VAN HALEN:  Driving home from the first show in the reformulated ("Three parts original, one part inevitable," to quote David Lee Roth) band's two-night stand in Chicago, I caught audio froma press concert where Roth invited, even dared the press to judge them harshly.  I could do that.  I could say Diamond Dave is down to about 80-85% of his old vocal range and that Eddie Van Halen's son Wolfgang was alright, but no Michael Anthony, whose high backing vocals could have covered Dave's patchier moments (e.g., "Little Guitars," "Dance The Night Away," where he -- imo -- intentionally blew the lyrics to avoid the high notes, "Hot For Teacher," where the riotous cacophony of the combo helped bury Dave's lead).  But the reason to go see a Roth-fronted VH is not to judge it harshly.  Rather, it is to enjoy Roth's showmanship and smartass swagger, even if he left his signature twirling kicks until the last few numbers.  Who can deliver a line like, "Have You Seen Junior's grades?" or "That suit is you!" like Roth?  No one.  If he avoided some of the trickier vocals by going a bit Vegas, who could do it better than Diamond Dave?  No one.  It is to appreciate his effort (reportedly lacking back in the day) to stay in tune.  It is to soak in the 70s SoCal vibe and the mob singalongs on "Dance The Night Away" and "Jamie's Cryin'," or the joy of fist-pumping fans enthralled that "Mean Street" made the set list.  It is for the warmth that Roth and EVH genuinely seemed to have for each other after decades of estrangement, as the pair wandered into The Who's Live at Leeds version of "Magic Bus" in mid-song, or a bit of the classic "Spoonful" during "Somebody Get Me a Doctor."  It is to realize just how much of the early VH catalog was woven into the fabric of classic rock; I am a casual VH listener at best, yet was familiar -- more or less -- with the entire setlist, mostly from radio airplay over 28 years or so.

But most of all, it is to stand in the same hall and listen to the virtuosity of Eddie Van Halen, who seemingly has enough energy post-rehab for two bands.  It is to discover that you never fully appreciated just how physical Eddie is with his axes.  And it is to hear the roar of one of the Monsters of Rock announcing its authority at well over 100 decibels.  If this type of show is like spending a night at the museum, the guitar of EVH would be the CGI T-Rex that chases you down the hallway, particularly on the iconic openings of songs like "Runnin' With the Devil," "Everybody Wants Some," and the set closing "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love."  You can get a slight flavor of the gig from these extended videos from the band's last rehearsal, both the show opening salvo of "You Really Got Me" and "I'm The One" (on which they were in tune last night) and especially "Everybody Wants Some."  Sadly, a lot of the bootleg clips on the Tube have awful audio, though "Jamie's Cryin'" in Philly turned out alright.  You can see the setlist and more rehearsal clips at Blabbermouth.

DEVENDRA BANHART may be a hippy-folk weirdo who blew a quarter of his recording budget on crystals, but he's just as happy drinking rum and listening to Oasis, according to the Guardian's Sylvia Patterson.

ARCADE FIRE joined BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN onstage in Ottawa, Canada for his "State Trooper" and their "Keep the Car Running."  Let's go to the video!

DAN WILSON talks to the L.A. Times about the long road to his first solo album, which is streaming in full this week via Spinner.  I profiled his first major effort, Trip Shakespeare, last November.

THE KILLERS' new single, "Tranquilize" (featuring Lou Reed), has found its way to the Tube, albeit as audio-only.

SUFJAN STEVENS:  For three nights beginning November 1,  the cult-embraced purveyor of freaky chamber folk-pop-will present an actual symphonic evocation of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway at the Next Wave Festival.

SHARON JONES is profiled at JamBase, and read excerpts from Douglas Wolk's 33 1/3 series book about James Brown's Live at the Apollo at Daytrotter.  The latter was probably good prep for an' Oct. 6th gig at the Apollo, for which Jones and labelmate Lee Fields worked up a James Brown medley with the Daptones.

NOW PLAY IT is a (relatively) new website where in a series of video downloads, musicians recite the stories behind their hits and demonstrate how they played them.  Guest tutors include Paul McCartney, Graham Coxon, The Magic Numbers and K.T. Tunstall, with plenty of indie tunes from house tutors.

FEIST spends 60 seconds with Metro, which is twice as long as that iPod Nano ad (which she discusses at the first link).

GRAM PARSONS gets a major addition to his discography with Gram Parsons Archives Vol. 1: The Flying Burrito Brothers "Live" at the Avalon 1969, due November 6 from the newly formed Amoeba records label. The two CD, 27-track set includes a number of never-before-heard -- though long rumored -- rarities.

