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1980s power-ballad acts make for nostalgic night

Chris Riemenschneider,  Star Tribune
July 30, 2005

A review of Friday night's doubleheader concert with Def Leppard and Bryan Adams
at Midway Stadium in St. Paul might read like the evening's weather report:
pleasant, breezy, mild, lukewarm.

Two of rock's biggest hitmakers of the '80s -- before being tossed aside in the
'90s along with acid-washed jeans -- pulled off something of a comeback. The
concert drew close to 13,000 people, about 1,000 more than American icons Bob
Dylan and Willie Nelson did three weeks earlier.

Both of Friday's acts were out to please their rediscovered masses in the
easiest manner possible. That much was certain after they each wheeled out their
ultra-sappy power ballads -- you know, the kind of songs that every Top 40 rock
band of the '80s put out to attract to teenage girls to buy their records. For
Adams, it was "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You" and "Heaven." For Def Lep,
"Love Bites." The key word here is "bites."

There was plenty of other cheese to go with the ballpark fare: Adams led the
crowd through what seemed like 45 minutes of na-na-nas during "Cuts Like a
Knife"; the Leppard guys strutted out on stage to Queen's "We Will Rock You" as
if they've taken over as Britain's kings of metal.

From a sentimental standpoint, though, Def Leppard was hard to resist. Arguably
the band with the saddest episode of VH1's "Behind the Music," they drew on
their survivor instinct with fist-pumping hits like "Rock of
Ages,"Rocket,"Photograph" and "Foolin'." Singer Joe Elliott can still wail out
many of the old notes, but guitarists Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell ("the new
guy") hit most of the show's highs.

"It's been 25 years since we first came to America," Elliott said. "Usually, of
all the gigs we play, this [city] comes in at least the top two."

It's probably a line said in every town, but the version of Badfinger's "No
Matter What" that followed localized it a little (Badfinger guitarist Joey
Molland lives in the Twin Cities).

One thing you can give Adams credit for is his unchanged, no-frills manner. The
Canadian singer still looks, acts and sounds like your favorite big brother. He
was at his most basic Friday night, with a straight-ahead band whose members
dressed in T-shirts and jeans and even had matching short haircuts. As simple as
the band's wardrobe, the versions of heartland rockers like "Summer of '69" and
"Somebody" fit the summertime vibe perfectly.

Too bad Adams didn't play more of those instead of "Everything I Do." He even
defended its schmaltz with an uncharacteristically bitter, impolite introduction
of the song based off a local critic's panning of it back in the early '90s.

Adams' message to the critic: "I'd like to say it from 15 years later: Stick it
up your ... ."

That also could be a line said in every city on the tour.

Chris Riemenschneider is at chrisr@startribune.com.

Copyright 2005 Star Tribune