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Wednesday, 25th October 2006
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Green Bay, WI - Media Reviews

Journey, Def Leppard deliver double dose of classic rock By Kendra Meinert

What went down: On paper, it was a joint tour, with Journey and Def Leppard each turning in tight 80-minute sets from their rich catalogs. On stage, however, Def Leppard felt like the headliner, outrocking its more melodic-pop touring mates with a song list that proved there's more than one way to rock - "Let's Get Rocked," "Rocket," "Rock of Ages," "Rock On" - and a flashier stage presence - pyro, skin, leather and mic stand twirling - that lit a bigger fire faster under the crowd.

That said, both bands have had decades to hone their touring chops, and it was evident in the showmanship and musicianship across the board. No slackers or has-beens here. Give an arena full of nostalgic fans (or nearly full) stalwart guitarists like Journey's Neal Schon and Def Leppard's Vivian Campbell, nearly 30 songs, well-worn sing-alongs like "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'" and "Photograph" and band video montages of bad '70s hair/big '80s hair, and just try not to have a good time when the arena lights go down and the Bic lighters go up.

As hard as Soto worked at being a frontman - too hard at times - Def Leppard's Joe Elliott made it look easy. "Do you wanna get rocked?" he asked at the start of the set. And then without waiting for an answer, got to work. His voice lacked the teeth it once did on early fare like "Bringin' on the Heartbreak" and "Let It Go," but all was forgiven when he and the band hit their stride with a mean streak of full-on arena anthems: "Photograph," "Armageddon It," "Animal" and, the best showing of the night, "Rock of Ages."

Lowlights: What? No drum solo from Def Leppard's Rick Allen? And maybe it's just me, but the overly-animated Soto looks a little too much like original "American Idol" runner-up Justin Guarini to be taken seriously filling Steve Perry's shoes.

Quotable: Nothing original from either band; just a lot of canned "Green Bay, Wisconsin!" banter.

Encores: Soto delivered vocals worthy of the driving beat of "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart"). Def Leppard squirreled away monster ballad "Love Bites" and fist-pumper "Pour Some Sugar on Me" for the close.

In a sentence: Even the most polished rock tarnishes a little over time, but that doesn't mean it can't still feel good.

By Green Bay Press-Gazette 2006.

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