Def Leppard Atomic Mess News

Def Leppard and Journey can't help it at this late stage in their careers: Their roots are showing.

While the 6,300 fans Thursday night at Hilton Coliseum in Ames wallowed in 1980s nostalgia - or imagined it in the case of the young college students wearing crisp, new Leppard T-shirts - the bands on stage channeled their own, earlier musical heroes.

Two of Leppard's finest performances Thursday were covers from "Yeah!," its current tribute album to the early-1970s English glam rock that inspired its melodic, inoffensive pop-metal. Guitarist Phil Collen grooved through a rendition of T. Rex's "20th Century Boy," while it was bassist Rick Savage who eased the band into the slow and slinky David Essex hit "Rock On."

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If Tuesday night at the Cricket Pavilion is any indication, old school arena rock is back, and back with a vengeance.

With cars backed up on the I-10 freeway and traffic on both 83rd and 75th Avenues slowed to a crawl well after opening act Stoll Vaughn started his short set, and lines of fans waiting to buy tickets and enter the arena (where only lawn seats were still available at the box office) it was clear that both Def Leppard and Journey are suddenly back in vogue.

The two bands that only a few years ago were thought of as also-rans as alternative rock eclipsed the hair bands of the '80s, were greeteed by 20,000-plus fans crammed into the arena on a steambath of an August night.

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Admit it, you've turned up the radio and sung along with "Pour Some Sugar On Me" or slow-danced at prom or homecoming to "Open Arms."

Wednesday night at USANA Amphitheater, a near sellout crowd relived some of those memories with a double-bill of two of the biggest acts of the '80s.

Def Leppard headlined with its typical high-energy, large bi-level stage production. Unfortunately singer Joe Elliot's voice stumbled out of the starting blocks with un-Leppard-like awful rendition of "Let's Get Rocked."

In fact, it took about four songs for his voice to really get warmed up, and those stratospheric screeching high notes just aren't happening anymore.

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You can almost visualize the guy who provides the voice of Jack FM — and when he crows about the station "playing what we want," you want to smack that smug smile off his face.

It's been 17 months since southern California was introduced to the radio iPod that is the Jack format, and KCBS' inaugural concert Saturday at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater showcased bands that exemplify its notion of modern classic rock. No, that's not an oxymoron; it's what this DJ-free, focus group-approved format is all about.

Jack FM targets pop-rock fans who were anywhere from grade school to grad school during the Reagan administration. And if this were 1984, the lineup for Jack's First Show could have been billed as Cal Jam III: Def Leppard, Journey, Billy Idol, Cheap Trick and Violent Femmes.

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There was nothing wrong with the way Def Leppard performed. They rocked the house with their usual exuberance and commitment.

However, guys, you got beat Saturday night. It is difficult to write this. But, heck, it's true: Journey won this Battle of the Bands.

Def Leppard headlined the five-band mini-festival at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater. It was called "Jack's First Show," as it was the first concert the FM radio station has packaged and presented. Violent Femmes started the event, followed by Cheap Trick, Billy Idol, then Journey and finally Def Leppard.

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It felt like the '80s again Wednesday night at the Usana Amphitheatre, where Journey and Def Leppard evoked that big-hair and spandex era with almost three hours of bombastic ballads and deafening power chords.

But it's a fair guess that when Def Leppard played its monster hit "Photograph" back in 1983, fans weren't holding up cell-phone cameras to snap pictures of the band.

Journey and Def Leppard are billed as co-headliners of their joint 2006 tour, but there was no question Wednesday about who was the bigger and better live act. If this had been a battle of the bands, the British pop-glam-metal rockers would have blown Journey off the stage.

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Def Leppard sang "Let's Get Rocked" and the sold-out crowd at the DTE Energy Music Theatre did on Monday night, to the double-pronged attack of hit-filled sets from the British rock veterans and its similarly long-in-the-tooth tour partner Journey.

It was in some ways a case study of how the right summer pairing can be more than the sum of its parts. Both groups are well past their commercial primes of the '70s and '80s - when this kind of double-bill would have been a stadium-sized affair - but together they represent solid value and a strong hit-to-dollar ratio, even with top pavilion prices at $88.

And let's not forget the nostalgia factor for all those younger end baby boomers who were ushered into the arena rock world by Journey's "Wheel in the Sky" or Def Leppard's "Bringin' on the Heartbreak."

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When Def Leppard recorded "Rock of Ages" back in the early '80s, they did it as a young band celebrating the hard rock music they loved, though in years previous it had lost momentum to dance music and other, more superficial sounds.

They couldn't have known then that the song, which claims that rock is "still rollin'," was ultimately an oath, a promise they'd continue to fulfill more than two decades later.

In that time musical trends have come and gone, but no one has surpassed the British quintet's ability to deliver energetic, high-harmonied pop metal with bombast, swagger and pure, adrenalized escapism.

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You could feel the energy in the air just maneuvering down Harlem Avenue and walking through the gates of the First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre on Wednesday night.

The 28,000-capacity venue in Tinley Park was abuzz with fans, from the food court to the back of the lawn, juggling guitar-shaped beer cups, scouting the $40 T-shirts and other concert gear, and generally acting like the day they saw their first big concert at age 16.

After all, many fans first experienced Def Leppard and Journey live in the '80s. And now they're high on nostalgia, with kids in tow.

