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Tuesday, April 29 

Def Leppard brings back '80s hysteria

By Leslie Gray Streeter, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, April 29, 2003

Spirited 1980s hair metal anthems weren't the only things revived at Def
Leppard's juiced and joyous show at Sound Advice Amphitheatre on Sunday.
While lead singer Joe Elliott led his mates through energetic versions of
hits like Photograph and Pour Some Sugar On Me, the enthusiastic crowd
seemed ready to rock, retro-style.

Throughout the amphitheater, all those '80s tour T-shirts, animal-print
spandex and teased hairstyles had been given temporary fashion amnesty.
Midriffs were bared. Fists were pumped. Bics were flicked.

"Looking good out there!" crowed an approving Elliott, still metal-god hot
in tight black leather trousers. Between songs, the singer chatted up the
crowd and played fashion police.

"That's not the official 1983 Def Leppard Union Jack shirt," he smirked,
appraising a fan's sartorial ode to the band's legendary flag tees.
"That's a bootleg, you bastard!"

Def Leppard's giddy two-hour set should be the standard recipe for all
touring acts whose biggest hits are likely behind them: Do mostly
recognizable hits so the crowd can sing along (Foolin', Animal, Armageddon
It). Throw in one or two new songs (from 2002's X) to keep the accountants
happy. Have cool lights. Appear to be having the time of your life. And
keep those monster hits coming.

And, boy, did they bring on the hits. From early tunes like Rock of Ages
to the rollicking encore, 1993's Let's Get Rocked, Elliott, guitarists
Phil Collen and Viv Campbell, bass player Rick Savage and drummer Rick
Allen bit into probably every one of the band's singles in all their
cheeky, slightly cheesy glory. And it rocked.

In addition to the faithful renditions of the Def Leppard songbook, the
usually instrumentless Elliott strapped on an acoustic guitar and did a
quick sing-along verse of Lynyrd Skynyrd's Sweet Home Alabama, before
launching into their own 1993 ballad Two Steps Behind.

The only complaint about the evening, which featured new Irish rocker
Ricky Warwick as an opener, was the audio mix, which let the screaming
guitar riffs occasionally overpower Elliott's sexy mumble. No matter --
intelligible lyrics were never the point of Def Leppard; suggestive,
winking fun was. And that's exactly what the boys served up.

"Until next time! And there will be a next time!" Elliott yelled as the
band exited. The crowd gleefully yelled back, probably mentally planning
outfits for the next tour.

leslie_streeter@pbpost.com

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