Def Leppard Atomic Mess News

An enthusiastic mostly over-40 crowd at the Mohegan Sun Arena Tuesday was treated to a raucous ride in the way-back machine, courtesy of Def Leppard and REO Speedwagon.

One of the top record-selling bands of the 1980s and an icon of the British heavy metal movement of that era, Def Leppard headlined Tuesday's performance.

Fronted by Joe Elliott, the current incarnation of the band — with the exception of former Dio guitarist Vivian Campbell, who joined in 1992 — has been together more than 25 years.

That familiarity with the material and with each other showed as the band sawed through a 90-minute set devoted mostly to songs that sold tens of millions of albums.

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For four hours last night at the Dunkin' Donuts Center, it was as if punk and hip-hop had never happened. Whether you think that's a good thing is up to you, but the triple bill of Def Leppard, Styx and REO Speedwagon gave a good accounting of the time when rock music was pop music, and at the same time the headliners showed they have at least a little left in the tank.

Def Leppard was preceded by a montage of their history and the legend "That was then, this is now" and a mention of their new record, Songs From the Sparkle Lounge. They started off, however, with blasts from the past - "Rockit," "Animal," "Let's Get Rocked" and "Foolin'," straddling the line between classic '80s rock and occasional dips into proto-adult-contemporary.

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After Ace Frehley, Edgar Winter and Rick Derringer rocked the House of Blues Thursday night, '70s and '80s nostalgia weekend continued Friday night at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa with a triple bill of REO Speedwagon, Styx and Def Leppard.

Before Borgata came to town, these three acts would easily headline on their own. In other words, the fans got their money's worth on Friday night.

The sold-out concert may have been the biggest arsenal of hits released on Atlantic City in one night. Of the 33 songs performed throughout the evening, not only were 23 of them hits, they were absolute smashes. Instead of unnecessarily prolonging the night with obscurities, openers Styx and REO both played tight 50-minute sets - mostly full of Top 10 charters.

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Def Leppard, a guitar-blazing, one-armed drumming and bass-thumping heavy metal band filled Germain Arena on Sunday night.

The fans, starved for a big-name concert in town, packed the place to see Styx, REO Speedwagon and then Def Leppard put on a show that rocked the ages.

Returning to Estero for the first time in five years, vocalist Joe Elliott and company played a 90-minute set list largely comprising their greatest hits.

They opened with four songs of sonic fury: "Rocket," "Animal," "Let's Get Rocked" and "Foolin'."

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A thousand pairs of tight jeans and at least a dozen heads of crimped hair turned out to Germain Arena on Sunday night.

They came for Styx and REO Speedwagon, which both put on decent 45-minute sets, but neither of those opening acts held a swaying lighter to the headlining band.

The first two groups merely warmed up the arena for the band concert-goers wore the Union Jack for, Def Leppard.

"That was then, this is now," appeared on a giant video screen as the group took the stage. The screen showed several photos, notes, album covers and clips from the band's decades of history. Then: "Welcome to the Sparkle Lounge," as the packed arena screamed.

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The past caught up to the present Friday night when Def Leppard, Styx and Foreigner came to town — H.G. Wells would have been proud.

The four-hour concert was a musical time machine as the three bands played their hits, some of which were originally released some 30 years ago.

In fact, the only new song played during the night was "Everything All the Time," by Styx. And even that song complemented the other Stygian hits such as "Too Much Time on My Hands" and "Come Sail Away."

Foreigner started things off right.

The band now consists of founder/guitarist Mick Jones, vocalist Kelly Hanson, bassist Jeff Pilson, keyboardist Jeff Jacobs, saxophonist/guitarist Thom Gimbel and drummer Jason Bonham (although Bonham was replaced by the band's drum tech during Friday's show). But the lineup difference didn't stop the band from playing one of the best shows of their career.

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Styx and Def Leppard were in true rock ‘n' roll form Wednesday on the Oklahoma City stop of their world tour. Celebrating their 30th anniversaries, the bands proved that they can still rock and still draw thousands of frenzied fans to their shows.

Styx opened the show with "Blue Collar Man,” one of the band's 29 hit singles. The audience, an eclectic mix of 30- and 40-something professionals, their kids and air hair-band members galore couldn't get enough of Tommy Shaw's sizzling guitar solos and Lawrence Gowan's swiveling keyboard and DeYoung-esque vocals and flamboyant choreography.

The September night air was cool and dry, perfect for an outdoor concert. Styx rocked the Zoo Amphitheater for about an hour. With only half of the original founding members, the band managed to sound better than ever. Todd Sucherman kept perfect time with his dynamic drumming, having replaced Styx' original drummer, John Panozzo, who died in 1996. Also missing from the mix was Chuck Panozzo, the band's original guitarist, whose ongoing battles with AIDS and cancer have turned him into more of a health advocate than rock star in recent years.

