Edmonton, AB - Media Review Quotes
By Mike Ross
The band’s sold-out concert at Rexall Place Thursday night was another low-impact aerobic workout, filled to the brim with power balladry, sweet melodies and rock songs on the subject of rocking - like every other concert they’ve ever played in this building. Or in the world.
The crowd couldn’t get enough. From the opening Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop), through Rock On, Rocket, Let’s Get Rocked, and Rock of Ages in the encore, it was a place to bang one’s head softly. There were no risks, little left to chance, no hysteria in Hysteria, no fire in Pyromania, no doom in Armageddon It, a lot of sugar in Pour Some Sugar On Me and all the songs sounded the same. It was, in short, a perfectly predictable evening with perfectly dependable band where you always know exactly what you’re going to get.
And the problem is? The fans ate it up and demanded more. Frontman Joe Elliott was genuinely moved by the tremendous response, what he called the noisiest crowd on the tour so far. “If they could all be like this,” he commented wistfully at one point.
By Edmonton Sun 2015.
Read the full review/1 photo at - edmontonsun.com
By Sandra Sperounes
“That’s why we keep coming back here because you are the way you are,” Elliott explained, before playing a solo acoustic version of Two Steps Behind, accompanied by the glow of phones and a few lighters around the arena.
As decent as his rendition was, Def Leppard has always been more than just a one-man show. They come from an era when every member of a band was required to ooze charisma — not just stand in one spot for most of the night. (Kings of Leon, I’m looking at you.)
Collen, guitarist Viv Campbell and bassist Rick Savage didn’t disappoint on Thursday night — often standing in a row with Elliott, adding their sublime harmonies to mid-tempo rockers such Armageddon It, Rocket, Hysteria, and the two songs in the encore, Rock of Ages and Photograph.
By Edmonton Journal 2015.
Read the full review at - edmontonjournal.com
By Derek Owen
Fans may not have had any idea how close they were to going home early to watch the debate as lead singer Joe Elliott nearly blew his voice at the end of set opener Rock! Rock! Till You Drop. Like the 70-year-old across the street who decides he wants to give skateboarding one more try, Elliott decided towards the end of the song to go for that elusive high note. He does, and hits it! But he ends up torching his entire upper register in the process. He hid it well, coasting through the remainder of the band’s 90-minute set and staying away from the really high stuff. The guy is a true professional.
As this band ages, it’s more and more evident they are losing their edge. Animal, one of their signature tunes off the 15 million-selling 1987 album Hysteria, was virtually unrecognizable for the first 30-45 seconds of the tune. The fans, turned back to 1987 in their minds, loved it unquestioningly, but it plodded along, sounding tired and boring. One of the top pop-metal tunes of that era, it was sad to hear this great song played without the edge it has on record, and a definite sign that despite the perplexing juxtaposition of a full house, these guys are a shadow of their former performing selves. Same goes for Foolin’, a smart minor key tune that quickly flips into a beautiful melody for the bridge, but on stage it sounded limp.
Paper Sun – from 1999 – was proof enough that almost everything they recorded after 1987 is just not worth listening to – four minutes of your life you’ll never get back. Promises came out nicely, however, possibly the best tune they’ve written post-Hysteria, shining brightly with the same melody of Stagefright, a righteous rocking tune off 1983’s Pyromania that was not heard at the concert. They redeemed themselves a bit on that one.
By Gig City 2015.
Read the full review/1 photo at - gigcity.ca
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