Eddie Van Halen Returns to the Concert Stage

Originally posted Friday April 18, 2008 11:55 AM EDT

Six weeks after postponing a slate of shows while guitarist Eddie Van Halen underwent medical tests, the reunited rock band Van Halen performed in Reno, Nev., Thursday night.

"Better late that never!" singer David Lee Roth proclaimed from the stage.

Eddie Van Halen – who battled tongue cancer in 2002 and went to rehab last year – looked healthy as he jumped up and down and ran around the stage throughout the entire show.

When the concert dates were postponed last month, the band issued a statement that Van Halen, 53, was "undergoing a battery of comprehensive medical tests to determine a defined diagnosis and recommended medical procedures."

At the time his ex-wife Valerie Bertinelli quickly dismissed rumors that he was back in rehab, while their 17-year-old son Wolfgang, who's playing bass on tour, told a source three weeks ago, "Don't listen to the rumors – he's doing great – seriously!"

Thursday, Van Halen happily posed for photographers at the L.A. airport with his girlfriend of almost two years, Janie Liszewski, who's also the band's publicist.