Mesa, AZ - Media Review Quotes
By Christina Fuoco
Lead singer Joe Elliott, who appeared to be ill, lacked the enthusiasm of tours past. The leather-pants-wearing frontman sounded hoarse, relying on vocal help from his bandmates on songs such as "Photograph" and the ballad "Love Bites." He enlisted the crowd at Mesa's Hohokam Park to sing the chorus to "Animal," and the thirtysomething audience happily complied.
Def Leppard opened the show with "Action" before long, black curtains parted to reveal a screen that interspersed live clips of the band with video images. During "Hysteria," an image of the British flag celebrated the group's heritage. Though Elliott's voice was hoarse, he stuck with his trademark moves, spinning his microphone stand and raising it in the air to encourage the fans to applaud. Keeping with the retro feel, fans held up lighters - instead of the very 21st century cell phones - to salute Def Leppard during "Foolin'."
Like tourmate Adams, Elliott said very little to the audience. When he did offer between-song banter, he commented on Phoenix's climate ("It's a hot, sticky evening--what we all like") or drummed up support for the band's recently released greatest-hits package, "Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection." Despite Elliott's struggles, the band, led by longtime guitarist Vivian Campbell, was dead on. Campbell's thick, heavy-handed guitar solos were cheered on by the audience during songs such as "Armageddon It."
For the tour, the stage was set up in centerfield with the ballfield available for patrons who wished to stand or sit on blankets. General admission extended to the stands. Fans also watched the show through the netting behind home plate, while others sat on top of the dugout or stood in the ballfield.
By Live Daily 2005.
By Zane Ewton
Def Leppard took the stage and delivered amped up versions of some of their biggest hits, jumping right into "Action" from the Retro Active album. Not letting up at all, the band surged through "Let's Get Rocked", "Women" and "Foolin'". Even "Hysteria" received a heavier treatment that really gave the song an exciting energy.
Singer Joe Elliott introduced their new single, a cover of Badfinger's "No Matter What" and tipped the crowd in on a possible September release date for the full covers album. The twin guitars of Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell traded riffs and solos left and right up to a duel during "Rocket" that was flashy without hitting live solo cliche's. The two Rick's, Allen and Savage, kept the tight Def Leppard beat that is the trademark of so many of their songs. Elliott's job may seem pretty easy when a couple thousand people are singing every word to every song but he's still got his voice and can hit those high notes, performing well in his role as master of ceremonies. 25 years of touring has ensured Def Leppard knows how to put on a rock and roll show.
Ballads were kept to a minimum which meant the tempo was always high and the crowd ate up every sweaty minute of it. Songs like "Photograph" and "Rock of Ages" were exuberant celebrations of rock and roll and the encore choices of "Bringin' on the Heartbreak" and "Pour Some Sugar on Me" copped the biggest ovation of the night.
By antimusic 2005.
Read the full review at - antimusic.com
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