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Def Leppard and Journey concert review
By Matthew G. Solovey
07/20/2006

It was a double dose of 80's rock in Hershey on July 3, with Def Leppard and 
Journey hitting the stage at Hersheypark Stadium. With more than 100 million 
records sold between the two, the bands have provided the soundtrack for a 
generation of music lovers' lives, or generations as evidenced by the diverse 
crowd in attendance.
This review was quite a bit different when first written. But shortly after the 
show, Journey's lead singer, Steve Augeri, left the tour because of throat 
problems. And that explains everything, because in Hershey, something just 
wasn't firing properly. Journey, which is a much better band than what I heard, 
just wasn't that good.
In fairness, a big issue I had is with the mix of their sound. Extremely 
distorted at times, Augeri's vocals were barely distinguishable throughout the 
show. A few times I couldn't even figure out what they were playing. They may 
have been playing very well, you just couldn't tell from where I was standing.
But it was Augeri who was noticeably struggling. The former Tall Stories and 
Tyketto singer is usually just about dead on; but was a little more gravelly 
and crackly this time. Last time the band played in Hershey a few years ago, he 
commanded the stage, this time he seemed out of place. Drummer Dean Castronovo 
even sang three or four songs, and keyboardist Jonathan Cain sang one.
Still, Castronovo sang extremely well, and the band itself sounded tight. Neil 
Schon remains one of the best rock guitarists around and fired up the crowd 
with his rendition of The National Anthem.
The band played a nice mix of its catalog, but never seemed to really grab the 
audience until show's end when it broke into the rockers "Don't Stop Believin'" 
and "Separate Ways." The show just didn't seem to flow very well. Jonathan Cain 
told me in an interview that the band was looking to convert Def Leppard fans 
who may not have had a reason to see Journey. Adding a few more hits may have 
done that, as it was clear that the audience paid much more attention when the 
better-known songs were played.
The night was clearly Def Leppard's.
I should add that I am a bit biased, with the Hershey show being the seventh 
time I've seen the band since 1993. But if there is one thing Def Leppard is, 
it's consistent.
Blazing through a tight set of hits, the band sounded as good as ever. Joe 
Elliott's voice, while a little raspy, hit all the right notes. Phil Collen and 
Vivian Campbell unleashed their usual barrage of dual guitar attacks.
Despite a short 80-minute set, the band managed to throw a bone to its die hard 
fans with opener "Let it Go," from the band's "High 'n' Dry" album. It also 
managed to effectively sneak in a few tracks from its new cover album, "Yeah!" 
Lumping the songs together, the bass-laden "Rock On," the pop favorite "No 
Matter What" and the clap-inducing "20th Century Boy" kept the audience 
involved.
The band played many of the songs it was expected to including "Foolin'" and 
"Rock of Ages" from their breakthrough album "Pyromania"; "Love Bites," 
Hysteria" and "Pour Some Sugar On Me" from megaseller "Hysteria"; and "Let's 
Get Rocked" from Adrenalize.
The band also very effectively segued from "Photograph" to "Armageddon It" to 
"Animal" in a very interesting way, never stopping a beat.
The only miss of the show may have been the inclusion of the Adrenalize track 
"Make Love Like a Man." Certainly, the band has many more songs that are 
stronger, including several from newer albums "Slang," "Euphoria" and "X," none 
of which were represented.
The band brought back its vintage production, adding a large video screen and 
an impressive light show. The video screen was put to very good use during the 
song "Rocket," an ode to the bands that influenced Def Leppard. Def Leppard is 
enjoying a bit a revival these days and for good reason. The band has 
consistently shown it can deliver its mass catalog of hits live - and in a very 
entertaining way.
Def Leppard's new studio album is set to come out late next year. Here's hoping 
the band will quit these coheadlining tours in support of that album, and play 
a career-spanning two hour spectacle.


İHershey Chronicle 2006