I Just Read About That…

[ATTENDED: August 9, 2014] Def Leppard

Two years ago, Kiss had Motley Crue open for them.  Crue was one of those bands that I liked when they first came out and then, as they made poppier/sleazier music, I liked them less.  This year, the opener was Def Leppard.  Def Leppard was even more egregious in terms of going from a heavy metal band to a massive pop band.  And, heck, it worked for them.  But as a young metal head, who enjoyed most of High and Dry and some of Pyromania, Hysteria was just too far.  And I actively disliked a lot of those songs (perhaps more than I needed to) at the time.

And what I learned is that even after all these years, while I could “forgive” some bands and actually enjoy their sets, I could not forgive Def Leppard for all of the songs that I really disliked.

But first…how ballsy is it to have your intro music be The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” and then after the big scream near the end, have your banner drop and you finish the song.  I was pretty surprised.  But they sounded quite good, loud and brash.  And then they opened with “Let It Go,” a pretty heavy (for them) track from High and Dry which I had forgotten about but which rocked really well.  And I thought, hey, any chance they’re just going to play the heavy songs?

But no.  They moved into “Animal,” one of 6 songs from Hysteria.  Of course, it wasn’t all Hysteria.  They did play “Foolin'” which really didn’t do it for me as much as I thought it would-perhaps I was bitter about the Hysteria. 

Then they played a song from Adrenalize (which I had forgotten existed), “Let’s Get Rocked” which was pretty awful (lyrics were not their strong suit).  And then they moved to a brief acoustic set, with “Two Steps Behind” a song I don’t know.  And an acoustic intro of “Bringing on the Heartbreak.”  It was an interesting choice for an acoustic number since the song rocks pretty hard.  Joe Elliot had the audience sing a huge portion of the chorus.  I kind of figured it was because he couldn’t hit the high notes, and that seems to be largely true.  Well, he could hit them, but not in a very powerful way.  His voice was strong and powerful form most of the songs, though, and he could really sustain the lower notes well–perhaps it’s time to bring those high notes down an octave.  But they ended “Heartbreak” with the full band wailing and it was very satisfying.

I was obviously pretty bummed when they played four Hysteria songs in a row.  The dreadful “Rocket,” the obnoxious “Armageddon It” (a video screen behind them projected all manner of depressing (presumably un-fact checked) statistics to make us feel bad, which is pretty silly coming from the guys who then played “Pour Some Sugar on Me.”

The encore was “Rock of Ages” and yes it was pretty cool to hear those nonsense syllables (gunter glieben glauchen globen) that I probably haven’t heard in 20 years.  And they wrapped up with “Photograph.”

So even though I didn’t really enjoy the set very much, the band absolutely rocked.  Their playing was outstanding–and their backing vocals sounded great–powerful and always strong.  And then there was Rick Allen.  I had never seen Rick Allen play since losing his arm.  And I really didn’t know what to expect.  But aside from playing perfectly, he did a very cool drum solo. It wasn’t complex and it wasn’t long, but it was a very cool way to show off just what he could do.  The video screen showed his bare feet playing bass and snare (and presumably other things, although it seemed like mostly they were bass and snare).  And then with his arm, he hit cymbals and other effects and things.  It was pretty remarkable.  Now, I know he’s been doing this for some twenty years, so it’s second nature, but it was a still pretty amazing to see.

So I don’t regret seeing them, although I wish their set was shorter so Kiss could have played longer.

Set List

•  Won’t Get Fooled Again (The Who song) (Live Def Leppard Ending)
• Let It Go
• Animal
• Foolin’
• Love Bites
• Let’s Get Rocked
• Two Steps Behind (Acoustic)
• Bringin’ on the Heartbreak (Acoustic/Electric)
• Switch 625
• Hysteria (with “Beth” by KISS tag)
• Rocket
• Armageddon It
• Pour Some Sugar on Me
• Encore:
• Rock of Ages
• Photograph