Charleston, WV - Media Reviews

Def Leppard big hit at ballpark By Jake Stump

Make all the jokes you want about Def Leppard having nine arms.

They still delivered more hits at Appalachian Power Park than usually are seen.

Fans crammed onto centerfield for some rockin' good times Sunday night as Def Leppard and Bryan Adams rolled into town with a "Rock N' Roll Doubleheader."

Def Leppard, a five-member group known for having a one-armed drummer, Rick Allen, greeted fans with their blend of love ballads and guitar frenzy.

You didn't even need to buy a ticket to enjoy the hysteria.

Elliott jokingly called those financially unsupportive fans "cheap" and told everyone in the ballpark to flip them the bird. Yet even after being insulted by a British '80s rocker, those fans stuck around for what had to be the best live show in Charleston for quite some time. The band's five members never missed a key and exhibited a stage presence unlike many of today's dispassionate whippersnappers.

There were even guitar solos in the songs. Remember those?

They also gave fans a teaser of their upcoming covers album, "Yeah!" by playing David Essex's "Rock On" and Badfinger's "No Matter What," both from the early '70s.

"No Matter What," which has already been released as a single, had grown men in boots singing the pop chorus lines like 12-year-old Hilary Duff fans. But the bizarre, groovy effects accompanying "Rock On" seemed to bewilder fans. Plus, no one really likes that song.

No cover tune, however, could generate as much applause as Def Leppard's own classics, which included nearly every song from the first disc of the band's latest greatest hits album, "Rock of Ages." The band seemed to finish its set with that title track, "Rock of Ages," but everyone knew there would be an encore -- a flawless performance of "Bringing on the Heartbreak" and "Pour Some Sugar on Me."

Def Leppard and its style of music may be aging, but it certainly didn't disappoint the thousands in attendance Sunday night. Neither did it disappoint those who refused to fork over $45.

By Charleston Daily Mail 2005.

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