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Call them dinosaur rockers if you like, since these bands' heydays were a good 20 years ago. But there's no denying the showmanship of Styx, Foreigner and Def Leppard. Playing for 17,000 fans Saturday night at Smirnoff Music Centre, each group had its classic moment on the platform.

For Styx, the magic came together by the end of its 45-minute set. Keyboardist and occasional lead singer Lawrence Gowan appeared solo center stage and began to belt the opening lines of "Come Sail Away." Before long, he was behind his rotating organ doing the tune's familiar ballad intro. Then it went full band.

Mr. Gowan and his musical mates swooshed through the progressive rock staple. They cranked it out as if their futures depended on it.

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Well, not for me (Beck was on the radio when I graduated), but for the majority of the fans packed into the Smirnoff Music Centre to see Styx, Foreigner and Def Leppard on Saturday, it was a good, fun, old-school nostalgia trip.

And the bands obliged, too. For nearly four hours, fans heard nearly nothin' but the hits, like Come Sail Away from Styx, Hot Blooded from Foreigner and Foolin' from Def Leppard.

Truthfully, all three acts really seemed to put their all into the performance. Most of these guys are sliding toward old age, and they're still running across the stage with the best of them.

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When Def Leppard launched into "Rock of Ages" for its encore Sunday night at Freedom Hall, they provided the theme song for an evening of classic rock — and classic rock 'n' rollers.

The multiplatinum English band was joined by Foreigner and Styx, bands whose resumes date back to the 1970s. They played to a nearly full house of fans who also had resumes dating back to the '70s, if not earlier, and they were treated to a loaded jukebox worth of vintage hits.

Def Leppard headlined the show, the rare Kentucky State Fair finale dedicated to rock instead of country, and delivered a strong set of its trademark deeply layered, highly catchy music.

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Pennsylvania was the first of sixteen states so far to enact something called the Truth in Music law, which prevents imposter groups with no original members from billing themselves as that group.

So far, it has applied mostly to groups like the Platters, the Coasters, the Drifters and other vocal groups from the '50s, the imposters now being forced to present themselves as tribute acts.

But two of the three bands at Hershey Stadium Sunday night come dangerously close in their present lineups to violating if not the letter, the spirit of such legislation.

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The only band to have nearly all its original members at last night's Hersheypark Stadium show was the British group Def Leppard, but no one seemed to care — it was a night of remembering times spent at the record player with headphones on.

Def Leppard is between albums, which might have been a good thing, considering its eclectic set list. Opening with a "Hysteria" album double of "Rocket" and "Animal," the band — members were in lockstep all night — then slipped in the rarely heard "Excitable," from the same album. It's great to hear a band take a chance and play something just because it wants to.

Singer Joe Elliott made a good many of the night's high notes, including on "Foolin,'" but it was hard to hear him. His vocals and those of guitarists Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell and bassist Rick Savage were often muffled and muted. Another rarity, "Mirror, Mirror," was stately and featured lovely dual playing from Collen and Campbell but could have been a touch faster.

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To anyone who thought Def Leppard's high energy, rock-your-socks-off performance days were over think again.

The '80s may be long gone, but the British quintet proved to a crowd of 18,000 that they're still red hot and going strong at Sarnia's Bayfest Saturday night.

The enduring rockers hit the stage with full force, kicking off their 16-song set with an electric performance of "Rocket."

Frontman Joe Elliott exploded onto the catwalk, backed by bare chested guitarists Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell, Rick Savage's signature feathered hair, and a knockout performance by one-armed drummer Rick Allen.

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Roughly 20 years after their career hit the stratosphere with the album Hysteria, British rock band Def Leppard are still on the road, trying to recreate 1987 all over again. And while they're getting a bit long in the tooth, the quintet can still take fans back to a certain place in time as they did last night at Toronto's Molson Amphitheatre.

The British band, who have seen their star power diminish in recent years, gave the fans what they wanted with a roughly 90-minute set of early favourites that relied on guitar-driven solos by Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell.

With a wide video screen above them that at times featured three different camera angles, Def Leppard opened with Rocket as images of rockets and satellites provided the almost obligatory eye candy. Lead singer Joe Elliott glad-handed fans in the front of a walkway extending out from the main stage while fans got into the show early.

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Chalk one up for the proletariat.

Before 20,000 fans in a jam-packed Germain Amphitheater last night, English hard rock band Def Leppard took average to new heights.

Lead singer Joe Elliott is affable enough in a bloke’s sort of way, but his voice is the very definition of mediocre and the years have not been kind to it. He sang off key for much of the band’s hour and a half set and strained to reach high notes on hit singles that most assuredly were reached in the past thanks to the magic of the recording studio.

He’s functional at best.

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