http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD%2FMGArticle%2FRTD_BasicArticle&cid=1128767686011

MUSIC REVIEW: Def Leppard & Bryan Adams

Va. Beach gets the hits from'80s mainstays on second tour of year

BY MELISSA RUGGIERI
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

Oct 22, 2005

VIRGINIA BEACH

This summer, Bryan Adams and Def Leppard took a cue from Willie Nelson and Bob
Dylan and embarked on a tour of minor-league baseball stadiums.

The response was robust the'80s mainstays packed in 8,000-10,000 fans per date
and successful enough for the pair to reload this fall in amphitheaters.

But don't act so surprised. The price was reasonable, topping out at a
now-unheard-of $50 in most markets, and these two acts, while stylistically
different, were huge enough in their day to amass more than 35 hits combined.

Thursday's healthy crowd of more than 10,000 at the Virginia Beach Amphitheater
overflowed with 30-something tarts reliving 11th grade and fist-pumping men in
jeans and jersey T-shirts (mullets and bandanas were refreshingly absent).

Though officially a double bill -- each act performed a taut 80 minutes -- Def
Leppard provided the more rock-star-exciting set, leaving Adams to do what he
does best -- basic, reliable raspy-voiced guitar rock.

Clad in the same stage clothes he's worn since 1985, a black T-shirt and jeans,
Adams and his four-piece band banged out two decades of radio staples. From the
overrated "Cuts Like a Knife" (complete with boring, overlong "na na na" crowd
participation) to the underappreciated "Back To You" from his more recent
output, Adams never wavered.

And call Adams one of those Dorian Gray rockers -- at nearly 46, he still
possesses the same lithe build and close-cropped hair.

He's also written songs for every emotional occasion. "Summer of'69," the breezy
ode to teenage hormones; "Heaven," performed with record-perfect clarity, is the
ultimate prom song; and "Everything I Do (I Do It For You)," which began and
ended acoustically, has made its share of wedding appearances.

With such a durable stash of hits, it's questionable why Adams would mar a
blistering set (the cranking "Kids Wanna Rock" was a highlight) by including
"Only Thing That Looks Good On Me Is You," the song that caused even his fans to
make fun of him.

By the time Def Lep hit the stage to the extremely loud intro of Queen's "We
Will Rock You," the audience, primed by Adams, was ready to rawk.

The scent of beer and perfume collided as a sharp light show jabbed through
"Action" and "Let's Get Rocked," and singer Joe Elliott twirled his mic stand.

The band, led by the twin guitar wizardry of Phil Collen (who apparently doesn't
own any shirts) and Vivian Campbell (sporting some interesting scruff), sounded
tight most of its set, the bottom ably held down by gloved bassist Rick Savage.

Drummer Rick Allen is still a wonder to watch behind his bank of foot pedals and
cymbals, even battering the cowbell for a haunting "Foolin'."

Next to Blue Oyster Cult, has a band used the'bell to better effect?

It's too bad Elliott's voice is shot because the otherwise pretty "Hysteria"
fell flat under his hoarse tones.

More painful were his attempts to hit the notes of "Armageddon It," which he
eventually backed off of to let the other guys salvage those layered Lep
harmonies.

Coming next year from the band is a covers album of songs and bands that
inspired them. If the two tunes performed Thursday, Badfinger's sublime "No
Matter What" and David Essex's "Rock On," are any indication, Def Leppard might
have a new reason to tour next year.

Contact Melissa Ruggieri at (804) 649-6120 or mruggieri@timesdispatch.com

© 2005, Media General, Inc.