Putting on the glitz, at any cost, for star-studded charity event

Doug Fox

Spouses offer all kinds of reasons for splurging on a weekend getaway.

... Getting some time away from the kids.

... Relieving the winter blahs by escaping to a warmer climate.

... Trying to find out what's really in your wallet by redeeming point rewards on your credit card.

... Attending an out-of-town concert by your all-time favorite rock band.

Admittedly, I felt I had a pretty compelling reason recently when I matter-of-factly first floated a trial balloon to my wife, Jenn, of a whirlwind weekend in Las Vegas to attend Tiger Jam XI -- an annual charity-driven event hosted by golfer Tiger Woods -- with its accompanying oh-by-the-way concert headliner Van Halen.

I continued my elaborate -- and, may I add, well-rehearsed -- explanation of the trip's merits, halfway expecting her to interrupt me by breathlessly saying, "Don't fret, Dear ... you had me at Van."

Her actual response, edited here for family-newspaper consumption, was more along the lines of, "You've got to be kidding!"

This was accompanied by a roll of the eyes that nearly defied the laws of physics when they somehow stayed in their sockets.

Things did not look good.

Looking to bolster my argument, I correctly pointed out that we had recently obtained wristbands and actually waited in line in an attempt to buy very expensive Miley Cyrus Stadium of Fire tickets for the whole family -- mainly to appease our two youngest daughters. Certainly there was no comparison between catching a flash-in-the-pan 'tween star like Miley and a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame act like Van Halen, travel notwithstanding, I reasoned.

What I learned, however, was there's no reasoning with a woman waving an empty checkbook.

What I really needed was a holy grail concert travel fund like an acquaintance of mine -- Alan Kirkham, 42, of Mapleton -- boasts of. Kirkham said the idea came to him a few years ago while watching an old concert video of Queen playing at Wembley Stadium in England -- during which he lamented the fact that he never had the opportunity to see the band in concert while lead singer Freddie Mercury was still alive.

It was at that point, Kirkham said, that he and his wife, Lauree, negotiated what has come to be known in their household as the "Pink Floyd Contract." Their agreement stipulates that if feuding principal stars Roger Waters and David Gilmour ever get the Floyd back together -- for a full show, anywhere in the world -- that he has permission to purchase tickets and go.

"I even have an account set up and ready to fund the trip," Kirkham said. "Well, OK, it is more of a charge card with an open balance -- but it is ready to go."

Unfortunately, Jenn and I had never sealed any such deal, although she did rightly recognize that I would be a shell of the man she married if I somehow managed to miss out on Van Halen's 22-years-in-the-waiting reunion tour with original lead singer David Lee Roth -- who "Just a Gigolo"-ed his way out of the band in 1985 for a solo career. There were a few aborted reunion attempts over the years, but the verbal sparring partners finally made Roth's return official in 2007.

I'd been holding out hope for a Salt Lake City performance on the much-ballyhooed reunion tour -- indeed, one had been unofficially slated for April 21 at the E Center before a whole series of dates had to be rescheduled to give guitarist Eddie Van Halen time to undergo testing and treatment for an undisclosed medical condition.

When those rescheduled dates wiped the E Center show off the band's schedule, I was finally able to impress upon my better half the dire importance of a quick-and-dirty Vegas visit. (I can neither confirm nor deny that the threat of seeing a grown man cry finally forced her hand.)

We made last-minute hotel reservations, locked in an event ticket and the trip was on.

'Everybody Wants Some!'

While 30 years of following the band with intense scrutiny has left me with a knowledge of most everything Van Halen, I arrived at Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino on the appointed late-April afternoon not knowing all that much about Tiger Jam itself -- other than it was an annual event to raise money for Woods's charitable foundation. I left, however, with a much greater appreciation.

The preliminary event first featured a silent auction, with more than 80 items donated by Woods's friends in entertainment and sports -- most of them autographed. The diverse list included items from notables like Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, LeBron James, Shaquille O'Neal, Jack Nicklaus, Joe Montana, John Elway, Jeff Gordon, Sugar Ray Leonard, Lance Armstrong, Nolan Ryan, Sandy Koufax, Justin Timberlake, Alan Jackson and Kelly Clarkson.

The real heavy hitters, however, came out for the live auction and its 13 big-ticket sports, entertainment and travel fantasy experiences.

One early package was introduced with a stage number performed by Kristi Yamaguchi and her "Dancing With the Stars" partner Mark Ballas, finalists from the current season of the ABC program. Len Goodman, one of the hit show's judges, was on hand to drum up support for the package and help professional auctioneer Vivica Paulin Ferrell drive up the price. The package, which included four tickets to the upcoming "Dancing With the Stars" season finale along with some backstage access and a cameo on the CBS TV show "Criminal Minds," among other things, sold for $27,000.

NBA stars Alonzo Mourning and Dwyane Wade, both of the Miami Heat, introduced their donated package, revolving around attendance and additional VIP access at "Zo's Summer Groove," an annual all-star basketball charity event Mourning runs in Florida.

"Tiger is probably one of the most generous athletes in the world," Mourning told the crowd. "So I thank him for having us."