Despite a downpour and humidity from hell, the vibe continued on through to Def Leppard's 11 p.m. encore of "Pour Some Sugar on Me" and "Love Bites" and afterward, when westbound Interstate 80 was reduced to one lane for nighttime construction. Even the bumper-to-bumper pace didn't dampen fans' spirits, and their singing, screaming and hanging out of car windows provided occasional comic relief along the way.

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It was a double dose of 80's rock in Hershey on July 3, with Def Leppard and Journey hitting the stage at Hersheypark Stadium. With more than 100 million records sold between the two, the bands have provided the soundtrack for a generation of music lovers' lives, or generations as evidenced by the diverse crowd in attendance.
This review was quite a bit different when first written. But shortly after the show, Journey's lead singer, Steve Augeri, left the tour because of throat problems. And that explains everything, because in Hershey, something just wasn't firing properly. Journey, which is a much better band than what I heard, just wasn't that good.

In fairness, a big issue I had is with the mix of their sound. Extremely distorted at times, Augeri's vocals were barely distinguishable throughout the show. A few times I couldn't even figure out what they were playing. They may have been playing very well, you just couldn't tell from where I was standing.

But it was Augeri who was noticeably struggling. The former Tall Stories and Tyketto singer is usually just about dead on; but was a little more gravelly and crackly this time. Last time the band played in Hershey a few years ago, he commanded the stage, this time he seemed out of place. Drummer Dean Castronovo even sang three or four songs, and keyboardist Jonathan Cain sang one.

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This may come as a complete shock: 18,000 people turned out for the Def Leppard/Journey double-bill concert at the Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheater. Most of those in attendance certainly counted themselves as lucky.

Def Leppard was the headlining act primarily because it has a new charting album, Yeah, a collection of ’70s British glam rock gems. They performed David Essex’s "Rock On," Badfinger’s "No Matter What" and T-Rex’s "20th Century Boy" from that CD.

All five members were physically fit and displayed outstanding musicianship. The band was as good if not better than in its heyday of the 1980s. There were stairways leading to a platform that extended behind the drum kit, as well as a standard large video screen used as a backdrop and a hot light show.

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Twelve years and 90 pounds ago. That is how long it has been since I last saw Def Leppard. I am not the only person in Nashville, Tennessee who can mark the passage of time in belt loops. Nostalgia is a bitch.

Rock critics and hipsters can make all the snide remarks they wish about a Journey/Def Leppard show, but in this era of three dollars per gallon gas and the perpetual tale of woe told by the concert industry, Journey and Def Leppard sold out the 17,000 seat Starwood Amphitheatre. Validation? Maybe not, but it does say something.

The two veteran rock acts played sets of nearly equal length on a warm, humid, breezy night at Starwood (which is, by the way, the best outdoor venue I have ever seen a show at). Journey played first with Def Leppard following.

Def Leppard is a major segment of the soundtrack of my middle school and high school life and my notes reflect it. I took two full pages of notes during Journey's set. I did not need that for Def Leppard — I know these songs. I needed no notes to remember them. That and well…I got in that time machine Guster speaks of (you just knew Guster would have to figure in to this review at some point) and remembered the good parts of being young again.

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How many bands do you know can make a comeback with a cover album? I cannot think of many. Def Leppard is one such band with the experience, the chops, and charisma to pull it off in a big way. When yet another cover album press release comes through, I cringe because rarely do they fulfill the promise of the advertising and media prior to the release. This time my feelings were way off base. Yeah! is an incredible album, a full-fledged classic rock masterpiece.

I always liked Def Leppard and once I heard them cover some of their most beloved songs (and mine); I came to know them in a different way. All at once, they were a long lost friend I knew when I was a teenager. I was there when all of this music first came out. I loved it all, and I still do.

This is not your typical cover album because of the track choices. You would expect a more generic group of songs that everyone would immediately identify with. This is not so, and it is exactly what makes cover albums so predictable and ultimately boring. The way this album kicks off, man its just killer, with a rockin’ "20th Century Boy." I was speechless and immediately knew I was in for a special treat.

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On a day when the space shuttle Discovery launched back into space, two of the world's most successful rock bands blasted into Raleigh.

More than 11,000 people packed Alltel Pavilion at Walnut Creek on a humid Tuesday night, choosing to celebrate America's birthday with a bunch of British rock stars — Def Leppard. Of course, that's only half true. Journey, which calls San Francisco home, opened the show.

Both bands gained worldwide popularity in the 1980s: Journey with songs such as "Don't Stop Believin' " and "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" and Def Leppard with "Rock of Ages" and "Pour Some Sugar on Me." Each band focused on these hits Tuesday while sprinkling in new songs as well.

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Two of the biggest rock bands of the '80s performed at the Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain on Friday before a ready-to-party crowd of 10,500. And though the perception might be that the two groups are quite different stylistically, the show revealed, surprisingly, that they might not be as far apart as one might think.

Journey and Def Leppard, quite simply, are both very good, guitar-driven rock bands with a super gift for melody. Put 'em on the same stage on the same night, and you've got yourself almost three hours of pop and rock classics.

America's Journey – considered by most to be the softer of the two – actually rocked pretty hard during most of its set. Guitarist Neal Schon, one of rock's finest players, gave a chunky kick to tunes such as "Be Good To Yourself," "Wheel In The Sky, "Chain Reaction" and "Lights" while the rest of the band also played more like a hard-hitting unit than a band best known for prom songs.

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