Peoria, IL - Media Review Quotes

By Phil Luciano

Indeed, inspired can shake up a concert, and Def Leppard handled both tunes well. But if the band wants to play some oldies, can't it delve into its own discography? The show ran only 90 minutes; it's not as if they didn't have time for a a bit of old-school guitar shredding.

Regardless, as for the musical performance, the band (as usual) eschewed theatrics and delivered note-for-note perfection. A couple of times, guitarists Viv Campbell and Phil Collen were allowed to cut loose with brief, searing solos.

But mostly the songs focused on singer Joe Elliot. He's never been much of a frontman; his stage presence is pretty much limited to a few token twirls of his stand-up mike. Still, Elliot (who still can squeeze into leather pants) did offer a bit of friendly banter to the crowd. He garnered a loud ovation when he held up the Union Jack and declared, "It's nice to know we're on the same side, and we thank you for it."

His layered melodies with bassist Sav Savage and the rest sounded on-target. But Elliot's vocals got fuzzy and thin at points. Granted, he's never had the strongest of pipes, but the problem seemed not from his throat but his mike or sound system. Toward the end, he sounded somewhat distorted and gravely, as if he were channeling Ernest Borgnine.

By Peoria Journal Star 2005.

Read the full review at - pjstar.com

Back

share this page: