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Show Notes -- Cap: 6,089 att: 6,089. Sold-Out. Supported by Ricky Warwick. Same High 'n' Dry set as the previous show. Venue now renamed as the Gibson Amphitheater.

Link -- 162 Wireimage Pics



Fan Review -- By Spots

First of all I’ve been a Def Lep fan since Photograph was played on the radio. By the time I was 19 I could almost play the entire Pyromania Album my favorite songs to play on the guitar is All I Want is Everything, Hysteria, And P.S.S.O.M, Foolin etc. etc. Oh yeah Photograph sounds awesome on my Ovation.
Anyway on with the Show - It was a pleasure sight when Malvin came out and introduced the opening...lets see - man Ricky Warwick. Ricky played an acoustic punk set and it was really good.

After that show the lights went down & you could hear track 10 (Disintegrate) coming out the P.A. from the Euphoria CD with strobe lights flashing amounst the crowd. The instrumental change to Queen's "We Will Rock You" as the light turned all the way down. You could hear Phil with his Cherry Red Charvel Jackson pulling riffs for the song, "Let it Go" and of course the crowd went wild! Def Lep leaped into two other songs as Joe E. would describe as "Slices of the Pie from the High & Dry album" And those songs where "Another Hit and Run" & "High 'N' Dry". I must say Vivian played the guitar solos as if it was Butter!
I’m not to sure if my list the order list is correct but I believe the next songs were Too Late for Love. Joe then finally introduce great song from the new CD You So Beautiful I was really getting my white boy dance groove on at this point when I notice almost everyone in the row in front of me and around me didn't know that this song existed on the Def Lep Catalog. Yes folks, I had the crappy seats in the house the Best seats I ever had a Def Lep was 8th row from the 7th Weekend tour. Anyway "Hysteria" I think was next and I love the intro that Sav plays while Phil & Vivian pull off the harmonic pinch before main riff.
"Long Long Way to Go" is next and Joe announced that Marti Frederiksen is out the crowd. "Four Letter Word" followed and life couldn’t get any better for me at this point. "Promises", "Now" and "Women" are the next songs and I love the intro to Women! Phil gets the most Valuable Player award with his technically brilliant guitar solo ever with Women in my Opinion!
"Rocket" is so better live with Vivian & Phil dueling guitar solo! I was hoping Joe would do his imitation of Robert Plant's 'Woman you need foolin' but that didn’t happen this time. "Animal", "PSSOM", "Armageddon It", "Rock of Ages" followed. The Encore was "Love Bites" & "Let's Get Rocked". During Let's Get Rocked me & my wife moved a little closer to the stage. The stage setting was great with the cover of the X CD in Neon Blue. "Bringin' On The Heartbreak & Switch 625" was in the set somewhere and Rick Allen did an awesome drum roll at the end of the song.
Highlights of the show: Joe introduce Vivian & Allen as hometown boys and I must mention every summer I always go to Laguna Beach looking out for Phil Collen so far unsuccessful at this point. Some punk threw a joint on stage and Joe cool threw it right back. Another funny thing is that some girl wanted Phil to drink out of her beer cup uhhh - should we all tell her Phil hadn't had a drink in over 10 years! Try some Jumble Juice next time! And of course Phil Collen’s Charvel Jackson!
The Ring of Fire still burns everyone!.

Fan Review -- By Singchild

Last night, December 11th, was my 5th time seeing Def Leppard live and as usual they didn't disappoint. They were incredible! The band sounded great and Joe's vocals were amazing. They also looked great. Joe was jumping around and "acting out" with his microphone stand just like in the early days.

The opening act was Ricky Warwick, who as you may know from the Def Leppard Official Site or personal experience, has a new record out that Joe worked on the production of. Joe had mentioned in his most recent diary on the official site that it took a lot of guts to be out there on his own with just an acoustic guitar and I totally agree. He got a nice reception from the crowd.
Now, let's move onto the main attraction. First, the opening chords of Disintegrate rang out as the lights went dim. Everyone was going wild. Towards the end of the song, you could see the shadows of the band coming on stage. I always love that moment in a concert when the band first comes on stage.
Forgive me if I am somewhat out of order on the songs, but I was too busy dancing and singing to fully commit the order to memory. They opened with a High 'N Dry set that was amazing. First, there was Let it Go, followed by Another Hit and Run, High 'N Dry (Saturday Night) and Bringin' on the Heartbreak.
Next came a couple from Pyromania, Foolin' and Too Late For Love (I was so stoked to see TLFL in the set list).
After that, I believe Switch 625 was next (always reminds me of Steve), followed by a set of new material from X. I thought the new material came off great, but I did notice that some people in the crowd seemed unfamiliar with it. Such a shame! It's such a great record. Hopefully, if Long Long Way to Go becomes the huge hit I think it can be, that will change. The songs they played from X, or "Ten" as Joe still likes to call it, were You're So Beautiful, Long Long Way to Go, Four Letter Word and Now. Now was great, the best live version I've heard of it so far. It sounded just like the record.
After the "new" set, it was onto Hysteria. I can't remember the exact order, but they played Women, Hysteria, Rocket and Animal. I can't remember if Armageddon It was played during that segment or during the final build-up before the encore. Anyway, they did play it and it was great.
After that, they played Promises and then went in for the kill with Photograph, Pour Some Sugar on Me and Rock of Ages. As I said previously, Armageddon It may have been in this grouping as well. They brought the house down with the final numbers and after many waves and kisses to the crowd, they exited the stage.
After a minute or two of us screaming and begging for more, the Leps returned to the stage for an encore, performing Love Bites and Let's Get Rocked. Vivian performed that beautiful melodic solo that he does during Love Bites. For those of you who have seen Let's Get Rocked live, Joe left out the infamous "I suppose a (if you've seen it you know the words to be inserted here) is out of the question?" He sang it as on the album with "I suppose rock's out of the question?" Perhaps in deference to the younger members of the audience? Who knows?
Anyway, it was another amazing evening to add to the many amazing evenings in the history of Leppardlore.

