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Friday, 5th August 2005
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South Bend, IN - Media Reviews

Adams, Def Leppard vibrant at Cove By Andrew S. Hughes

As with the concert by Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson in 2004 at Coveleski Stadium, Friday night's concert there by Bryan Adams and Def Leppard proved, to paraphrase W.P. Kinsella, if you book them, they will come.

In this case, the "them" is musical acts, and the "they" are the fans.

More than 9,000 people attended Friday night's concert, and, apparently, fans of each act got what they wanted. Both Adams and Def Leppard played 90-minute sets heavy on the greatest hits, and each act received ecstatic applause from the audience.

Never a favorite of critics, this one included, Def Leppard gave an admirable performance powered by the energy and enthusiasm of the group's members, particularly singer Joe Elliott and lead guitarist Phil Collen.

(Bass player Rick Savage deserves praise, too, just for performing. Pacific Coast Concerts owner Peter Kernan, who promoted the concert with Jam Productions, said afterward that Savage injured his back early in the day, and it wasn't clear as late as 4:30 Friday afternoon if he'd be able to perform. Savage, Kernan said, visited a local chiropractor and played despite severe pain.)

It's a testament to how much Def Leppard saturated rock radio in the '80s and '90s that nearly every song the group played was recognizable, even to a non-fan such as myself. Songs such as "Promises," "Rock of Ages" and "Animal" displayed Def Leppard's brand of glam-influenced pop metal at its most successful: melodic, tightly arranged and played well. For "Photograph," everything clicked -- the melody, Elliott's vocals, the harmonies, even Collen's metal-god guitar solo -- to make it sound exhilarating live.

Most of the songs in Def Leppard's set sounded better live than they ever did on the radio, in part because of the invigorating effect of hearing music played loud and in the company of thousands and in part because of Def Leppard's seasoned stage presence.

Elliott's voice sounded distorted on a couple of songs early on, but that's not a reflection of his ability as a vocalist, only the sound engineer's performance. Indeed, Elliott's singing showed that he possesses a smooth but full and pleasurable voice and that he has a commanding sense of melody, particularly on Def Leppard's covers of Badfinger's "No Matter What" and David Essex's "Rock On."

Def Leppard played first, and it seemed to benefit the group to play in the daylight. The members of the group appeared relaxed and appeared to enjoy themselves. As darkness descended just before Def Leppard's last song, "Pour Some Sugar on Me," however, Elliott transformed into an arena-rock performer. With the flashing green, yellow, blue and magenta stage lights now necessary in order to see the group, Elliott added staged and mannered rock star moves to his presentation, including splaying his arms in a Christ-like posture.

By South Bend Tribune 2005.

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