Spokane, WA - Media Reviews
Def Leppard just the ticket for a sold-out show By Garth Trimble
The Coliseum was packed with 8,500 fans who came to hear Def Leppard Friday night - a real contrast to two recent rock concert cancellations due to poor ticket sales.
Maybe the turnout resulted from the influx of visitors in Spokane for the holiday weekend.
The only negative was the horrendous parking situation, due to the Grand Prix underway downtown.
Def Leppard's round stage , set in the middle of the arena, gave the show a feeling of intimacy.
Throughout the concert, the band wandered over the entire stage and faced each section of the audience.
Drummer Rick Allen was seated on a rotating riser in the middle of the platform.
Left with only one arm after an auto accident, he played hunched over an apparently simple drum kit.
But the set was designed to allow Allen to play pedals that, in turn, relay impulses to a set of electronic drums.
He used his right arm to play cymbals and a set of electronic drum pads.
The band's light show was spectacular, using lasers and conventional spotlights mounted on the stage and overhead.
During the title track of their latest album, a screen lowered and the lasers etched various patterns and, to cheers and applause, the word 'Hysteria'.
The English group plated from their three most recent records with songs like 'Too Late For Love' and 'Animal'.
The band stopped abruptly mid way through the song 'Foolin''.
At first the break appeared to be a play on the song title.
But it soon became apparent that the power to the instruments had been cut off.
Singer Joe Elliott stalled for time by playing an acoustic guitar.
When that didn't work, he took the opportunity to choreograph a rock and roll version of the 'Wave'.
That kept attention for a few minutes.
A crowd sing-a-long to the Kinks hit 'Lola' also failed.
As Elliott began to run out of ideas, the power was restored.
Despite the outage, this was easily the best concert in Spokane this year.
It would have seemed wasted if the show was anything less than a sellout.
Tesla, a Sacramento band, opened the night.
They played a relaxed 40-minute set from their debut album, including the hits 'Little Suzi' and 'Modern Day Cowboy'.
By The Spokesman-Review 1988.
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