Belfast, Northern Ireland - Media Review Quotes

By Mike Rush

Second show down, and time for another intermission. By now the audience could be forgiven for asking how on earth anyone could top the likes of Alice Cooper at the top of his game? The answer, readers, is thus: give the audience something completely different!

The stage, cleared of Alice's fun house spooks, made way for a polished example of lights and images being bombarded at the audience. Def Leppard made their punchy entrance to the thrilling first live performance of 'Undefeated'. This was an experienced headlining act, full of energy for this, the first stop on the new Mirror Ball World Tour. These gentlemen from Sheffield, and our own Vivian Campbell (yes, that one from Whitesnake, and recently of Thin Lizzy), came to Belfast to begin as they meant to go on, loud and proud.

Joe Elliot did more than his fair share to engage with his audience and to set benchmark for further stops along the tour. Favourites like 'Pour Some Sugar on Me', 'Hysteria', and 'Love Bites' set the house alight, as the audience seemed to jump out of a growing lethargy that was only to be expected on such an eventful evening. And by the end of the set, as those who had to be up early in the morning began to fade away from the Odyssey Arena, the hard-core stayed on to indulge in the spectacle of a seasoned rock band still going beyond the call of duty to deliver on the promise of a night to remember.

But whom you ask was the best on the night? Well, to make such a judgement does really pose an almost impossible question. The pull of local pride almost compels this review to stand up and proclaim that the night belonged to Ricky and Thin Lizzy, or Vivian Campbell and his amazing performance alongside the gents of Def Leppard. It was of course Def Leppard's tour but, like George Washington, I cannot tell a lie. This was, for my money, the Alice Cooper show sandwiched between the best supporting acts anyone could hope for; each a headliner in their own right.

By Mike Rush @ Molten Magazine 2011.

By Maurice Jay

And so to the headline act Def Leppard and the opening night of their Mirrorball World Tour, here in Belfast.

No better place you would say, given local lad Vivian Campbell in the band, but maybe it was the relatively late start, or the fact that a lot of people were spent from the previous two acts, but I did feel we as an audience were a bit more muted than our proceeding reputation. Frontman Joe Elliott maybe felt in the early stages that he had his work cut out tonight, his gesturing for reaction perhaps case in point.

Kicking off with Undefeated, followed by a cover of Action by The Sweet, it was clear that this was a very slick production, both visually and especially in terms of audio, and you probably wouldn't expect less from one of the most highly audio polished rock bands around. The sound was HUGE, with Rick Allen and his juggernaut rhythms at the fore, no more so than in Love Bites and Hysteria, when the audience really started to react.

And the weirdest moment of the set? Perhaps, a David Essex cover, Rock On. They do like their songs with "rock" in the title. Campbell got a very warm welcome from the home crowd, and deservedly so. This man has been at the forefront of rock guitar playing since he was about 16 with Sweet Savage, Dio, Whitesnake and Thin Lizzy also under his belt.

Some extremely tasty solos from both he and Phil Collen (aged 53, shirt off all night and jealous of his abs!) on Rocket; and with plenty of hits to play, this was certainly a crowd pleaser of a set, though admittedly this early riser was one of those who couldn't stick the pace right to the death after midnight!

By Maurice Jay @ UTV 2011.

Back

share this page: