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Def Leppard Rocks
Fans enjoy pulsating sounds of 'hard and sweet' band

August 22, 2003

By Mark Bialczak
Staff writer

The state fair grandstand pulsed with guilty pleasure Thursday night.

British band Def Leppard rocked as it's been rocking for 25 years.

And so the fans ate it up just as they have been since that first hit,
"Photograph," hit America in April 1983.

The heavy-metal guys shook and hand-banged, maybe a little bit guilty to
be sopping up songs so soaked in pop melody. The pop gals, meanwhile,
shook and sang, perhaps a tad guilty to be worshipping a band with
heavy-metal guitars and such.

That's still the glory of Def Leppard. Singer Joe Elliott, guitarists Phil
Collert and Vivian Campbell, bassist Rick Savage and drummer Rick Allen
are a lot like candy Life Savers: hard and sweet. Like that favorite, Def
Leppard, too, has a hole in the middle.

Lyrics such as "I'm sticky sweet, from my head down to my feet" from "Pour
Some Sugar on Me" are about as deep as it goes.

No matter.

When a band can put together a string of hook-filled,
happy-to-sing-along-with songs like "Bringin' on the Heartbreak,"
"Foolin'," "Make Love Like a Man" and "Hysteria" with hardly a stop to
take a breath, that's somethin g to scream about.

Def Leppard'sstill making new music, too, and the break from the line of
hits came for a couple of songs from last summer's disc, "X."

Elliott dedicated "Long, Long Way to Go" to the "American and British
troops over there in Iraq."

"This is not to judge whether we should or shouldn't be there," Elliott
said. "This is purely a dedication to people who are doing a difficult
job."

Later, he talked about how great it is to "see the Union Jack and Stars
and Stripes side by side," alluding to the video from another song from
"X," "Now."

But mostly it was hit after hit after hit.

Elliott urged fans to sing along to the pleasant acoustic ring of "Two
Steps Behind," from the band's "Retroactive" album and the soundtrack from
the "Last Action Hero" flick. He teased about how good the crowd in Boston
sounded.

Yet Elliott and mates were obviously happy to be in Syracuse for the third
time since 1999.

"We keep coming back because you're always there," he said.

And it was obvious the fans keep coming back to share the gut thrill when
Def Leppard tags a riff from The Who's "My Generation" to its own
"Rocket," then runs off "Photograph," "Animal," "Armageddon It," "Pour
Some Sugar on Me" and "Rock of Ages."

Yow.

An unadvertised opener,Ricky Warrick, warmed up the crowd. He came with a
guitar, an earnest attitude and a tie-in with Elliott. The Def Leppard
singer produced the Belfast, Ireland, native's debut disc, "Tattoos and
Alib is."

The singer-songwriter told winding tales with "Church of Paranoia," a song
about waking up after a night of drinking much beer, and "Can't Live With
Maybe," a love song of sorts.

Campbell joined him for an electric-acoustic guitar blast on the tell-all
song "Three Sides to Every Story."

© 2003 The Post-Standard. Used with permission.