Fan Review -- By Randy

I have to say that for a band that has been around for as long as Def Leppard, they still put on an amazing show. For whatever reason, this show received absolutely no promotion from the local rock station yet it still sold out. That just goes to show that this band has some really dedicated fans.
On with the show. They opened up with an awesome High N' Dry set then went on to play Foolin' and Too Late for Love. I'm not sure of the exact order of the songs, but I know they played all the favorites and 4 new tracks. It was somewhat disheartening to see the crowds reaction to some of their new material, but that is attributed to the fact that the L.A. rock stations refuse to play their new music.
The band was very energetic and sounded great. I think they looked and sounded as good as they did during the Hysteria tour. It's unfortunate that this band doesn't come out here very often, because there are still many Def Leppard fans in Los Angeles despite the local rock stations efforts to suppress their popularity.

Media Review -- By Erik Pedersen

Pop metal band Def Leppard played a loud, hit-soaked show that reminded of what a towering live act they were when Reagan was president and rock was king.

Credit them or blame them, but Def Leppard pretty much invented pop metal. The band's indelible choruses, soaring harmonies and choppy guitar riffs became the blueprint for that '80s-grounded genre before scores of lesser acts beat it into the ground.
Fast-forward to 2002. After being an endangered species on the L.A.-area concert stage for nearly a decade, the megaplatinum British quintet played a loud, hit-soaked show that reminded of what a towering live act they were when Reagan was president and rock was king. Playing on a no-frills stage whose only dressing was burning incense on the drum kit, Def Leppard set the wayback machine to its glory days.
Sans scarves and sleeveless Union Jack T, singer Joe Elliott was chatty and jovial, though his trademark wail was reined in after decades of road wear. Wielding the mike stand like a trident, he apologized often for leaving "Los Angelees" off the tour map for so long. "This has become something of a hometown show," he told the peppy sellout crowd, referring to bandmates Rick Allen and Vivian Campbell, who have made the city their home.
And the "local boys" made good. After years of virtually ignoring their two pre-"Pyromania" albums in concert, Def Leppard opened with Side 1 of their 1981 "High 'n' Dry" LP. The five riff-driven rockers had the clinging-to-thirtysomethings in the crowd pumping fists and heads and shouting along. The early excitement was tempered only by a sluggish take on the chugging instrumental "Switch 625." But a pair of "Pyromania" classics re-invigorated the room, and then it was time for some new stuff.
Their recent Island release "X" -- named for the letter rather than the Roman numeral, Elliott said -- is Def Leppard declawed. Many of the songs are tamer takes on the "Hysteria"-era formula. But the four new ones played midset ranged from not terrible to pretty good in their rocked-up live versions, led by the old-school "You're So Beautiful" and rhythmic, slow-building "Now." "Four Letter Word" was lifted from the "Armageddon It" template. The least of the rookie songs was "Long Long Way to Go," which invokes Air Supply more than air guitar.
But the AAA-targeted new songs were trumped by the truckload of hits. One after another, the singsong anthems came: the trend-setting power ballads "Foolin' " and "Too Late for Love," a fat-bottomed "Women," the uber-catchy "Animal," distaff favorite "Pour Some Sugar on Me," the star-making smash "Photograph," a monk-free "Rock of Ages." Shirtless guitarists Phil Collen and Campbell dueled on "Hysteria" and the name-dropping "Rocket," which featured a bass-and-drum breakdown followed by a Zeppelin-like guitar and vocal shakedown. The forgettable late-'80s tune became a surprise highlight.
The poorly chosen encore of "Love Bites," the band's lone U.S. No. 1 single, and "Let's Get Rocked" was anticlimactic. Still, the two-hour set of two dozen songs was generous and invigorating.
As "Pyromania" turns 20 in February, the Leppard guys look tremendously fit and appear ready to rock on. But the new album and this concert delivered mixed signals about the band's future. Will they follow the mellow line to the middle of the road or continue to crank it up and mine the metal they helped make famous? "We'll be back," Elliott told the crowd after the final encore. If it's still this good, so will we.
Erik Pedersen © The Hollywood Reporter 2002.

Media Review -- Def Leppard show spotty at times in sound, but still fun By Gerry Gittelson

It continues to amaze how classic rock bands can remain so dominant in concert despite little or no radio airplay or retail sales.
The latest to pass through was Def Leppard at the sold-out Universal Amphitheatre on Wednesday, and the British fivesome delivered a greatest-hits set that was just as well-received as when releases such as "Pyromania' and "Hysteria' ruled the charts.
Def Leppard's only problem was an overly loud PA system. Such volume distorted many of the group's most memorable selections, such as "Photograph,' "Pour Some Sugar on Me,' "Rock of Ages' and "Love Bites.' However, no one seemed to care -- the audience was much too busy standing, cheering and singing along to every repetitive chorus -- so what's the big deal?
Singer Joe Elliott, decked out in black leather pants and a flashy, sparkle shirt, as if time has stood still since 1987, was active, outgoing -- and on key. Guitarists Vivian Campbell and Phil Collen enjoyed a friendly competition of "can you outdo this?' And, of course, one-armed drummer Rick Allen remains an inspiration to even the most jaded rock fans.
Gerry Gittelson © LA Daily News 2002.

Fan Recording -- Los Angeles 2CD