Columbus, OH - Media Reviews

'80s rockers Def Leppard, Journey hold attention of original fans, plus their kids By Gary Budzak

The class of 1983 came together for a reunion last night in Germain Amphitheater to hear two of that year's most popular rock groups.

Twenty-three years ago, Def Leppard stormed the charts with Photograph, Foolin' and Rock of Ages, while Journey scored with Separate Ways and Faithfully.

Much has changed since then. Journey disbanded at one point and underwent numerous personnel changes, including parting ways with singer Steve Perry; while Def Leppard has had to replace deceased guitarist Steve Clark and deal with the loss of drummer Rick Allen's left arm. Neither group has had a significant original hit in a decade.

And yet here they were, still rocking a nearly full house, and by the looks of things, both had acquired a new generation of fans along the way. Perhaps the younger crowd heard their parents' old albums; maybe they listened to classic rock stations. Whatever the case may be, there was plenty of high-fiving and singing along. Def Leppard put on their usual solid show, playing loudly and rarely deviating from the album versions of many of their hits. Singer Joe Elliott led the cheers for the remarkable Allen, who used his bare feet to generate a powerful beat on his custom drum kit.

Elliott, along with guitarists Phil Collen (shirtless) and Vivian Campbell (fully-clothed) and bassist Rick Savage took turns going up and down the stairs to Allen's centrally-located drum kit. The group's movements and a constant video barrage kept things watchable, their music made it worth hearing.

So why do people still turn out for Def Leppard? My theory is because they "rock" so much in their song titles and lyrics. On Sunday, the British quintet played Let's Get Rocked, Rocket, Rock of Ages, Rock On and Let it Go (with the lyric "Let it rock / Let it roll.") Plus, melodic rockers such as Hysteria, Promises and Pour Some Sugar on Me are irresistible.

Finally, the group is smart enough to turn to their glam-rock influences for the interesting all-covers album Yeah! One of the concert highlights was 20th Century Boy, a hand-clap driven T. Rex song that sounds just fine in the 21st Century, boys and girls.

By The Columbus Dispatch 2006.

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