http://www.sltrib.com/themix/ci_4198822 Article Last Updated: 08/17/2006 07:51:42 PM MDT Review: Def Leppard remains a rock 'n' roll force Depleted Journey is showing its age By Brandon Griggs The Salt Lake Tribune WEST VALLEY CITY - It felt like the '80s again Wednesday night at the Usana Amphitheatre, where Journey and Def Leppard evoked that big-hair and spandex era with almost three hours of bombastic ballads and deafening power chords. But it's a fair guess that when Def Leppard played its monster hit "Photograph" back in 1983, fans weren't holding up cell-phone cameras to snap pictures of the band. Journey and Def Leppard are billed as co-headliners of their joint 2006 tour, but there was no question Wednesday about who was the bigger and better live act. If this had been a battle of the bands, the British pop-glam-metal rockers would have blown Journey off the stage. Nearly two decades after its commercial peak, Def Leppard still packs an impressive energy for a bunch of blokes in their 40s. Unlike Journey, which retains only two members from its core early-'80s lineup, Def Leppard still records and tours with four key bandmates. This chemistry was evident onstage, as the band sounded tight and focused throughout its choreographed 80-minute set. Although Def Leppard just released "Yeah!," a new album of covers of '70s power pop, the band played only two songs from it: Badfinger's "No Matter What" and a theatrical version of David Essex's "Rock On." Instead, the quintet leaned heavily on 1983's "Pyromania" and 1987's "Hysteria," two massively popular albums from its MTV heyday. Singer Joe Elliott and bassist Rick Savage dashed about the stage with playful abandon while guitarists Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell traded fiery solos and one-armed drummer Rick Allen maintained a furious groove. Nobody listening with eyes closed would ever guess that Allen, who compensates with an electronic drum kit he thumps with his feet, was missing his left arm. Elliott chatted little between songs, leaving more time for the band to crank out one radio hit after another: "Foolin'," "Rocket" and a rousing "Rock of Ages" that had the sold-out crowd pumping its fists. By the encores, everyone knew what was coming: power ballad "Love Bites" and the monster stomp-along, "Pour Some Sugar on Me." Journey also filled its set with faithful renditions of its many hits, but something was missing. Because ex-frontman Steve Perry is long gone, the lead-vocal duties were split between newcomer Jeff Scott Soto on rockers like "Don't Stop Believin' " and drummer Deen Castronovo, who handled ballads like "Open Arms" and "Faithfully." While both singers did credible impressions of Perry's distinctive high tenor, Soto's incessant mugging soon grew tiresome. Longtime guitarist Neal Schon redeemed some songs with soaring solos (and opened the evening with a feedback-drenched, Hendrix-like solo rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner"). But many tunes were marred by overblown arrangements and a sense that the band - what's left of it - is clinging to fading glories that are a quarter-century old. Journey has a certain charm as a guilty-pleasure nostalgia act. But in five years, we may see these guys playing the state fair. griggs@sltrib.com Review Def Leppard and Journey Where: Usana Amphitheatre When: Wednesday night Bottom line: Journey sounded like a fading oldies act, but the boys in Def Leppard can still rock pretty hard.