Chicago, IL - Fan Reviews
Fan Review - By Joan/Slang67
Wow. What a night!! First of all, the venue was pretty cool. For those you who don't know, Northerly Island used to be a small, but very popular, little airport (Meigs Field). It felt sort of weird sitting out on what was probably a runway not all that long ago, but I soon got over the strangeness and settled back to enjoy the show. Silvertide came on first. I'd never heard this band before (thought I'd heard a lot of good stuff about them) and, I must say, there were really quite good! The lead singer's energy reminded me of another certain, young, blonde (though he was a brunette at the time) lead singer who we all know and love!
There was one moment of mirth during this show that had nothing to do with the band. My friend was laughing and trying to point something out to me in the crowd. Finally I saw what she was talking about. A woman was READING during the Silvertide show!! I think she brought her kids to this show and was passing the time in her own way. It wasn't long before the book was put away and she was jamming like the rest of us
Billy Squier came on about 20 minutes after Silvertide's set was over. Many people must not have realized he was going to do an acoustic set, and poor Billy got a pretty rotten reception. The audience was very quiet. He played his set in a Blues format (which I've heard before at a CD signing 7 years ago, so I knew what to expect) in honor of being in Chicago. The only songs he played that the casual fan would know was Everybody Wants You and the Stroke. Most of the other tracks he played were from his bluesey "Happy Blue" album, or various deep cuts from other albums. I thought the set was good. Billy's voice was as strong as ever and he chatted between each song. He even mentioned his bringing a "certain young band over from England" to tour with him back in '83. THAT got the audience's attention!
Once Billy left the stage, there was a video played about the selection of the Loop girl (if you were male, this might have had some appeal). After that, there was a very funny "home" video played that was hosted by none other than Wolfie!! All the guys were in the video (the vortex wall with Sav and Viv was pretty funny) and Wolfie kept coming back to the catering table and talking about how much he loved getting fat! It was hilarious!
Once the movie was done, it was about 10 minutes and the boys were on stage. The show was absolutely AWESOME! This is the first time I got to see the video screens and, I'm telling you they were everything I've heard and more! The setlist didn't really stray from the previous shows, except for the addition of Gods of War and Two Steps Behind.
There were some different vocals and effects used during some of the songs that were really cool. Joe and the boys were having a good time (especially with the front row--they even mentioned that it was the best one they'd had all tour) and it showed. At one point in the night, Joe mentioned how this was the last show of this leg of the tour and they wanted to make it memorable. Well, they succeeded!!!
Come back soon, boys!.
Fan Review - By Cheri
Once again, another awesome concert from Def Leppard. I saw them a month ago in Peoria with my daughter and as promised, this time I took my husband. (He took me actually, since it was about 300 miles from our home, and boy was I glad he was there! What a huge city)! Anyway, since we had general admission seats, we got to the gates about 3 hours early to wait. The weather was perfect, an awesome breeze coming off of Lake Michigan.
We got 3rd row in the center. The best seats I've ever had at any concert. Silvertide was really good. I expect to see more of them in the near future. Billy Squire was, well......... Anyway, about 9:00 Def Leppard took the stage. It was the perfect evening! I was so close to them and for the next two hours having the time of my life! I think they were even better than in Peoria! Probably just being outside right on Lake Michigan made a big difference. They played with such energy and really had the crowd going. You could tell they were enjoying themselves too! They did their usual set, which included almost everything you would want to hear. My husband enjoyed it almost as much as I did. We met a lot of great people sitting around us! It was definitely a night I'll never forget.
Fan Review - By DefLep1313
September 4th I conserder it just my first concert because I'm only thirteen, but Joe Elliott thinks differently "today is the day 25 years ago we made our first record, and this concert is the last of the concert leg" those aren't his exact words but very close to them. the night was perfect temp, clear skies and the best band to top it off. they played my personal favorite songs. such as Action, Let's Get Rocked, Women, Foolin', Hysteria, Promises, No Matter What, Love Bites, Armageddon It, Two Steps Behind, Gods Of War, Rock On, Rocket, Photograph, Animal, Rock Of Ages, Bringin' On The Heartbreak, Pour Some Sugar On Me.
