Nerd Halen
May 22, 2026
The Celestia Theatre (Wadworth, Ohio)
By Rob McCune
While 30 miles north at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, “The Boss” was holding court with a “No Kings” concert, in Wadsworth, Ohio, we had something more like “The Bobs” from Office Space as comedian/singer Hal Sparks and the boys of Nerd Halen rocked out a parody-slash-tribute to the divine Edward Van Halen, hallowed be thy name, that was full-on energy, laughs and fun.
Sparks co-founded the band with lead guitarist Caleb Rapoport after the duo met at LA’s Whisky A Go Go nightclub, and their affinity for Van Halen is abundantly clear from the joy and energy that they bring to this act.
A blend of musical theater, stand-up comedy and raw, zealous rock’n’roll, Nerd Halen casts its band members – which also include Victor Broden on bass and Jeff Page on drums – as pencil-pushing, pocket-protector-wearing office nerds in shirt-and-tie and spectacles with frames taped together between the lenses, presumably because they were previously snapped in two by some bully.
Pony-tailed Sparks resembles Marty’s dad, George McFly (“Back to the Future”), still in his nerd era … sometime after he punched out Biff outside the Enchantment Under the Sea Dance on Nov. 12, 1955, but before he achieved cool as a successful published sci-fi author in the butterfly-effected new 1985. Rapoport is more like Gilbert (Anthony Edwards) from “Revenge of the Nerds,” without the jumpsuit but in neon yellow attire for the Lambda Lambda Lambda rap. His red-and-white-striped electric guitar sports a stubby Yellow No. 2 pencil above the fret board, which is a signature of the band, now appearing on the latest T-shirts and merch. Broden’s nerd vibe with stache, meanwhile, is reminiscent of Kip Dynamite (Napoleon’s brother); and Page in sweater vest, bow tie and tatts could be compared to newly converted Ogre in “Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds In Paradise.”
The Nerds ripped guitar and drum solos on Van Halen anthems from every era, starting with “Running With the Devil,” off the self-titled 1978 records, and including pop-ified hits from the Sammy Hagar timeline like “Runaround” and “Poundcake.” For those songs, the stage’s digital band-name backdrop transitions to “Nerd Hagar.”
Sparks, who some fans might remember as the host of the E! network’s “Talk Soup” Weekend-Update-like riff on daytime talk shows that ran from 1999-2000, is surprisingly effective at contorting his voice to achieve the rock rasp of Van Halen’s frontmen. He’s got David Lee Roth’s rambunctious stage presence, but his voice seems more suited to Hagar’s pitch.
The group mostly stays faithful to the original lyrics in their performance – but Sparks interjects comedic commentary between and during songs, sometimes doing crowd work, like pointing out an audience member’s Van Halen shirt, and sometimes addressing the shaky-at-best morality and legality of the topics addressed (as with “Hot For Teacher”).
Sparks and Rapoport both also defy their nerdy aesthetics at various points in the set, but particularly during “Jump,” for obvious reasons, with epic, sky-high, rock-n-roll leap-kicks from the drum platform.
It all works tremendously well, appealing both to the die-hard Van Halen fans dancing in the aisles as well as those eager for a laugh and a good time.
Nerd Halen’s “Mom’s Minivan Tour” hit venues in Ohio, Pittsburgh, Chicago and Dallas before moseying back to the west coast. Catch them when and where you can.
Follow Rob McCune on Instagram (@Every_Thing_After_Photo) and listen to the “Every.Thing.After Podcast” on Spotify.