JOHN FOGERTY:  The CCR songwriter is profiled by the Sunday Times of London in support of his new album, and seems to have reconciled with his stormy past: "It's hard for me to talk about that now, because I'm healed. It's like someone else's story..."

BRITNEY SPEARS turned herself in to be booked on misdemeanor charges of hit and run... and hit the town in a shocking pink wig.

KATE HUDSON is said by the uber-reliable Post-Chronicle to be desperate to woo back Owen Wilson - who was hospitalized in August after a failed suicide bid - after realizing she still loves him.

GEORGE CLOONEY & LEONARDO DiCAPRIO are in discussions to join forces for a movie loosely based on fmr VT Gov. Howard Dean's 2004 presidential campaign.  Which at least should be short.

DREW CAREY had one contestant flip out -- and wipe out -- during his first day hosting "The Price is Right."  Video at the link.  The same show is the subject of a conspiracy theory.  Video at the link.  BTW, in addition to hosting "The Price Is Right" and "The Power of 10," he's offering libertarian proposals to alleviate traffic gridlock.  Video at the link.

MUST SEE MOVIES of 2008:  I'm guessing most people will not see all 55 listed by /Film.

BRADGELINA:  Jolie is sporting a period look as she starts shooting The Changeling, directed by Clint Eastwood.  People are starting to wonder whether she will be taking that year off for her family, as stated back in May.

THE OFFICE:  Joss Whedon is directing another episode this season: "I don't know how much I'm allowed to say about it, but I can say that... Jim kills Pam, which I thought was weird," Whedon says, tongue firmly planted in cheek. "I probably shouldn't have revealed that..."

THE DARJEELING LIMITED:  Though I was disappointed by Wes Anderson's new film, I still agree with Amber Taylor that the critics playing the race card on Anderson's body of work are off-base.

THE TOP TEN HOTTEST SMART GIRLS IN HOLLYWOOD, according to Celebrity Top.  Not all actresses are drop-outs.

INDIANA JONES IV:  Peter Sciretta was among a small group of online press invited to the set by Steven Spielberg as a reward for aiding in the capture of a thief who stole thousands of photographs, scripts and the budget from the Indy offices on the Universal backlot.

TRANSFORMERS came out on DVD this week, so it seems like a good time to watch eight Chinese dudes make one out of a Citroen.

TWO CONCERTS led by Byran Adams, calling for a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, have been scrapped after Palestinian supporters were threatened, organisers said.  For a second, I though that the Palestinians might hate "Summer of '69," but it turns out the threats came from extremists on the issue of refugees.

AYAAN HIRSI ALI:  The Dutch lawmaker and author has declined an offer to live in Denmark and says that she intends to return to the US, even though the Netherlands cut off funds for the 24/7 security she has had since the 2004 murder of her friend, flimmaker Theo van Gogh, by an Islamic extremist.

IRAQ:  Iraq launched a diplomatic offensive on Tuesday aimed at fending off increasingly vocal Turkish threats to send troops into northern Iraq to crush Kurdish rebels.  On Monday, US soldiers tracked down and detained "the top terrorist" in Baghdad.  Security is improving enough that more Iraqis are volunteering for the police forces, though selecting good candidates will take time.  Iraqi governmental officials met with more than 300 sheikhs from the Mada'in Qada in Baghdad to discuss the way ahead for reconciliation, a plan that would lead to the eventual acceptance of concerned local citizens into the Iraqi security forces, and a plan to increase coordination between tribal leaders and the government.  Since May, there has been an 85 percent reduction in violence in northwestern Baghdad.  A dozen Army captains write in the WaPo that Iraq is a shambles and that the US should leave immediately or reinstitute a draft.  None served in Iraq this year under the new strategy, and the op-ed ignores the falling US and Iraqi casualty numbers.  Shi'ite Islamist political parties are imposing strict Islamic rules in the oil-producing southern provinces of Iraq and using their armed wings to create a state of fear, a group of tribal Shi'ite leaders said.  Eventually, the Shia there will turn on the extremists, as is happening now in Baghdad and in Musayyib.

TOYGERS are quickly becoming the latest must-have designer pets.  More pics at the link.

CATS are highly trainable, but you'll have to make it really worth their while.  "Dogs will work for free. They're happy to please you," says animal-behavior consultant Steve Dale. "Cats aren't going to volunteer their time forever for nothing. They want to be paid."

THE SQUIRREL THREAT:  One British restaurant is fighting the grey squirrel invasion by serving up free grey squirrel pancakes to hungry diners.

DISEASED FERAL PIGS pose a threat to farmers and the environment in Queensland, Australia.

HENS lay more eggs while listening to classical music.  And if the eggs weren't being shipped off to market for food, the chicks would be much smarter.