Are you Def: Van Andel crowd loves it loud from Leppard Wednesday, April 02, 2003 By Lorilee Craker The Grand Rapids Press Tim Matlak, 18, sneaked out of classes at Catholic Central High School to get tickets for 10 to see Def Leppard. On Tuesday night, the buddies all met and went shirtless, their torsos each painted with one of the letters in Def Leppard. Their backs were painted, too. "We Luv 97 LAV," they spelled out. Aren't these guys supposed to like Eminem or something? Apparently not. "We like real music," said Brian Fallon, 18, of the group. "Classic music for classic guys." He said it. Somehow Def Leppard, the epitome of '80s arena rock, has graduated to the rarefied echelons of being called "classic." And the guys are just that, if the enthusiastic throng of about 8,000 in Van Andel Arena had anything to say about it. From the crunching guitars of "Hit and Run" to the mushy "Bringin' on the Heartbreak," the fans chanted every lyric. For all the strenuous denials of the men of Def Leppard that they aren't a metal band, the dudes from Sheffield, England, sure could have fooled us on a few songs. And guitarist Phil Collen went out of his way to build up steam in a couple of monster guitar solos. But Lep didn't get its massive fan base with pure metal. The group has always known how to hook a listener with infectious melodies and soaring harmonies. "Hysteria," perhaps one of the greatest of fist-pumping anthems, revved up the middle of the show with its big and glossy chorus. "Foolin" also hit a nerve with the crowd as everyone stuttered along with lead singer Joe Elliott on the bridge. Tucked in with old hits were a few cuts from the new album, "X." The fresh "You're So Beautiful" was kind of fabulous, actually, with its great hook and melody. "Long, Long Way to Go," a sappy-sweet power ballad, was dedicated by Elliott to "Americans and British serving overseas in Iraq." Every lighter in the building flickered. Hey, doesn't this new material sound a lot like the old material? Who cares! Not this crowd, who warmly welcomed the new tunes. Lead singer Elliott was as spry as ever, twirling his microphone stand with all the boisterous energy of his spandex days and yell-singing the vocals with admirable oomph. He even grabbed an acoustic guitar -- of all things! -- to accompany himself on "Two Steps Behind," a cool, campfire sing-along. Momentum built with some of the songs from days of yore. On "Photograph," the crowd went wild. "Animal" was even more of a barn-burner, and served as a warm-up to that irresistible Lep staple "Pour Some Sugar on Me." Wa-hoo! It was impressive how the band re-created its huge "wall of sound" on-stage, replicating the towering choruses and layers-deep guitar of their recorded music. Thankfully, Elliott's vocals -- and that of his posse, Rick Savage, Phil Collen and Vivien Campbell -- were bold and rowdy enough for the songs. Following a thunderous round of applause for drummer Rick Allen, who lost his arm in a car crash years ago, the crowd had just enough juice left to belt out the lyrics to "Rock of Ages." It was time to call it a night. Two decades after the band's first gig, Def Leppard remains a polished and passionate rock band, worthy of being called "classic" by former 18-year-olds who loved the guys in the '80s and other 18-year-olds who embrace them today. © 2003 Grand Rapids Press. Used with permission