In my opinion it'll be the best concert I'll ever see. They allowed cameras so I got some great pictures. Joe said at the end of the concert that our first couple rows are the best of all he's seen this tour. I was 3rd row center, I had a stuburn women in front of us that wouldn't get down from her chair and I'm not even five feet tall yet but I made it work some how scooted to the side a little bit and saw it almost perfectly. this is the first time I've ever writen a review so I have no idea what to say so good bye.
Fan Review - By Marsha
The venue was very nice. Beautiful atmosphere on the Lake. The opening act was Silvertide. They were very energetic and a good opener for DEF LEPPARD. Then Billy Squier came out and played an acoustical set. He put a damper on the energy and was allowed to play way too long.
Then DEF came out and had no problem re-igniting the fire! I was down in front of the stage and in awe of their talent. Phil is a big flirt and can play the audience well. Sav and Viv also walked the stage exciting all the girls with their-how can I say it- style! Rick was amazing on the drums. I love to watch him go at it. With feet and arm going so fast. He amazes me. Joe can still belt it out! His voice is like no other. I melted when I heard him. He also talks to the audience. I believe he cares about his fans. The only disappointment was not getting an autograph. Joe came out by the busses where some fans were waiting and appeared calm and ready to meet us but as we started over we were greeted by some overzealous security! Oh well, I look forward to the next show I can get to and this time I will get an autograph.
Fan Review - By deflep71
First, let me say the venue was very nice. The Charter One Pavilion on Northerly Island had beautiful background scenery, with the Chicago skyline in the background. We arrived just as Silvertide took the stage, and although I am not familiar with their songs they provided a very high energy opening to the show. The few people that arrived early enough to see them saw quite a performance. They sounded very good compared with most opening acts I've seen in the past.
Unfortunately Billy Squier came out next and really put a damper on the energy that was building in the crowd. Let me say that I am a Billy Squier fan from his earlier days, and I have several of his CD's, but his performance was not what I had hoped for. He played by himself and really seemed to drain the energy out of the crowd. Near the end of his set he said "I'm only going to play one more song" to which the crowd gave him quite a sarcastic cheer.
Finally Def Leppard came out and immediately the crowd erupted. They started with "Action" and just kept the crowd into it all night. I really enjoyed the video screens, the clips of the bands early days intermixed with clips of their videos and some more recent footage really worked well. "Gods of War" sounded great and was maybe the highlight of the show for me, as it is a song I have not heard live in years.
The only thing really disappointing was the amount of people that showed up. The venue only holds about 7500 and there may have been 5000 at most. You would think a weekend concert that was really being promoted by a local radio station would be able to sell out 7500 tickets in a city like Chicago. Maybe Chicago just doesn't have that many Leppard fans, which is too bad because they put on another great performance!!! See You in Detroit Boys!.
Fan Review - By The Musicfan
It was a perfect Chicago summer day, cloudy but warm, a great day to go out to a show. There was a lot of competition in the area like a soccer game ,a jazz festival, J. Buffet around the corner ... and probably 5000 fans at the show, maybe more? I don't think less than 5000. The last show was great, Silvertide - we for sure gonna hear more of those guys, they did a good job. A young band, they sounded good. It seemed like many DL fans did not really know that Billy Squier would do an acoustic show. People who were ready to rock were surprised about the acoustic set.
He got the crowd singing to his opener song Everybody Wants You, he looked good, his voice sounded great, his guitar too. We all know what he can do with his band: Rock the crowds! This set was definitely a challenge for an artist in front of a rock audience!
When Def Leppard came on stage, the crowd was pumped up. The show was great, the last before the break so they gave it all. I thought Joe's voice suffered some, no wonder being on tour... there was a great vibe, everybody had a great time, besides the one's who hardly kept themselves on their leg's! After the show I saw Joe talking to some fan's at the tour bus... It was a great night and I think everybody is happy to have a little break, beside the band, many DL-fans travel from one show to the other...and they deserve a break too!
Fan Review - By Jeannine
I saw Def Leppard on September 4, 2005 in Chicago. They opened up with Action and closed with Pour Some Sugar on Me, and in between was hit after hit. They played Women, Two Steps Behind, Rocket (which is my favorite Def Leppard song performed live), Rock of Ages, Let's Get Rocked, and many other great songs. One of the reasons I love to see Def Leppard live is because you can tell they love what they do... it shows in their performance. They give a solid performance from beginning to end. And the fans have just as much fun as the band does. The fans at the Chicago show were singing along, dancing with their arms waving in the air, just having a great time. It was a great show!
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