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Thursday, 1st March 2001
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Houston, TX - Media Reviews

Rodeo Houston is Rocked by Def Leppard By Michael D. Clark

Rise up and gather round. Def Leppard is at the rodeo.

Thirty-year-olds love the group, 20-year-olds missed the glory years and most age 40 and over probably think they sound like screeching hyenas jumping garbage can lids. None, however, ever thought that the once British pop and hard-rock kings would end up at RodeoHouston.

Women at this show traded in their jeans and checkered cotton for tight leather and midriffs. The only hint of rodeo wear was the faux cowhide purses and boots walking below mini-skirts. It was appropriate. The history of the rodeo has seen its share of denim and suede, but aside from large belt buckles it had rarely encountered heavy metal.

Entering to the rumbling thunderclaps of Queen's We Will Rock You over the Astrodome PA, the members of Def Leppard were an assorted lot of genres. Lead singer Joe Elliott's once huge teased blonde coif was now fashionably stringy like a member of Creed or Matchbox Twenty. Amazingly agile one-armed drummer Rick Allen was a clean-cut soccer dad behind the kit and bassist Rick Savage had the same hair-tease he sported back in Def Leppard's Pyromania peak.

"Good evening Houston," hissed lead singer Elliott "We have a question for you. Do you want to get rocked?"

The invitation opened an hour-long set. Beginning with guitar-scratching hit, Let's Get Rocked, the group, once accustomed to jampacked stadiums, settled in as if it had been playing rodeos its whole career. To radio audiences, the group has been DOA since Gun's n' Roses and Poison moved hair metal-mania from England to L.A. in the late '80s. But Leppard has released several below-the-radar albums since then, including 1999's Euphoria.

With the exception of soft-peddling their last single, Promises, they smartly ignored the underselling and stuck with the biggest hits. Next to Brian Johnson of AC/DC, Elliott still has the best smoke-impacted falsetto since Robert Plant with Led Zeppelin. His upper-register was china-shattering between the shuffle and cymbals of Foolin'.

Once a rival to KISS for its use of pyrotechnics, lighting and stage props, Def Leppard had none of its toys available on the hastily set-up rodeo stage.

Bemused by the whole rodeo experience, Elliott had the lights lifted so he could see who came to a Def Leppard rodeo show. He must have been pleased because the cheers and lighters sent him into a teeth-baring microphone dance on Rocket. The rest of the group backed his vocals, then joined in for a fierce team harmony on Armageddon It.

Def Leppard still basks in what has always been its appeal: hooks as catchy as the Backstreet Boys, played through enough guitars to froth up some good-natured testosterone.

By Houston Chronicle 2001.

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