Springfield, IL - Fan Reviews

Fan Review - Curt Taft

After my very first Def Leppard concert on July 30, 1996, things just went silent in Leppard world as far as I was concerned. Sure, I knew they were still on the road. But I had no access to that new thing called "the internet" at the time, so all of my updates on the band came from TV, the radio, magazines, and possibly my cousin.

All of those, however, went silent.

After the excitement of my first show began to wear off, I started getting into other things. I began playing more sports, watching more sports, collecting different things... As I aged from nine to 11, my interest in the band had hit it's lowest point. I still listened to them from time to time, but without any type of news at all, I was on Leppard Cruise Control.

Thankfully, that began to change in the March of 1999. By this point, I was now in the sixth grade. On the morning of March 21, my dad called me into the kitchen, where he was reading the newspaper. There was an article announcing some of the artists that would be playing our local state fair grandstand that year... And one of those artists was none other than Def Leppard.

In 1996, I had to BEG my parents to take me an hour and a half away to St. Louis for the concert. The state fair was literally three miles down the road from me, so I was guaranteed to go to this show! I definitely thought it was strange though.. Since I still didn't have access to the internet, I hadn't heard a peep about Def Leppard having a new album on the horizon. I had to wonder why they would be playing a show in my town (or in general) without having a new album out.

Touring without releasing an album was such an usual thought at the time!

Since the show was still several months away, my excitement waned quickly. At least until April, when a random trip to Walmart provided some exciting news. While exploring their CD section, I stumbled across the Coming Soon sign... Which just happened to list DEF LEPPARD with a May release date for a yet-to-be-titled album. Now it all made sense! They'll be here touring for a new album! One that was long overdue in my head at the time. Three years to a nine/12 year old is an eternity!

I didn't know how good I had it back then. Anyway, a long month later and there was no sign of anything... I went back to that same Walmart in May only to find that, in true Leppard fashion, the release date for the album now titled "Euphoria" had been pushed back to June 8.

Despite the disappointment of having to wait longer, I was soon rewarded. One day, my dad came home from work and told me to turn on the local rock station. I did just in time to hear what sounded like an extremely familiar song... Turns out it was the lead single "Promises." I was amazed that even though I had never heard the song before, it sounded so familiar that I felt like I knew it. I was also surprised that the band had essentially returned to its 'classic' sound after changing things up with "Slang."

From there, all things Def Leppard in my life exploded. "Promises" was on the radio, both rock and pop, constantly, and all my friends knew the song. The band's back catalogue was getting a ton of exposure as well. The album hit stores on June 8 and was the first I had ever gotten for the first time on CD. Turns out it was also the last time I would ever get one without having seen the artwork or tracklist ahead of time on the internet.

The summer flew by and there wasn't a single day I wasn't listening to the band. My love for them had been renewed by the Euphoria album, especially on the strengths of songs like "Promises," "Paper Sun," and "Day After Day." Before I knew it, "Paper Sun" was being played on rock stations as much as "Promises," and "Goodbye" was even popping up on the pop stations.

Finally August 17 arrived, and it was time for my second Def Leppard concert. The day started off extra exciting since I was able to take the splint off my left middle finger, which I had broken playing (American!) football earlier in the summer. While driving home from the doctor's office, "Love Bites" was being played on the pop station as promotion for the evening's show.

My entire family went to the fair that night, but only my mom and I actually went to the show. We stopped at the merchandise stand, where I got my second Leppard t-shirt, then headed in. My seats weren't great, as they were fairly high up in the grandstand, but they were center and I was just happy to be there.

Moon Dog Mane opened. I didn't know a lot of about them, and the only song I recognized was "Signs," which was best known to me as a Tesla song. Little did I know there was a member of Tesla in the band, Frank Hannon.

After what felt like an extremely long time between bands, mostly thanks to the GNR epic "Coma," the lights went down and just like at my first show in 1996, Def Leppard blasted onto the stage with "Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)."

A new song, "Demolition Man," followed. I was somewhat surprised to hear that song played live, as I wasn't that much of a fan of that song... Initially, at least. After hearing it live, it became one of my favorites from the album.

Joe said his good evenings after that before Phil started the intro to "Women," a song that wasn't played in 1996 much to my surprise. "Too Late For Love" followed, and was one of the highlights of the night for me. At this point in my life, "Too Late For Love" was basically my favorite Leppard song and to finally see it live was a real treat.

A trio of hits came next in "Hysteria," "Animal," and "Foolin'." The crowd, which was up over 10,000 people, astonished me with how loud they were singing. Especially on "Hysteria" and "Animal."

Another wish came true next as Joe introduced the Euphoria album and the song "Paper Sun," which I had really been hoping they would play. Just as I began to wonder if anything from "Slang" would be featured, the title track was played. It caught me a little off guard as I had expected "Work It Out" to be featured since it was the biggest (and only) hit in the US from the album.

"Promises" followed and got a HUGE reaction from the crowd. Then came a couple of ballads, "Goodbye" and "Love Bites." That kicked off the big stretch of hits: "Armageddon It," "Photograph," "Rocket," "Pour Some Sugar On Me," and "Rock Of Ages."

The band came back after a quick encore for "Let's Get Rocked." By now I was surprised that both "Two Steps Behind" and "Bringin' On The Heartbreak" were nowhere to be found.

What was even more surprising was the final song of the night, "Let It Go." Of course I knew the song, but like "Another Hit And Run" three years prior, never expected it to be part of the setlist.

The show flew by and featured seven songs I hadn't seen in my first concert. The Euphoria era had barely even started though, as I would wind up seeing them five times on that tour and their exposure in my area stayed high over the next year. Rock radio added "Day After Day" and even "Demolition Man" to their playlists alongside a ton of classics, and suddenly all of my friends knew the band I had always loved.

Some of the Euphoria album hasn't held up as well over time, but due to the experiences from the era, it'll always have a special place in my heart.

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