Springfield, IL - Media Reviews
Def Leppard takes fans on hit-packed trip By Matthew Dietrich
English hard rock band Def Leppard spent the '80s perfecting the formula for fusing heavy metal power and pop hooks, and the result was a stream of memorable radio hits and a devoted worldwide following.
Judging from the reaction of the 10,117 boisterous fans who packed the band's show Tuesday at the Illinois State Fair Grandstand, Def Leppard's brand of hummable pop metal and thumping power balladry never went out of style.
Playing in Springfield for the first time since 1988 (when it sold out the Prairie Capital Convention Center in three days), Def Leppard gave its fans a hit-packed trip through the past decade while offering ample hope that the band will prosper in the next.
From 1983 - when its power anthem "Photograph" was a Top 40 radio hit - through 1989, Def Leppard was unavoidable on radio and in the early days of MTV. It's easy to take the band's fame for granted now, but Tuesday's show demonstrated with emphasis why the Def Leppard became as big as it did.
Led by singer Joe Elliott, whose screeching vocal would become the prototype for metal bands of the '80s, Def Leppard builds its songs around big, grand choruses that get easily stuck in the listener's head and make for great mass sing-alongs in concert.
On Tuesday, the band powered through all of the expected hits, and also shrewdly introduced a handful of songs from its new album, "Euphoria."
"Demolition Man," the hard rocking song that opens the new album, came second in the set, and showed just how favorably the band's new material stands up to the better known hits.
"Promises," the new single now getting frequent radio airplay, revisits the opening guitar lick of 1983's "Photograph" and grafts it onto a big, powerful ballad that could easily have been recorded in the band's heyday.
Def Leppard has always had its share of detractors, who sneer at the band's slick production (by Mutt Lange, known these days as Mr. Shania Twain) and the commercial nature of its recordings. None were in attendance Tuesday, as virtually everyone in the audience seemed to know every word to every song.
"It's good to be back," belted Elliott as the crowd roared its approval for "Promises." Obviously, Def Leppard's fans feel the same way.
For a band that's been together for 22 years and has weathered everything from the death of one of its original members (Steve Clark died of an alcohol and drug overdose in 1991) to the now famous 1984 car accident in which drummer Rick Allen lost his left arm, Def Leppard remains youthful and vital in concert.
Aside from Elliott's constant encouragement of the crowd to make more noise, the other memorable element of Tuesday's show was shirtless guitarist Phil Collen's non-stop gliding about the stage as he pealed off trademark licks.
The last time Def Leppard played in Springfield, the opening act was hard rock band Tesla.
The opening act Tuesday was Moon Dog Mane, a hard rocking unit founded by former Tesla guitarist Frank Hannon. (Tesla headlined at the Grandstand in 1992, drawing a crowd of 10,600.)
Fans of Tesla will find much to like in Moon Dog Mane, whose sound is grounded in metal but also features a significant dose of Southern rock influence.
The band played a handful of songs from its debut album, "Turn It Up!," and also reached into the Tesla bag for a beefed-up take on that band's hit, "Signs." Drummer Cortney DeAustine (yes, a female drummer in an otherwise all-male hard rock band) hammered out an impressive solo that dispensed with the traditional heavy metal drum cliches and was a study in pure power.
By The State Journal-Register 1999.
Biggest Surprise
When the Illinois State Fair Grandstand schedule was announced early in the summer, who would have guessed that the second-biggest show would come from '80s metal-pop band Def Leppard? But by August, the band's new album, "Euphoria," had become a hit, and the band's long-time fans turned out in force.
A crowd of 10,117 (many of whom, one could safely assume, were at the band's last show here in 1988) seemed to know every word to every song, turning the show into a massive sing-a-long of hits old and new. No flab on the band either: Despite a 20-year-plus history, Def Leppard's member were in top form on Aug. 18.
By The State Journal-Register 1999.
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