That item went for $26,000. No telling what it might have fetched if popular T-Mobile pitchman Wade would have offered to temporarily put the winning bidder in his "Fave 5" calling plan.

The highest-selling item of the evening was an all-inclusive, four-day, four-night private luxury rail cruise in the Canadian Rockies for 24 people. It sold for $100,000.

Other auctions included a Ryder Cup experience ($42,000), a meet and greet with rock band The Police ($21,000), a VIP experience at the Beijing Olympics ($85,000), a 2008 Buick Enclave with a Woods-signed visor ($46,000), and my personal favorite, an Eddie Van Halen-autographed Frankenstein replica guitar ($28,000).

The live auction raised a total of $598,000.

Woods, only a few days removed from arthroscopic knee surgery following his second-place finish at the Masters, limped onstage prior to the auction to tell attendees about his latest charitable effort, the "Fist Pump Challenge" -- an online contest with the goal of helping children celebrate their most memorable achievements.

Woods is well-known for his emphatic fist pumps, which he unleashes after especially exciting putts on the golf course. Woods said his first fist pump occurred spontaneously when he was 11 years old and he sank a putt from 15 feet on the 18th hole that allowed him to beat his father in a round for the first time.

"I got so excited and I did my fist pump -- and my dad looked at me like I was an idiot," Woods said.

"I think it's important to have those moments to share with people. You can be better at sports or you can be a better friend. It doesn't really matter what [it is]. It's important to get out there and celebrate things."

Youth are invited to share their own fist pump moment by sending in a video which explains the significance of their achievement. Monthly prizes will be voted on by Web site visitors. Visit www.tigerwoodsfoundation.org for further details.

Woods then allowed himself to look forward to the main event of the night.

"I was a huge Van Halen nut as a kid and still am," he said. "This is going to be a great night."

It turned out that Woods wasn't just whistling "Eruption."

'Romeo Delight'

After the auction wrapped up, guests made their way to the main arena, where they were joined by thousands of fans for the concert. It was there that I celebrated my own fist pump moment multiple times over the next two hours.

There's a magic moment that occurs at most rock concerts -- in those split seconds after the arena lights go dark, but before the band begins playing. There's an almost palpable energy which flows through the venue -- the bigger the act, the bigger the jolt.

That moment has always treated Van Halen well, or, perhaps, vice versa. This night was no exception as Eddie Van Halen stepped out in front of the stage curtain and cut through the darkness with a thundering power chord, followed by a cascading torrent of squealing, whammy-mutated notes that served to signal that a real live guitar hero was indeed in the house.

He then casually stepped back behind the curtain as the full band joined in the jam, before a brief pause led into the recognizable riffs of "You Really Got Me," the Kinks cover that unleashed Van Halen on an unsuspecting, disco-fogged nation in the summer of 1978.

I spent the first few songs simply basking in the wonderment of the moment and watching longtime antagonists Roth -- sporting various top hats, matador jackets and leather pants (that had full seats, thank you very much!) -- and guitarist Van Halen treat each other like long-lost pals. So engrossing was the pair's interaction, in fact, that it wasn't until some point during the third song when I happened to glance at drummer Alex Van Halen and was jolted into the conscious realization that he was even there, keeping everyone in fast-paced rhythm.

No Roth-era Van Halen show would be complete without the frontman's self-parodying -- at least these days anyway -- elongated pronouncement of, "Look at all the people here tonight!" It fit in perfectly on this night with the setlist, which exclusively featured material from the six albums between 1978 and 1984 that marked Roth's initial stint in the band.

There was a glimpse of the future, though, as Eddie Van Halen's 17-year-old son, Wolfgang, has taken over for original bassist Michael Anthony. He handled Anthony's bass and backup vocals well, and hopefully his stage presence will improve with time. Stepping into your father's famous band and replacing a popular member is, after all, no Sunday afternoon in the park.

The two-hour concert went by way too quickly. Before I knew it, Roth, now wearing a maritime skipper's hat, was dragging a giant inflatable microphone around the stage, looking like a demented "Love Boat" Captain Stubing as confetti fell during the closing strains of "Jump" -- the last song on every single night of the band's locked-in-stone setlist this tour.

As I filed out of the arena a good 15 minutes after the show ended, just one exhausted rocker among thousands of others, an interesting phenomenon occurred. Various hallways merged into one general exit, which in turn dumped patrons out into one of the main corridors of the Mandalay Bay building. As the crowd from the concert came into view of those walking the Mandalay Bay walkways, the concert patrons spontaneously let out a loud, sustained rebel yell that was accompanied by raised arms and, I'm sure, a few fist pumps.

At that moment, there was no doubt in my mind that the memories of this trip would long be worth whatever it ended up costing.

Bootleg Van Halen tour T-shirt bought from a shady-looking character in the stairwell of the Mandalay Bay parking garage after the concert: $10

Face value of one floor seat at the concert: $185.75

Money raised for charity during the entire Tiger Jam XI event: $1.6 million

Getting my fist pump moment on by seeing Eddie Van Halen and David Lee Roth share a concert stage again: Priceless