Def Leppard UK.

[ X UK Tour 2003 - Cambridge 2 ]

TUE Oct 28th 2003: Corn Exchange, Cambridge, ENGLAND.


[2 Pics by Jayne.]

My Review :: continued

Joe asks us if we want to sing on this next tune - we have been Joe!:) and of course 'Two Steps Behind' follows with much singing and clapping going on. There was no "you have to be louder than so and so" from Joe but I'd be surprised if we weren't louder than the previous shows (sorry Jonathon...). With acoustic guitar still in hand Joe leads us into 'Now' with a little help from Sav on his bass who now has two stand mikes so he can be either side of Joe instead of the headset 'Captain Scarlet' mike (Mysterons defeated). Again it was great to be so close and be able to see them play the guitars in some detail and watch them use their pedals/effect rack's etc. Now still sounds very fresh and heavy. It was the only song from X tonight and it represented the album well. Would have loved to have heard a surprise like 'Torn To Shreds' or my current album fave 'Girl Like You' but it wasn't to be. Maybe next tour they'll surprise us. I hope we surprised them in our good reaction to some of the rarer stuff tonight.

They went into 'Women' next with Joe getting the balcony people to join in on the clapping (we didn't need any prompting on the floor). Once again as in Feb this song still sounds great. Cue explosion and 'Rocket' kicks in for the extended version - all I remember at this point is singing and clapping and looking on the floor near us for one of the guitar picks thrown out. The guitar duel was played right in front of us - just an awesome experience to see them both play solos right in your face. Viv seemed to concede defeat to Phil or maybe he was being sarcastic. Either way they both got the ovations they deserved. Joe intro'd Vivian for his favourite live song 'Armageddon It' and the greatest hits ending begins. One hit after another and every word of every song sung by all of us. Joe made a comment on how hot it was later on and he was right. I was soaked through after 2 songs. 'Photograph' and 'Animal' followed and were superb as ever and again the singing was very loud. My voice was starting to give way but we still had a way to go.

Up next 'Pour Some Sugar On Me' with all of us doing the "Huh's" in time. You can never get tired of being at a Lep show while they are playing this song - no matter how many times you've heard it before. Joe made his first long speech before the next song. Not so much a speech but was talking about having played here in 1980 (first UK headline tour) and the place hadn't changed much. He joked that it was one of only two places outside of Sheffield that are known (or something like that - it was funny at the time). He mentioned that it gets name checked on a Mott The Hoople album. He continued with the 23 years thing and said "Of course this guy has been with us for 24, 25 years keeping the beat" and Rick Allen got his deserved applause again. He must feel pretty damn good getting this ovation at every show and once again it's the biggest cheer of the night. Anyway the song sounded great as you would expect from such a classic and the band stayed to get a great response from us at the end before saying goodbye.

I do believe the person to my right started a chant of "Ole Ole..." as we in the front rows chanted for them to come back. I just hope no one was taking pics of us! [seems they did though...] The band came back looking pleased with our response and Sav gave the usual "thanks you guys have been f**king amazing" Something I thought was unusual in Sheffield but he does this at every gig (I'm sure he means it though! or maybe he's giving Joe the hint he wants his own introduction..). 'Love Bites' with Viv's excellent solo followed before Joe gave thanks again and the band were all smiles and genuinely looked so happy with our response. Joe asked the usual question but some of us beat him to it and he said "someone always has to spoil it" before asking us anyway and a very rowdy 'Let's Get Rocked' is played with the singing and clapping continuing until the last chord and for a long time after. Joe thanked the crowd and gave the usual end of set speech so you knew there would be no extra encore. It's always a little sad when you know a show is over but the good thing about seeing two shows in quick succession is....you can think to yourself "Hey, I get to do this again in a few days time" Roll on Friday.
In closing I have to say thanks to the band for the surprise of the set opening which being the fan I am was an honour to witness and a rare treat. Just goes to show sometimes you do get what you hope for. Awesome.

End Comments: Thanks to the roadie who at the end threw me a metal guitar Pick of Phil's! A great souvenir to remember a great show by. Oh and a big 'up yours' to the local security who wouldn't give us a setlist.
Could there be a negative from this show? No. I was hoping for Wasted at the end, due to the great crowd tonight and how loud we were I thought there was an outside chance but we didn't get it. I think that was the only thing that could have made this gig better than it already was and that's saying something cause it was f**king brilliant. And that's a fact.

Fan Review :: by Jayne

Nat and I were already in high spirits when we reached Cambridge. I had won us a ‘Meet and Greet’ with Rick Allen after the show and – after 21 years of being a die-hard fan and having never met any of the Lepps – it was a pretty amazing feeling!
The feelings got better when we reached our hotel – it was WAY too posh for us and I was told I had got an amazing deal on an Internet saver – awesome!
Started queuing early – met some nice people but especially Melody and Lou! It’s so cool to meet new Lepp friends like this. I went to the door of the Venue after 6 pm to sort out the details of the “Meet and Greet”. We were allowed in first and got to the front – this time I was right in front of Joe – awesome! This is a great place to see the whole band. I got 2 “After Show” passes and tried to calm my nerves at meeting Rick.
The atmosphere in this place seemed to be alive from the start.
Ricky Warwick - again awesome - and it’s great to hear the songs for a third time. Viv joined him on stage for the penultimate track. I was SO looking forward to seeing MusT again – and I was not disappointed. They were even better this time and, when their set finished, I found myself really looking forward to Bournemouth on Thursday so I could see them again.

I turned round at that point to see an absolute sea of people - another sell out gig for Def Leppard. 'We Will Rock You' started and hands started clapping in time - then 'Rock and Roll' followed by 'Disintegrate'.
I had not brought pen and paper with me to take down the set list this time – I was convinced it was going to be the same as before. How wrong I was and how bloody delighted I was that I had been wrong!
Joe launched into the opener of 'Let It Go' and followed this with the other 4 tracks that make up the first side of the 'High n Dry' album – 'Another Hit and Run', 'High 'n' Dry (Saturday Night)', 'Bringin’ on the Heartbreak' and 'Switch 625'. I couldn’t believe that tonight, of all nights, was the one they chose to do this set – one that is usually reserved for our US counterparts.
They followed this with 'Action', 'Make Love Like A Man' and continued with a similar set to Plymouth and Birmingham – except they played just one track from “X” which was 'Now'. They played 'Women' and 'Rocket' back to back – just bloody awesomely fantastic! Joe sang 'My Generation' in the middle of Rocket. The drum beat to that track is just fantastic! The encore was 'Love Bites' and 'Let’s Get Rocked'.
The guys were technically and musically brilliant as always – a very smiley bunch again tonight – Joe plays the audience like the true professional he is – he never forgets those up in the balcony – and the other guys always make sure they cover every bit of the stage so that everyone gets a chance to see them.
The sound was spot on this evening – even from the front row! This was just the best gig I had been to so far on this tour and I hoped this feeling would be repeated in Bournemouth and London.
The Meet and Greet with Rick Allen and his beautiful wife Lauren, after the show, was very special and I felt very relaxed in their company – thanks guys for memories I will always treasure! Nat and I also managed to get our photo taken with the great Stumpus Maximus – and the icing on the cake was saying cheerio and walking round the corner where a small group of fans were waiting for some of the guys to appear. Managed to get autographs and have piccies taken with Viv and Phil – couldn’t believe it! That has never happened before in all this time of being a fan. I wasn’t tongue-tied either and told Phil I was delighted to meet him because everyone says how nice he is, and I told Viv he should take his shirt off more often! I’ll live with the memories from this whole event for the rest of my life – unbeatable!.