Grand Rapids, MI - Fan Reviews

Fan Review - By Amy

Once again the mighty Lep were back in “Action” from their cover opener through the classic encore pairing of BOTH and PSSOM. Sound in the arena was less than ideal, as most of Cheap Trick sounded like chipmunks through most of their set; sometimes DL’s vocals sounded a bit higher than usual, but I think this was due to the sound system, not the singers.

Joe was in fine form, changing shirts several times and bantering with the crowd between songs (including a hilarious reference to their getting together 25 years ago, “back when Rick Allen was about ten years old and before he had his first razor. Not his first beer, cos he’d been into that since he was about six!” Rick laughed good naturedly, but unfortunately I couldn’t see much of him as the hi-hat blocked him from my view. I could see his left foot moving constantly, though. His energy and talent are amazing. Sav was brilliant on the bass, and a vision in white for those females who may be wondering. The Union Jack bass was his axe of choice most of the night, which was an awesome sight. Between his frequent smiles and fast fingers on the fretboard, Phil was entertaining and dazzling as ever – both with and without his shirt! His glow-in-the-dark Bela Jackson made a surprise appearance near the end of the set when the lights went down. It was great to see the familiar guitar which brought back memories of the Hysteria days.

The crowd was treated to a few rarities such as Let It Go, Slang, and Gods of War. All sounded amazing live and were well recognised and received. The video screen was an added bonus on this leg of the tour, as it was better timed and less distracting than earlier in the summer. Newsreel-type clips flashed during Gods of War, but the rest of the time, it was either live shots of the band or footage from earlier videos that lit up the big screen.

During Foolin’, the screen was positively glowing with some great footage from the early days. It was especially touching to see so many images of Steve Clark whilst his bandmates performed one of his best songs some 20 years later. I only wish he could have been there to have played the beautiful acoustic opening as only he could do, but at least it was nice to see images of Steve during this classic. Even Pete Willis appeared in some of the photos and clips, making it a truly historic portrait of the Leps throughout the years that really enhanced their live show.

All in all they played most of the greatest hits, and even the covers of Action, Rock On, and No Matter What went down well. Hopefully this is a good sign that “Yeah” will be well received when or if it’s ever released.

He didn't say the usual "Don't forget us and we won't forget you," but Joe did say they'd be back, and we Michiganders will hold them to it - can't wait for the next tour. Yeah!.

Fan Review - By Debbie

This was the best show I have seen this year. It was good to see Ricky back in action. Cheap Trick was a treat to see, they were just as great as I had hoped they would be. I was disappointed they didn't play The Flame though.

The Leps were full of energy. They had this amazing screen behind them that showed all sorts of cool things. They had pictures from when they first began and their images were flashed up there as well. It was an awesome reminder of how they have progressed over the years. It was great hearing some of the other songs they didn't play this summer with Bryan Adams. There were several people around us that actually knew the lyrics to Slang, No Matter What, and Rock On. My boys had a great time as well. We were in the 8th row back, but unfortunately we had some very tall people in front of us. They were very accommodating to the boys, because a few of them asked if they would like to stand on the chairs so they could see. There had to be more than 5,000 people there, as that is about how many tickets had been sold before the show (this came from workers in security for the Van Andel). I was also amazed at how many people were leaving after Cheap Trick finished playing, because they missed the BEST part of the show.

We waited around after the show, since we had parked out the by the buses. The boys were freezing, but perseverance does pay off! The security guards were saying the band wouldn't be out before 1:30, but I knew otherwise! Then one guy did come over and asked the boys if they wanted to meet some of the band members. Of course they said yes. He told us they would be out in about 30 minutes. Aidan, one of the crew came out and said he was going to get the boys some picks if he could find some. True to his word, he came back after awhile and gave the boys 3 picks each, they were thrilled. He also asked if they would mind waiting around and he would see if some of the band would come over so we could get pictures of them. Malvin was full of smiles and he offered the boys more picks, but I told him that Aidan had already given us some. Hehe he yelled, "Hey Aidan thanks for stealing my job!" He let me take a picture of him with Brandon, since my other son had his taken before. Rick, Phil and Viv came out and obliged us with pictures and autographs. It was a wonderful night that won't be forgotten even though it was so COLD!!!.

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