http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/10/19/161336.php Def Leppard - Live at the Nissan Pavilion October 19, 2005 Paul Roy Def Leppard w/Bryan Adams October 14th, 2005 Nissan Pavilion, Bristow, Virginia I guess you could call me an old school Def Leppard fan since I have much fonder memories of their rougher edged High 'N' Dry album than I do the billion selling pop masterpiece Hysteria. It still sounds funny referring to an 80's band as old school though. When I first started listening to the new brand of British heavy metal that these boys were selling, they weren't yet old enough to drink in the bars they were playing. Now look at them. Almost a hundred million albums sold worldwide, and celebrating their 25th anniversary as a band. Well done. I never did get to see the Leppies in their prime, back when Steve "Steamin'" Clark was still stalking the stage like Jimmy Page's fair haired apprentice, and Rick Allen still had both of his arms to pound the skins with. Just when I thought the summer concert season was over at the Nissan Pavilion along comes Def Leppard with this mid-October show. Knowing that my wife was a big fan of the band, I snagged a couple of prime pavilion seats the day they went on sale. Now wasn't she ever pissed when our babysitter fell through and she had to graciously let me go with a co-worker. I guess I owe her one. Thanks to the Nissan Pavilion only being accessed by a single two-lane road, me and about 5,000 other people arrived late since it took about an hour to travel the last three miles to the damn parking lot. Bryan Adams was already about half-way into his set when we entered the amphitheater, and it became apparent that just as much of the crowd was their to see him as they were Def Leppard, since almost everyone was on their feet partying. I was expecting a small crowd for this show, since neither band has exactly been in the limelight lately, so I was pleasantly shocked to see the place so packed. The huge initial sales figures of their recently released Rock Of Ages anthology proves just how popular Def Leppard still are. Another thing that surprised me was just how good Bryan Adams was. He is so famous for his radio friendly pop-rock songs and lightweight power ballads, that you get caught off guard when he cranks up the amps and completely rocks out on stage. His lead guitarist got so carried away with some of his extended guitar-god solos that he probably made Vivian Cambell homesick for his days in Dio. He and Adams were so fun to watch trading licks, that I had to forgo getting my first beer until the intermission. Damn you guitarists! Thankfully, I made in time to hear my favorite Bryan Adams song "It's Only Love", his smokin' duet with Tina Turner from 1984, which was just as great sans Tina. I'll have to check out one of his concert DVDs now. Def Leppard hit the stage around 9PM just as the pumped up strains of Queen's "We Will Rock You" abruptly ended. They kicked things off with their cover of Sweet's "Action", which I though was a misfire. They have much better songs of their own to open a show with. They followed with back to back Adrenalize party anthems "Let's Get Rocked" and "Make Love Like A Man", which I have always dismissed as watered down Hysteria rejects. These performances didn't really change my mind. Things finally heated up when they delved back to the Pyromania days with "Foolin'". By now guitarist Phil Collen had completely lost his shirt, as usual, and was strutting around the stage like a teenage Abercrombie & Fitch model. The guy hasn't aged in 20 years. Their stage show this time around paled in comparison to the laser light extravaganzas they put on in the mid-80's, but it did the job just fine. They used a large video screen effectively to mix in old video and concert footage during many of the songs. Although Joe Elliot was never known for being a great vocalist, at least I hope he wasn't, his voice sounded strong this night. He had no problems with some of the more difficult numbers like "Love Bites". I won't comment on the sound mix because, although I was sitting only about ten rows behind the orchestra seating, I was in the very last aisle seat. Great view, but not the best position for a good sound mix. After killer performances of the pop gems "Hysteria" and "Promises", they followed up with their cover version of the Badfinger classic "No Matter What", which appears on the new Rock Of Ages anthology. A couple songs later they tackled the David Essex classic "Rock On", which took on an added air of heaviness, and finally included some great guitar improvisation between Collen and Campbell. The Defs definitely did these songs justice, and it was great to see them get reintroduced to a new generation, but I don't know if three cover songs in a 16-song set is such a good idea. They eventually got around to most of their own hits like "Rocket", "Animal", and "Rock of Ages", but then again they skipped many of my faves like "Let It Go", "God's Of War", and "Rock Brigade". Although all the soccer moms who were cuttin' loose to "Photograph" and "Pour Some Sugar On Me" might have been a little befuddled by those numbers. For a 25th anniversary tour, this wasn't the best career spanning setlist, but I 'm sure every band would want the problem of having to decide which mega hits to exclude each night. This tour continues through mid-November. I'd catch it if you can. Setlist Action Let's Get Rocked Make Love Like A Man Foolin' Hysteria Promises No Matter What Love Bites Armageddon It Rock On Rocket Photograph Animal Rock Of Ages Encore Bringin' On The Heartbreak Pour Some Sugar On Me © Blogcritics.org and the respective authors. All Rights Reserved.