http://www.dailygazette.com/news/2009/jul/03/0704_SPAC/

Pop-metal oldies given new punch by Def Leppard
Friday, July 3, 2009
By David Singer

SARATOGA SPRINGS - Cheap Trick. Then Poison. Then Def Leppard. Friday night's 
lineup at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center were bands that dominated radio 
play through much of the '70s and '80s, who could fill SPAC as individual bands 
back then.

Same bands, same crowd, same songs Friday night, but all were 20-plus years 
older. This was not about moving their latest music forward, but reveling in 
the pop-metal that once flourished for a generation of teens.

Cheap Trick opened the night serving 40 minutes of their hits. They crescendoed 
with "Surrender," Robin Zander's voice sounding like it does on the original 
track. They built to that point with "I Want You to Want Me," Elvis Presley's 
"Don't Be Cruel," and "The Flame," their power ballad that put the front half 
of the pavilion on its feet.

Sporting his nerdy, and zany, purple suit, bow tie, sneakers and cap, founder 
Rick Nielson changed guitars for every song, one designed as a man, the double 
neck as his legs. For the last song, he had a guitar with five necks. Nielson 
seemed to take his band less seriously than anyone in the hall, making faces 
through the tunes, introducing "Dream Police" as new material and telling us it 
was their first time in New York. In 35 years? It was a short set but it was 
good.

Poison came out all fire and energy, the entire pavilion on their feet through 
the show. Opening strong with "Look What the Cat Dragged In," "I Want Action," 
and "Ride the Wind," they pulled back with "Something to Believe In," Bret 
Michaels strapping on an acoustic guitar and dedicating the song to members of 
the military while the audience swayed their raised arms back and forth. A 
special '70s moment from an impressively sober, well-behaved crowd.

The band returned to full-volume, the force of their delivery, and nostalgia, 
ensuring a high-energy crowd. "Your Momma Don't Dance," an odd staple for them, 
followed, and then CC Deville was left on stage to do his guitar thing, which 
didn't amount to much more than antics, and him urging applause after every 
trick. He did show us a little bit more later on, though not much more, on the 
solo during the anthem "Every Rose Has a Thorn."

A good "Fallen Angel" was followed by an unnecessary, and uneventful, drum 
solo. "Unskinny Bop," a candy-pop tune when stripped down, inspired a critical 
mass of people to dance. They closed the hour-set with "Nothin' But a Good 
Time," an appropriate title for the set.

Def Leppard raised the show a few hundred levels. They make art of arena rock. 
The multimedia video screens, the lighting, the audio precision all help make 
the band larger than life.

Singer Joe Elliott totally commands the stage, and the guitar work less about 
the guitarists and more about the song - yes Phil Collen plays shirtless, but 
that doesn't reflect in his guitar playing. And the one-armed Rick Allen sticks 
to his job on the drum kit without theatrics, not to mention the jolt of 
electricity he brings the crowd when the spotlight is on him.

The 90-minute set led with "Rocket," "Animal," "Too Late for Love," and "Nine 
Lives." They played an excellent, creative cover of the '70s hit "Rock On," 
giving it extra metal juice for the final verse.

They unplugged for an acoustic sing-along with "Two Steps Behind," a let-down 
after "Rock On." They started "Bringing on the Heartbreak" the same way, but 
powered-up to finish the song with full electronics.

"Hysteria" didn't have its usual kapow, but "Photograph" hit the spot.

What started off as a decent night down the memory lane of pop-metal from the 
first two bands, Def Leppard turned into a serious night of heavy music.

© The Daily Gazette Co. 2009