[ Def Leppard UK - Downstage Thrust US Tour 2007 ]
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[SETLIST]
[PA] - For Those About To Rock, [PA] - Def Lep Intro, [01] - Rocket (short), [02] - Animal, [03] - Excitable, [04] - Foolin', [05] - Mirror, Mirror (Look Into My Eyes), [06] - Another Hit And Run, [07] - Love Bites, [08] - Rick Savage Bass Solo, [09] - Rock On, [10] - Two Steps Behind (downstage), [11] - Bringin' On The Heartbreak, [12] - Switch 625, [13] - Hysteria, [14] - Armageddon It, [14] - Photograph, [16] - Pour Some Sugar On Me, [Encore]: [17] - Rock Of Ages. ------------------------------- [Pic Galleries] - One [Show Recording] - none yet [Venue Pic Link] - View [Media Center] - Vid [Last Played] - 9th Sep 2006 [Capacity] - 23,000. [Support Act] - Styx [Support Act] - Foreigner |
Show 2 - FRI 29th Jun 2007: Marcus Amphitheater, Milwaukee, WI, USA. 
[Main Gallery] - 7 Pics by Debbie. [Show Notes] - The bands third appearance at this venue after shows in 1996 & 2006. The second appearance during the Summerfest event which runs from Jun 28th to Jul 8th and also includes The Fray & Bon Jovi at the same venue. The stage is a lighter colour than the black/yellow of last year. Thanks to Debbie/Chrissy for the review/pics & Joan (review/pics-Gallery 1). |
Fan Review - Debbie/Chrissy - [ Add Yours ]
Styx should have had a longer set than Foreigner. They did a much better job and were great to listen to.
Def Leppard comes out right after AC/DC's For Those About To Rock, We Salute You. The guys came out looking fantastic. They moved around like there was no tomorrow. Joe's voice sounded excellent, and it may be because it is the start of the tour. It'll be interesting to see how it is in Columbus. Mirror, Mirror, AHAR, Excitable, and Switch 625 were complete hits for the the dedicated fans. I am thrilled that the set list was not changed from the show in Cincy. Chrissy LOVED TSB! IT was so good to have it back in the line up, as was BOTH.
The catwalk was pretty awesome. It really made it so more of the crowd could be up close and personal. The guys were reacting to the crowd with enthusiasm at the end of the catwalk. They gave alot of high fives to anyone that had their hands out. At one point Viv motioned to give his guitar to a fan, and the fan nodded their head and he kind of shook his head as if to say no way, but was laughing about it!!
Chrissy loves Viv and Joe and took lots of pictures. I was so appreciative of Sav. Chrissy took a ton of pics of Phil since he was right in front of us. Shirts came off, clothes were changed, but what better way than to spend a night than with Def Leppard!
Fan Review - Joan/Slang67 - [ Add Yours ]
"This show was an absolute BLAST! The venue was just about packed to capacity.
First up was Styx. Due to construction and bad directions from an online map source, I barely made it to the venue on time. Even so, I ended up missing the first two or three songs. (Styx must have started early, as I got to my seat only about five minutes after the show was to have started.) Styx did a great set and played for approximately an hour. Song highlights include Renegade, Miss America, and Come Sail Away.
After a very short stage switch, Foreigner came out and played their hits. There's only one original member left in the band (Mick Jones), but the "new" lead singer and remaining band members did a great job on all the songs. Songs I recall are Dirty White Boy, Urgent, Cold As Ice, Head Games, Feels Like The First Time, Jukebox Hero, and Hot Blooded. Foreigner played for about an hour or so, then the stage was set up for our boys...
Contrary to past shows, there was no "We Will Rock You" to signal the start of the show. Instead, the lights suddenly went down, we heard an audio montage of various Def Leppard songs and then with a burst of light and sound, Rocket started.
The boys were in high energy and were having a great time. The crowd really responded to even the older "unknown" hits and the band really was enjoying themselves. So, for those of you wondering, it's a good chance they'll continue to play those older tunes later in the tour. They used the runway quite a bit and when they did "Two Steps Behind", they stood back to back so that all sides of the audience got a frontal view.
The back of the stage contained video screens and we were constantly treated to not only close up views of the boys as they played and sang, but also of some great video and computer generated graphics.
Joe seemed pleased with the response of the crowd as he made a few comments as to how great our audience was and that's why they keep coming back to Milwaukee.
I sat among several first time Def Leppard concert goers and all of them were beyond thrilled with their experience.
If you're still waiting for your date in the tour, you won't be disappointed. A good time is guaranteed!"
Media Review - Jon M. Gilbertson - [ Link Back ]
Cheesy or not, Def Leppard remains sharp decades later ::
The riffs hold up, even if the cultural kitsch doesn't Cheesy. Gooey. Crunchy. Corny.
hese are not just words that could be used in Taco Bell or Frito-Lay ad campaigns. They're also accurate descriptors for Def Leppard, which just about packed the Marcus Amphitheater Friday night.
"Dated" could also be added to the list of adjectives: The British metal quintet had its heyday in the 1980s, and not much mainstream culture from that decade has dodged the tang of mousse or the painful memory of acid-washed, pre-ripped jeans.
Yet compared to the work of its contemporaries (Mötley Crüe, Poison, Warrant: speaking of painful memories), Def Leppard's hits withstand a great deal of scorn and still come out sounding pretty good.
Part of that can be attributed to Joe Elliott, whose voice is as recognizable as ever: almost constantly nasal, unabashedly emotional and tuneful in its constricted range.
The rest of the credit belongs to Def Leppard's refusal to sacrifice melody for masculinity, probably courtesy of the band's long-stated fondness for glam-rock. If songs like "Armageddon It" and "Rocket" are about as meaningful as Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire," they certainly sport better riffs and more sugary choruses.
And Def Leppard evidently knew how to keep the power in power ballads: "Foolin' " and "Bringin' on the Heartbreak" were tender enough for the ladies and ripping enough for the fellows, while "Hysteria" remained one of metal's most manfully earnest love songs. (From, incidentally, one of metal's least sexist male groups.)
Even with an unplugged section in the show and a run-through of "Two Steps Behind" that almost demanded an ironic show of cigarette lighters raised aloft (which did not happen), Def Leppard gave an impression of reasonable self-awareness.
That native intelligence, most evident on the earliest material - "Mirror, Mirror (Look Into My Eyes)" and "Another Hit and Run," both solid and lean hard-rock - carried over to a choice of cover. A version of David Essex's "Rock On" that kept the bass line and added the heavy guitars that the original version never managed.
Certain originals were missing from the opening acts, though. For example, Lou Gramm wasn't singing for Foreigner. A remarkable sound-alike named Kelly Hansen was in his place, which did nothing for or against the strictly second-tier classic-rock of "Double Vision," "Head Games" and "Cold As Ice."
The sound mix, on the other hand, did work against the stuff, with guitarist and founding member Mick Jones visibly fuming when his guitar was clearly at least half an octave out of tune.
Such a problem wouldn't necessarily have hurt Styx, whose most famous vocalist, Dennis DeYoung, was also not present. His would-be doppelganger, Lawrence Gowan, ably supported main man and apparent Dorian Gray benefactor Tommy Shaw through second-tier classic-rock.
Obviously, just as not all cheeses age well, neither do all kinds of cheesiness.
Jon M. Gilbertson © Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 2007 - (Link includes 2 pics).