Wichita, KS - Media Reviews

'80s hitmaker Def Leppard rocks Intrust Bank Arena By Travis Heyling

Def Leppard came to Wichita on Nov. 11, 1987, and played to a sold-out crowd at the Kansas Coliseum, with hard-rock up-and-comers Tesla performing as the opening act.

After 28 years, it seems some things never change. Even though the audience was older and and the band members a bit more gray, Def Leppard and Tesla, along with hard-rock hit-makers Foreigner, sold out Intrust Bank Arena with 10,600 fans on hand, according to arena officials.

None of the three prior shows at Intrust Bank Arena, Florida-Georgia Line, Foo Fighters and Ariana Grande, had the kind of selling power that the band from Sheffield, England, now in their late 50s, had.

Tesla opened the show with “Love Me” from its 1986 debut “Mechanical Resonance” and played a short, 45-minute set. By the time the band had played its last two songs, “Love Song” and “Modern Day Cowboy,” it had the audience at the rapidly filling arena on its feet.

Foreigner, a band that came to fame in 1977 and sold more than 80 million albums, hit the stage with “Double Vision” and had the crowd singing along word for word.

For their encore, Foreigner brought out the West High School choir to help them with their hit “I Want to Know What Love Is.”

Def Leppard opened the show with a new song, “Let’s Go,” but wasted little time giving fans the hits they came for, launching into “Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)” from 1983’s multiplatinum album “Pyromania.” From there, the band wove through one recognizable hit after another.

By The Wichita Eagle 2015.

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