San Jose, CA - Media Review Quotes

By Dan Wall

Joe Elliott, the classy lead singer, led the band with aplomb as always. He is the perfect combination of singer, cheerleader and frontman, an elegant, handsome man who is one of rock's best vocalists. He does his best live to sing some of the most intricate harmonies ever penned, and as always, did a great job.

Bassist Rick Savage keeps the bottom in front of the world's greatest one-armed drummer (and one of its greatest even with both limbs), Rick Allen. Allen is worth the price of admission alone, triggering his toms and snare with his left foot, showing a tremendous amount of concentration. I think his handicap has made Allen even a better drummer than before, and he hammered home every song with nary a change to the legendary recorded versions. Of course, all of this would be for naught if the band couldn't nail those perfect four-part harmonies onstage, but if you've been reading along, you can probably figure out that those wear great as well.

The band looked genuinely happy to be back on the road and in America, a country that has accepted the band with open arms (unlike England, the band's home, which finally warmed up to them after Allen's accident) since the group debuted with On Through the Night back in 1980. The group is supporting its new anthology Rock of Ages, a two-disc set that encapsulates everything great about Leppard-songs, melodies, riffs and plain old fun, something in short supply these days. Like Bon Jovi, Mr. Adams and so many others, Def Leppard has weathered grunge, rap rock and nu metal, and is still out there, alive and kicking.

The promoters blocked off the entire infield portion of the field, which meant there was almost 200 feet of space between the back of the floor and the stands. And that's how it seemed-like there was a huge gulf between the crowd in front and those in the stands. This simply zapped any energy the crowd could muster to aid the bands, although Def Leppard didn't seem to suffer at all from this.

By classicrockrevisited 2005.

Read the full review at - classicrockrevisited.com

Rock 'n' roll was a family affair Friday night as thousands of people packed San Jose's Municipal Stadium for a concert by not-so-very heavy metal band Def Leppard and fresh-faced Canadian rocker Bryan Adams.

Fans were penned in sections of the field that were covered by hard plastic sheets, and they were kept off the infield, which made for a big empty gap. "I bet the average age is 20 up front and back here it's 40,'' said Howard.

The mix was perfect for bands that came from an era when rock radio became as safe and predictable as a food chain like Chili's or Red Lobster. The show was part county fair, part VH1. This was "Day on the Green'' for the new millennium. Subtract the bare breasts, the marijuana haze, the fights and the vomit, and add kids, barbecue, and diverse ages and ethnicities. Singer Randy Coleman, who has a song on the "Crash'' soundtrack, opened at 6:30 p.m. and then Def Leppard, the bigger draw of the night, came on for a hit-laden 90 minutes.

About a third of the audience left before softer headliner Bryan Adams, whose set still had some punch and certainly more originality.

"This music is wimpy,'' he said.

By Mercury News 2005.

Read the full review at - mercurynews.com

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