Chris Beaumont, writing for blogcritics.org, reviewed one of the shows on the Def Leppard/Bryan Adams ballpark tour which comes to Community America Ballpark on Wednesday.
His conclusion: "If you have the opportunity to catch this tour, do it, you will not regret it."
Beaumont praised Def Leppard's 16-song set and stage, which includes a giant screen. But mostly he praised their sound.
The seemingly odd pairing of pop-metal band Def Leppard and middle-of-the-road crooner Bryan Adams can be explained by one guy, superproducer Robert "Mutt" Lange.
Lange, best known these days as Mr. Shania Twain, was the man behind both acts' biggest albums.
"Because of Mutt, we've known Bryan for ages," said Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott during a phone interview from a tour stop in San Francisco. "In 1990, Mutt was working with both of us at the same time. Bryan got up onstage with us in Paris one night. We know each other - we don't have to get to know each other. So it makes sense."
Word out of the Def Leppard camp is that Yeah! will not be released on September as originally planned.
The British band enjoys has sold scores of records and will draw thousands for its Peoria show, but can these longhairs rock loud enough to get in music's hall of fame?
Def Leppard released its first record, "On Through The Night," in 1980. That fact alone makes the band eligible for induction in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And the group's more than 34 million albums sold in United States has to capture the attention of Rock Hall voters.
But does the band's body of work make Def Leppard Rock Hall worthy?
Ten words no one wanted to hear Sunday at Frontier Field: "And now we're gonna play something from the new album…."
Only in rare cases has pop-music success in the '80s translated into this century. Def Leppard and Bryan Adams are no exceptions. And showing up on VH1's Behind the Music doesn't count.
But it's not difficult to recall that both of these acts were chart monsters at one time. The comfort food of rock: Part craft, part Kraft macaroni and cheese.
For the record, no one looked fat or like they were experiencing backstage-party flashbacks. Onstage, we're talking. Def Leppard guitarists Vivian Campbell and Phil Collen even removed their shirts and didn't gross anyone out.
The RIAA has certified Vault as passing the 4,000,000 sales mark on June 2005.
Writers are supposed to avoid cliches like the plague. But when thinking about Def Leppard and their show last Saturday night at Lancaster's Clipper Magazine Stadium, one keeps coming to mind: the rockers really are like a fine wine that gets better with age. There, I said it.
But it's true. Saturday night being the sixth time I've seen the band since 1992, I've come to realize just how much more I enjoy their performance each time.
The group is probably a tighter playing unit than ever before. Joe Elliott's voice, while a bit more gravely these days - all that smoking must be taking its toll - hits every note, even the high ones, without issue. Vivian Campbell - still the "new guy" after 13 years - continues to gel with his band mates, particularly fellow guitarist Phil Collen. Together, they unleashed a blistering guitar attack on the Lancaster audience.
It's pouring rain in Brockton and Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen is, of course, shirtless. The U.K. '80s metal band might be celebrating its 25th year out in the 'burbs, but little has changed other than the size of the stadiums the band plays.
Rolling Stone recently listed this tour with fellow '80s survivor Bryan Adams as one of the summer's hot tickets. Why? Good songs, good fun.
And plenty of power chords.
Blanche McCarthy took advantage of the moment she had been waiting decades for when she saw Def Leppard drummer, Rick Allen, leaning against the fence for a cigarette-break outside the VIP section at the Shaw's Center Wednesday night.
"When I realized it was him, I walked over and said, 'I've had a big crush on you since I was 16,'" the Brockton resident said.
Allen, McCarthy said, shook her hand and told her, "I can tell you're a diehard.
McCarthy was one of more than 7,000 fans who braved the rain and mist to see Def Leppard and singer Bryan Adams perform at the "Rock 'N Roll Double-Header" at Campanelli Stadium on Wednesday.
Quick, name the year: Def Leppard's latest album debuts in the Top 10. Its new pop-rock tune is blasting out of radio stations around the country. The band is touring with Canadian rocker Bryan Adams on some dates, and on others with Tesla.
The year? You're living in it.
Def Leppard in 2005 looks a bit different than it did in, say, 1985. The new album, which debuted at No. 10 last month, is a two-disc anthology called "Rock Of Ages" (Island). And that new recording, "No Matter What," is actually a cover of the 1970 Badfinger hit. The radio play is coming mostly from classic-rock stations. But singer Joe Elliott, 45, is still savoring the success of his nearly 30-year-old band.
Some residents near Campanelli Stadium fear a Bryan Adams-Def Leppard rock show may be, as Adams' 1991 Grammy-nominated album states, "Waking Up the Neighbors" on Wednesday night.
That's why Thomas Crowley of Gordon Street might not be around when the two performers - stars in the 1980s and '90s - play back-to-back in the stadium's first concert of the year.
"I'm going away this weekend," said Crowley, a Gordon Street resident for 47 years. "Maybe I'll stay away."
When Def Leppard and Bryan Adams took the field on July 3, 2005 at the Dutchess County Baseball Stadium in Wappingers Falls, New York, they together compiled enough hits to provide a satisfying rock and roll victory for over 5000 jubilant fans.
This latest stop was one of at least a dozen minor league ballparks that these two band's co-headlining summer send-up is scheduled to perform at. Deep in centerfield stood a giant constructed stage and powerful sound system. The baseball diamond was fenced off but there was plenty of room for the GA and ample bleacher seating. Twice during the evening the two bands emerged through the center field fence in much the same was as a replacement pitcher would enter a baseball game. In the same way, both bands provided rock and roll relief through their stellar performances.
When I was first starting to get into music, a little later than most, I discovered a song called "Rocket." This served to by my first introduction to Def Leppard, who quickly became my first favorite band. I quickly obtained all of their albums up to that point. There was something about their big arena rock sound that just grabbed me. Sadly, I never got to see them live during their glory years. Now, nearly twenty years later my opportunity has arrived. Def Leppard was teaming up with, as unlikely a pairing as I have seen in recent years, Bryan Adams to go on a tour of minor league baseball stadiums, much like Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson did last year. I bought my ticket as soon as I could, my date was set to finally see them live.
I arrived at the stadium around 3:45 for the scheduled 6:30 start. I wanted to make sure that I was able to get a parking space in the lot, I did not want to deal with shuttle buses. There was already good sized crowd forming. I made my way to the merch trailer to see what they had to offer, I ended up with a Def Leppard "Rock of Ages 2005″ tour shirt. I took that back to the car, so I didn't have to worry about carrying it for the entire afternoon. I then returned and got in line to await entry into the stadium.
Only five rock bands in the world have sold over 10 million copies of two original albums in the U.S. - The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Van Halen and … Def Leppard.
Does it surprise you that people still think of Def Leppard as the band with the one-armed drummer (Rick Allen's left arm was severed after a 1984 car accident)?
You've been called a hair metal and a heavy metal band, but you've got a huge female following. What's up with that?
Have you ever considered pulling a Led Zeppelin and refusing to play one of your mega hits, like "Pour Some Sugar On Me" or "Hysteria?"
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