[ Def Leppard UK - Def Leppard | Whitesnake UK Tour 2008 ]
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[SETLIST]
[PA] - Sparkle Lounge Intro, [01] - Rocket, [02] - C'mon C'mon, [03] - Animal, [04] - Nine Lives, [05] - Make Love Like A Man, [06] - When Love & Hate Collide, [07] - Rick Savage Bass Solo, [08] - Rock On, [09] - Two Steps Behind (acoustic), [10] - Bringin' On The Heartbreak, [11] - Hysteria, [12] - Armageddon It, [13] - Photograph, [14] - Pour Some Sugar On Me, [15] - Rock Of Ages, [Encore] [16] - Bad Actress, [17] - Let's Get Rocked. ------------------------------- [Pic Galleries] - none yet. [Media Center] - 50+ Pics [Show Recording] - none yet [Last Played City] - 26th Feb 1983 [Venue Pic Link] - View [Capacity] - 10,600. [Tour Map] - View [Show News] - Here [Support Act] - Whitesnake [Support Act] - Thunder Def Leppard Fan Videos - NEW 
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Show 41 - TUE 15th Jul 2008: Liverpool Echo Arena, Liverpool, ENGLAND. 
[Main Gallery] - 12 Pics by Tony Jenkins. [Show Notes] - The band last played Liverpool in 1983 during the first Pyromania UK tour. This new 10,000 seat venue was opened in January 2008. This show is part of the Summer Pops 2008 events taking place throughout July. Joe last appeared in this city in June 2001 guesting with Ian Hunter at the famous Cavern Club. Many thanks to TEE for the review/Tony for the pics. Buy Def Leppard's new album+single Songs From The Sparkle Lounge / C'mon C'mon Buy Man Raze's new album Surreal |
Fan Review - TEE - [ Add Yours ]
This was my second gig of the current tour after Manchester, and one I must admit held a little trepidation, I was not sure the Liverpool public would turn out bearing in mind how long it is since the Leps played this city.
First impressions of the new arena are that it is very good, easy to get to, with plenty of parking and the trains close by. Entering the arena I was a little disappointed to see 3/4 of the top tier covered, this gig was not going to be sold out by any stretch of the imagination. First up Thunder, I haven't seen this band for a long time, but they got things off brilliantly, for what was an energetic if very short set. This band would be worth seeing if they only did one song, Love Walked In, a truly classic composition. And in Danny Bowes they must have the most underated vocalist of all time, boy this guy has a voice; he was also full of energy, jumping around the stage like some demented Thunderbird puppet, a great start to the show.
Soon up Whitesnake, and I must say I was a tad disappointed by DC tonight, didn't have the energy of Manchester, but saying that he thrives on the audience feedback and this was a bit quiet and reserved, at least for the beginning of the set. Still some great songs to be heard though. But please Dave, ditch the guitar duel! Stick a Don't Break My Heart or Lovehunter in the gig instead. One interesting cameo during the show was Joe Elliott backstage playing "Air Drums" during Whitesnakes set. Great stuff.
Last but not least the Leps, not the full dynamics of earlier shows, the side video screens were missing, but at least they had the Thrust stage to work. Set list was same as Manchester, and like DC Joe had to work really hard to get the crowd going early, I think of the new songs Nine Lives would be the one for me to be dropped, it just doesn't seem to work live and gets a very muted response. Not helped by stewards telling people in the seats to sit down WTF!!
C'Mon C'mon and Bad Actress work much better. Also I don't like WLAHC, I know it was a massive hit in the UK, but for me the Leps have better songs in their catalogue, Promises, Love Bites ect.
By the time they were getting to the business end though Joe and the band had managed to get the majority singing and clapping along, the songs just invite you to your feet to join in. What some bands would give to have Sugar in their arsenal, and the new revved up intro makes it even better. Last song in the set Rock of Ages, and we witnessed a blistering SILENT guitar solo from Phil, when all the sound went off during the song, with Phil totally oblivious ripping in to it. Normal service was resumed for the Encores, Bad Actress and Lets Get Rocked. You have to ask yourself how big would this band still be if they had the radio airplay of say Bon Jovi or Bryan Adams?
Overall a good show but not a brilliant show, Joe seemed really pleased with the response at the end, I think like me he too held a little trepidation about this gig, but I think Liverpool did enough to deserve another chance the next time. And in the words of Joe Elliot "There will be a next time"
But please Joe, while we wait for the next time how about a live DVD of this tour to keep us going.
