Nashville, TN - Media Review Quotes

By Dave Paulson

Sharing a stage with KISS meant there wasn't room for frills or filler when Def Leppard took the stage earlier that evening. The British band plowed through the hits in their 75-minute set, happy to relieve their '80s heyday with a crowd that stayed firmly on its feet. Singer Joe Elliott gave a special dedication to the fans who went all the way back to 1983 with their breakout album "Pyromania," and vintage band photos flashed on the video screens as they played "Hysteria."

The room went wild for a drum solo by Rick Allen, who's still keeping the beat for the band despite having his left arm amputated after a car accident nearly 30 years ago. Guitarist Vivian Campbell also got a deserved turn in the spotlight — he's continued to tour with the group despite an ongoing battle with Hodgkin's lymphoma.

"I think you're ready for this," Elliott hollered right before the band launched into their definitive smash, "Pour Some Sugar On Me." They waved goodnight after that one, but they couldn't leave for good without coming back for "Photograph," the song that made them rock giants in 1983.

"We'll see you next time," Elliott told them afterwards. "And there will be a next time!"

By The Tennessean 2014.

Read the full review/22 photos at - tennessean.com

By The Spin

As expected, Def Lep turned in an arena-rattling note-perfect set of expertly crafted hits that was pretty much an abridged version of the last time we caught ‘em. Sure, we could split hairs over the band slotting “Let’s Get Rocked” — the “Hokey Pokey” of hair-metal shuffles — BEFORE the mid-show acoustic set, or in-fine-form frontman Joe Elliott doing the Axl Rose “Patience” sway during power ballads like “Love Bites,” but otherwise the performance was a testament to slick, finely tuned rock perfection worthy of Mutt Lange. Despite going on before KISS, Def Lep delivered the fever-pitch moment of the show with the timelessly great “Photograph.” With a catalog rife with jams like that, “Foolin’,” “Pour Some Sugar on Me,” “Rock of Ages” and “Animal,” Def Leppard slayed KISS in a bout the likes of Mike Tyson vs. Peter McNeeley, despite being at an obvious disadvantage in the stage production department.

By Nashville Scene 2014.

Read the full review at - nashvillescene.com/a>

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