From: "Mike N. Reinemann" Date sent: Fri, 25 Aug 2000 02:03:50 -0400 Subject: Def Leppard pleases fair crowd with '80s party music Published Friday, August 25, 2000 Def Leppard pleases fair crowd with '80s party music Jon Bream / Star Tribune "Just listen to that," Def Leppard lead singer Joe Elliott declared after an ovation early in the band's concert Thursday at the State Fair grandstand. "That's a big noise. It really is." Which was more surprising: the excited response of the 11,423 grandstand-goers or the sounds-as-good-as-ever performance of one of the biggest hair-metal bands of the 1980s? These Brits don't have big hair anymore (though some of the concertgoers sported big perms and mullet hairdos), but Elliott, 40, still wears a faux- leopard-skin coat, leather jeans (torn in one knee) and Converse high-tops. And he ran around the stage, toting the microphone in its stand, like Rod Stewart's little brother. The rock-star look may have been timeless, and the musicianship skillful, but Def Leppard sounded dated. The 100-minute concert sounded like the soundtrack to high-school parties for anyone who graduated in the 1980s. That's when the Leps' blockbuster albums "Pyromania" and "Hysteria" dominated rock radio and MTV. "We're reliving our high school days," said concertgoer Julie Kleinschmit, class of '89, who was dancing with some of her classmates. And when was the last time Kleinschmit listened to her Leppard albums? "In high school," she said, hoisting a beer. Def Leppard's music may be pleasingly nostalgic, with those chiming tandem guitars, harmony-heavy choruses and high-pitched, Robert Plant- like lead vocals. But it's party music with little emotional involvement because, after all these years, the words don't resonate anymore. They have all the depth of football cheers. That was especially apparent on an acoustic version of "Bringin' on the Heartbreak," which received a modest response; then, when the Leps followed with an electric reprise of the chorus, the crowd went wild for the guitar fury and yelping vocals. The MTV classic "Pour Some Sugar on Me" kicked the party into overdrive. Afterward, Elliott saluted the response: "Of the 25 shows on this leg of the tour, I can safely say this is absolutely the loudest." Then the Leps leapt into "Rock of Ages," a mindless riff rocker that proved this music really is Rock of '80s. © Copyright 2000 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.