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Def Leppard, true to form, rocks best at Hershey
By JOHN DUFFY, Correspondent
Lancaster New Era

Published: Aug 13, 2007 11:36 AM EST

HERSHEY, Pa. - Pennsylvania was the first of sixteen states so far to enact 
something called the Truth in Music law, which prevents imposter groups with no 
original members from billing themselves as that group.

So far, it has applied mostly to groups like the Platters, the Coasters, the 
Drifters and other vocal groups from the '50s, the imposters now being forced 
to present themselves as tribute acts.

But two of the three bands at Hershey Stadium Sunday night come dangerously 
close in their present lineups to violating if not the letter, the spirit of 
such legislation.

True, Foreigner couldn't very well be billed as "Mick Jones with Jason Bonham 
and a Steven Tyler Look-alike" or Styx as "The Tommy Shaw and Jay Young Show" 
and expect to sell as many tickets, but that's largely what fans got.

That didn't stop both acts from playing like they were somewhere around their 
best years, a time when every guitar pick, drumstick, or raised index finger 
thrown out at the audience wasn't a terrible cliché.

All three acts have multiple platinum-selling albums in their catalogues; Styx 
scored four in a row at their late-1970s height, and Def Leppard's 1987 
"Hysteria" remains one of the biggest-selling albums of its time and charted 
six straight Top 20 U.S. hits.

All three groups made the difficult transition from the arena rock late '70s to 
the MTV '80s better than most acts of that era.

The hour-long set format suited everyone well; play your hits, one encore, then 
get out. It saved everyone from having to endure the "here's a song from our 
new album…" dilemma: beer line or bathroom line?

Also, the fact that none of these groups has put out any new original music in 
a decade worked in their favor in this regard. Styx and Def Leppard have 
released stopgap but at times thrilling covers collections in recent years. 
Foreigner has done nothing new since 1995.

Styx rocked their hardest on anthemic hits "Come Sail Away," "Blue Collar Man," 
and  "Renegade." Shaw noted that he and Young have shared the stage over half 
his life, and they still play in youthful admiration of each other's abilities.

Lawrence Gowan stood in for singer Dennis De Young, who hasn't toured with the 
group since their successful mid-1990s reunion tours.

Foreigner closed out a hit-laden set with a lengthy "Jukebox Hero," complete 
with a verse of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" grafted in as a nod to 
Bonham's father John, whose explosive drumming anchored that group until his 
death.

Lone founding member Jones seemed out of place with a pink shirt on, looking 
less like a seasoned rocker and more like the A&R man he once was; albeit one 
who can seriously shred.

His riffing on "Hot Blooded" sounded as punchy and brash as the original.

Five minutes into Def Leppard's headlining set, however, it was clear why they 
earn top billing on this tour. For the record, they can boast four-fifths of 
their original lineup, which came together in working-class Sheffield, England, 
as rock-smitten teenagers in 1977.

They started with "Rocket," the 1989 hit that alludes to the groups they most 
admired: T. Rex, Thin Lizzy, Ziggy Stardust-era David Bowie, Mott the Hoople, 
Queen, but photographs from their own history paraded across the video screens 
at the back of the stage.

The power ballad "Love Bites" may have dragged, having to be taken at a lower 
key than in years past, but the group connected perfectly as it took its last 
lap with "Armageddon It," "Photograph," and "Pour Some Sugar on Me."

A couple of tunes played on acoustic guitars on the thrust stage about ten rows 
into the crowd gave the opportunity for a cell phone camera moment.

And if there was still any doubt as to who of these bands was most on top of 
their game, three fifths of Def Leppard, all of its members teetering around 
fifty, can still get a way with going bare-chested.

Impressively buff guitarist Phil Collen went sans shirt most of the night

The band closed with "Rock of Ages" as a light rain began to fall. Singer Joe 
Elliot closed a night of a hundred clichéd rock shout outs ("Are you ready, 
Hershey?" being the most overused) with perhaps the most sincere. "Don't forget 
us, and we won't forget you."

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