Milwaukee, WI - Media Reviews

Def Leppard: Slang Talk And All Action By Paul Gargano

The Show

Beckoned by the tremor of Queen's "We Will Rock You," Def Leppard crashed onto the Marcus Amphitheater stage with a flurry of guitars and a barrage of Rick Allen's drums. "Gift of Flesh" may not have been familiar to many of the more than 20,000 fans on hand, but it served its purpose, getting the adrenaline flowing and paving the way for vintage Leppard tracks "Another Hit and Run" and "Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)." The stage was barren, with the exception of two walls of Marshall Amps that flanked Rick Allen's drum set. To match the simple stage, there were no lasers and little along the lines of effects, as the Leps sent their stage show walking and let the music do the talking.

"Foolin'" and "Animal" provided a mid-tempo transition into the heart and soul of the set. If they were letting the music do the talking, the voice level was little more than a whisper as Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell's duelling guitars hushed, Joe Elliot played the sentimental, mushy type, and the set turned sappy for a tad too long. "All I Want Is Everything," "Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad," "Deliver Me," and "Hysteria" provided a solid block of radio favorites from the past, present, and future, but little in terms of excitement. If they're looking for places to improve the set, this lag is about the only place to turn - if you were there with a date, well, enough was enough, and if you weren't with the one you loved, by the third ballad, just about every one in attendance had to be ready to love the one they were closest to.

The wake-up call was a one-two punch from Slang, "Work It Out" featuring Campbell at his harmonizing best, and the title track hitting with a hip-hop flurry that picked the pace up more than enough to warrant its low-key follow up, "Bringin' On The Heartbreak." The emotional see-saw continued, rising hard with "Tear It Down," and crashing quietly with "Two Steps Behind," which was introduced by a loosely strung together set of acoustic jams including the Creedence classic, "Bad Moon Rising."

Just when it appeared the Def ones were overtaken by emotion, the set thundered forward without turning back. "Photograph" launched into "Rocket," which was followed by the sped up delivery of "Armageddon It" and "Pour Some Sugar On Me," two of the night's hardest-hitting rockers. "Love Bites" opened the encore, followed by the radio hit and apparent crowd favorite, "Let's Get Rocked." In grand style, with a soccer ball on stage to add to the excitement, "Rock of Ages" shared the spotlight with Vivian Campbell, who managed to work on his soccer game while hammering out the evening's closer.

Is there life after 21st century technology and flashy theatrics? Def Leppard seem to think so. In a convincing rebuttal to their labelmates KISS, who insist that size does count and money can buy you anything, the Leps throw it all away in favor of bare-bones delivery and uncluttered, club-like stage show. Most bands probably couldn't pull it off, but Def Leppard have one major asset working in their favor- there may not be a better all-around band of musicians out there.

By Metal Edge 1996.

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