'Child is Father to the Man': Mammoth Crushes Buffalo
The End Tour 2026 stops by the Town Ballroom for an epic show
The last time I laid eyes on Wolfgang Van Halen in Buffalo, he was a 20 year-old kid playing bass and singing harmony with his dad’s band.
Last night, Wolfgang returned to town as a 34 year-old bandleader.
“At 20, Wolfgang is owning his gig, big time” I opined in my review of that 2012 concert, in the Buffalo News. “His bass playing was consistently solid and inventive, in lockstep with his uncle Alex, and sometimes mirrored his father’s fleet-fingered virtuosity. And his harmony vocals were right on the money.”
My observations strike me as slightly quant now. I mean, I really had no idea what was coming…
Fourteen years later, Wolf’s dad has passed far too soon, Van Halen is no more, and “the kid” is now firmly established as his own man - a bandleader, a boss, and a bad-ass in his own right.
Watching his growth in the time between the two Buffalo shows - as a musician, songwriter, record-maker, and human being, navigating the trauma of loss and embracing rebirth - well, it’s been a real treat.
Mammoth - the band name is one with deep roots, for it was the moniker Van Halen traded beneath before then-new singer David Lee Roth convinced the VH brothers that their family name was the better choice - is an ensemble born from Wolfgang’s well-crafted work in the recording studio, where he manned all the instruments handled all the vocals, and oversaw every production detail. He’s chosen the musicians that bring this music to life on the concert stage incredibly well, as Thursday’s sold-out gig at the Town Ballroom made indelibly plain.
Mighty, meaty, massive, meticulous and melodic, the Mammoth sound lives up to the band’s name, crafting a three-guitar attack that melts faces while remaining eminently tuneful. Joined by drummer Garrett Whitlock, bassist Ronnie Ficarro, and guitarists/harmony vocalists Jon Jourdan and Frank Sidoris, Wolf crafted a juggernaut marrying modern rock to alternative and occasional progressive stylings, with nods to classic rock tropes providing an air of timelessness.
The current tour celebrates the third Mammoth effort, The End, an album that might be better describe as The Beginning, for it’s packed with emotional, smartly arranged slabs of heavy rock, immense hooks, and a deft blend of bludgeoning riffs and harmonically interesting chord progressions. Wolfgang has a broad range as a vocalist, and throughout Thursday’s Town Ballroom show, he moved with grace and ease between his roles as singer, frontman and primary guitarist.
The highlights were many, among them the opening one-two throat punch of “One of a Kind” and “Another Celebration at the End of the World,” both of which highlighted Mammoth’s ability to summon the anthemic without stooping to pandering. This was smart hard rock, loud as all hell, but cleanly mixed and given wings by an incredibly tight ensemble performance.
After sharing a brief story concerning a recent experience at a Nine Inch Nails concert, Wolfgang moved at mid-show to the electric piano to lead the band through a bold, dynamic arrangement of “Stone.” This was the peak of the concert for me - Mammoth entered the terrain of Steven Wilson’s cinematic progressive soundscapes here, and suggested an interesting evolutionary path forward for the band, while simultaneously offering a nice dynamic reprieve from the beautifully bludgeoning riffage.
Wolf and the band appeared to be delighted by the high energy, enthused response of the Buffalo crowd, and expressed gratitude to us for selling the place out - “on a Thursday night, no less!” He can rest assured that the pleasure was indeed all ours.
An aside: Seeing Wolf’s mom, actress Valerie Bertinelli, taking in the show from the soundboard and beaming proudly as her son and his band absolutely crushed it on stage - well, it gave me all the feels. Beautiful.
Mammoth: The End Tour 2026
3/5/26
The Town Ballroom
Buffalo, NY
Setlist:
One of a Kind
Another celebration at the End of the World
The Spell
Like a Pastime
Optimist
Stone
Happy
Mammoth
Resolve
Distance
Something New
Epiphany
Tease of Tool’s ‘Right in Two”>Take a Bow
I Really Wanna
Encore:
Don’t Back Down
The End
Couldn’t have said it any better! Only my second time seeing the band. First time opening for Alter Bridge. But this headlining show blew that one away. Mostly cuz of the intimate setting. And I think cuz of how he and the band have evolved since. Def a chip off the old block. And only anticipating bigger and greater things from Wolf and the band in the future. Of which I’m sure they will deliver!