Def Leppard falls short of best efforts
The pop-metal pioneers battled to be heard in the early '80s - and won, ushering in a new genre that paired hard rock's swagger with downright pretty melodies. After drummer Rick Allen lost his left arm in a near-fatal car accident in 1984, the band clawed its way back to the top of the charts with its most successful album, the bazillion-selling "Hysteria."
In August 2000, the last time Def Leppard was in town, a power failure struck midway through its set at Wisconsin State Fair Park. The lads from Sheffield, England were undaunted. Roadies rigged a generator for their instruments and the band kept playing, on a dark stage, energized by the newest challange placed before them.
Saturday night at the U.S. Cellular Arena, however, the strobe lights fired on cue, the dry ice machine puffed the right amount of atmosphere around Allen's drum riser and guitarists Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell were t echnically proficient but tasteful, the band's trademark since the days Collen shared the stage with the late Steve Clark.