Media Review - by Barry Turnbull - [ Link Back ]
Whitesnake, Def Leppard and Thunder, Summer Pops, Liverpool ::
DEF Leppard and Whitesnake stepped out of a musical timewarp to rock 'n' roll back the years.
The two thoroughbred icons of 1980s stadium bombast provided an unashamed gallop down Memory Lane at a bouncing Echo Arena Liverpool last night.
And indeed the memories did come flooding back; a flurry of dry ice, razor-like guitar riffing, fist- clenching, pompous posturing - and just like way back then, it was a big barrel of fun.
The former monsters of rock would perhaps struggle to fill the bigger venues by themselves these days, but together they fuse into a potent retro double-act which has gone down a storm across the country.
Liverpool has never really been metal territory but on this occasion the arena almost rocked itself off its foundations and into the Mersey.
I actually remember the release of Def Leppard's first EP in 1979 which was bought by a friend of mine who enthused about 'the next big thing'.
He was right. However, I was only able to tell him this last week when an email landed from him 27 years after we last had contact.
The band were raw and even cutting-edge at a time when punk was imploding, but metamorphosised into a stadium band of high-quality harmonics amid heavy riffing. I saw them a number of times at their peak and have to say they still don't miss a beat.
Vocals from Joe Elliott and back- up harmonies were still belted out like years ago, as the sons of Sheffield blasted through a series of anthemic classics like Photograph, Pour Some Sugar On Me and Hysteria. The only problem being near the front of the stage was the noise and distortion slaughtered the trademark harmonics .
There were a couple of outings from the latest album, Songs From The Sparkle Lounge, but the material fails to fire. unlike the tracks that triggered the sale of 65m units.
A rousing performance with only difference being frontman Elliott's appearance being a little porkier than what I remember but aren't we all of a certain age?
Wild and hairy mic stand manipulator David Coverdale remains a timeless rock god. The flowing locks, deep velvet throaty roar and flirty gestures all remain in place. Whitesnake made themselves a pretty hard act to follow, belted out their own catalogue of favourites like Fool for your Loving and Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City.
Coverdale is the ultimate showman, strutting around the stage, egging on the audience, and loving every minute of celebrating the band's 30-year history.
Like Def Leppard, the band features a twin guitar attack that includes Reb Beach, former Winger fret wizard. The band conjured up a barnstorming finish with Here I Go Again, but for some reason soldiered on with a last unnecessary song.
Both bands went down a storm but I reckon Def Leppard shaded it. Liverpool was truly rocking.
Barry Turnbull © Liverpool Daily Post 2008.
Media Review - by Luke Traynor - [ Link Back ]
Whitesnake/Def LeppardSummer Pops ECHO Arena ::
IT was the loudest music to come out of Liverpool's new arena so far and provided 200 minutes of the most strident hard rock to hit the city for years.
Thunder opened up proceedings and soon got into their stride with The Devil Made Me Do It and a faultless version of the classic Love Walked In - Danny Bowes' impressive vocals making us sit up and take notice.
Next came a preening and swaggering David Coverdale, a genuine legend in rock, who opened with Best Years (plenty of trademark grabbing of crotch throughout) and moved on to great versions of Fool For Your Lovin' and Can You Hear The Wind Blow as the Snake's frontman tossed around his mic stand with all the exuberance of a pouting majorette.
Lay Down Your Love was one of their highlights which was soon followed by the classic Is This Love.
Such was the Coverdale effect that one woman fainted on cue to this rock anthem and she sat recovering to a quite unbelievable and technically impossible guitar duel from the Snake's two leads.
The band's sound was massive and complemented by a forever quipping Coverdale and amazingly proficient musicianship that was never better showed off than on Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City and an incendiary encore of Still Of The Night.
On to Def Leppard and nice guy frontman Joe Elliott immediately launched into an explosive Rocket and steadily cranked up the hysteria by ploughing through a majestic Animal, a wonderfully arrogant Make Love Like A Man and the beautiful When Love And Hate Collide.
Like Whitesnake's guitarists, Leppard's own virtuoso axeman Phill Collen was quickly bare chested and joined Elliot at the front of the stage's extended walkway for lovely acoustic versions of Two Steps Behind and Bringing On The Heartache.
The Pyromania boys just have too many great songs and it's tribute to their sustained brilliance that Hysteria, Pure Some Sugar On Me, Rock Of Ages and a titanic Armageddon It were the tracks of the night.
Leppard were clearly loving the crowd's reaction and Elliott ended by informing us: "It's been a real pleasure doing this tour and seeing people who want to hear this kind of music."
No, Joe, the pleasure was all ours.
Luke Traynor © Liverpool Echo 2008.