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By T'Cha Dunlevy

Def Leppard answers fans' thirst for rock: Dipping deep into the hits well. Group's 1987 album Hysteria provides biggest splash.

Rock 'n' roll will never die, they say. Nor, apparently, will old rock bands. Every summer, we get another round of once-big acts playing their once-big hits. And the fans keep coming back for more.

Last night, it was British pop-metal act Def Leppard playing to a sizable crowd of 11,200 at the Bell Centre. And from the opening of the set, it was clear why they were here - they've got hits.

By The Montreal Gazette 2007.

Read the full review at - montrealgazette.com

By Ron Hollywood

Def Leppard burst onto stage with Rocket as if it was 1988 all over again especially in their stage presence. Have these guys ever aged? Joe Elliot ran along the catwalk from start to finish all night long. He seemed to be losing himself in the crowd and vice versa. Bassist Rick Savage made sure that he ran, jumped, or walked along every inch of the stage. Duel guitarists Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell traded lick after lick of arena rock glory losing their shirts in the process.

Third song in Excitable was a great album track from Hysteria. With Joe on the catwalk he had everyone chanting along to the "Stand up, Say Yeah!" chorus. Are these political introspective lyrics? No. Was a fun time being had by everyone? "Yeah"! This is what Def Lep has always been about, having fun and this night was no different. For some reason the band seemed a lot more energetic than on their last few tours.

The production was also an added bonus with a stage of stairs, second level catwalk and stage length horizontal screen. The screen would either show close ups of band members or use different effects. This was most effective during Photograph which showed literal photographs at the band through its different eras.

With the set list they surprised the die-hard fans with album tracks like Mirror Mirror and the instrumental Switch 625 from the High 'N' Dry era. The only real dull moment came when Rick Savage gave an echo sounding unimpressive bass solo which led into the awful cover of Rock On. The only non-eighties song played that night.

By 10scalereviews 2007.

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