heart of the anti-capitalist struggle. Impressive in every way, Red Square was a real treat! Got a great pic in front of Lenin's grave. There's currently a skating rink sitting in the square playing traditional winter holiday style music which made for quite an interesting juxtaposition given the history of the place.

"The show was incredible! We rocked Moscow for 1000+ people. The venue only held 1000 people; another 1000 were turned away at the door. With no barrier to keep kids off the stage our set was complete MAYHEM!!! Apparently no barrier is usually not a problem as the bouncers rough up any kids who dare to get up on stage, but we refused to let the bouncers on stage or lay a hand on any kid, so it was a free for all!!! Other than guitars being continuously knocked out of tune, a number of drunk kids attempting to hang on us and sing along, and the occasional cute Russian girl kissing us while singing, the set was without incident -- almost... I got hit in the teeth once when my mic stand was accidently pushed into my face by a stage diving kid, but those things will happen under such circumstances.

"We rode a train overnight from Moscow to St. Petersburg! Sleeper cars! FUN!!! St. Pete is a beautiful city. More classic than what I saw of Moscow. (By the way, the traffic in Moscow is HORRIBLE!!! It was LA-type traffic. Six lanes of bumper to bumper! Good thing the subway is excellent, albeit busy!) Again, another great show, only this time with a barricade and no kids on stage! We'll be posting video from both shows on YOUTUBE at some point...

"Overall the entire tour has been a huge success. Germany was incredible. We might currently be more popular in Germany than any other part of the world...

"So all is excellent here. Helsinki tomorrow. Very tired but no worse for the wear.

"Hope you're well. Please Give Pittsburgh my best!!!"

-- Justin

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The Van Halen tour, which was looking troubled early in the week, should be back on track on March 11 in Charlottesville. That's 10 days before the Pittsburgh show.

Four concerts last week were postponed and rescheduled due to Eddie Van Halen undergoing tests for an unspecified medical problem.

The 53-year-old guitarist has dealt with cancer and alcohol in the past.

-- Speaking of reunions, Stephen Malkmus, who this week released his latest record with the Jicks, "Real Emotional Trash," doesn't scoff at the idea of a Pavement reunion in the latest Entertainment Weekly. He tells the magazine, "Something small in 10 years like the Zeppelin thing sounds good to me. Obviously, the arena would be smaller than theirs, though."

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Reports are circulating on the Internet that the Van Halen tour, set to hit Mellon Arena on March 21, has been scrapped.

The last three shows have been canceled and TMZ.com quotes unnamed sources saying that the cause is "issues" surrounding Eddie Van Halen.

However, there is no confirmation from the promoters that the concert will not happen.

The tour, which began in September, is the first in 22 years with original singer David Lee Roth. He is joining Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen and Eddie's son Wolfgang on bass.

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The Black Crowes have one of the more interesting pieces of advance publicity going for their forthcoming album, "Warpaint."

Seems that Maxim magazine reviewed the record without actually hearing it, and the Crowes busted them. There were no advance copies sent out, so writer David Peisner apparently wrote the 75-word review more or less out of his imagination.

It wouldn't have aroused much of a stir if Peisner had just gone with an extra half-star. But gave it 2.5 out of five, and you'd have to figure a band like the Black Crowes are probably looking for more. Nickelback, for instance,would have rejoiced.

The funny thing is, after getting caught, Black Crowes management got an email from Maxim saying, "Of course, we always prefer to (sic) hearing music, but sometimes there are big albums that we don't want to ignore that aren't available to hear, which is what happened with the Crowes. It's either an educated guess preview or no coverage at all, so in this case we chose the former."

That's pretty lame, and the Crowes want an apology.

The band's manager Pete Angelus said, "Maxim's actions seem to completely lack journalistic integrity and intentionally mislead their readership."

Of course, anyone who looks to Maxim, a magazine far more interested in babes in bikinis and silly lists, for their music wisdom is probably getting what they deserve.

Peisner dismissed the record as being "boozy, competent, and in slavish tribute to the Stones, the Allmans, and the Faces."

Little did he know this was the Crowes' show tunes record.

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