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Friday, 13th December 2002
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Sacramento, CA - Fan Reviews

Fan Review - By Tammy

It had been raining off and on all day in Sacramento, but nothing could suppress my excitement. I was going to see Def Leppard again! Although I had seen them headline the Jingle Ball in San Diego, and watched their concerts in Las Vegas and Phoenix, I can never get enough so I was ready for another wonderful night. I could hardly wait!

I headed to the venue early, because of the rain. Nothing could keep me from reaching my destination. I called the Arco Arena box office to verify if I could bring my camera, as the tickets did not say "no cameras" as they had in Las Vegas and Phoenix. I was told cameras were allowed, just not video cameras. So off I went with my camera in hand.

When I got to Arco Arena, I saw a merchandise booth with numerous T-shirts, a concert program with a really cool red X on the cover, hats, posters, key rings, etc. for sale. Although I wanted one of everything, I controlled myself and got the program and only one T-shirt. I also saw a booth collecting donations for raffle tickets for back stage passes to meet Def Leppard. The donations were for the Bradshaw Mountain Wildlife Association, in Arizona, so I parted with a few more dollars. Even if I did not win, the money would go to a good cause.

Ricky Warwick began his performance. He was impressive. How brave he must be to face all of us Def Leppard fans alone, just him and his guitar. I enjoyed his live performance so much that I can't wait for his album to be released. I am also going to try to find some of his stuff from The Almighty.

The charity raffle drawing was held, and I did not win. Oh well. I helped some animals anyway.

Def Leppard came on stage with tremendous enthusiasm. The guys wore similar outfits as in previous concerts, with Joe in his shiny silver shirt over his black shirt and those wonderful black leather pants. He just continues to look better and better! Sav had on the same totally awesome low-rise pants, but instead of the loose flowing shirt, he had on a body hugging black sleeveless shirt. He looked incredibly good. After three or four songs, off came Phil's shirt and the crowd, myself included, went wild. Some reporters (who must be children themselves) have commented on the ages of the guys in the band as kind of a detriment, but these guys are still the best looking men in rock to me! You've got to go see them for yourself!!!! Okay, okay, enough of that.

The sound in Arco Arena was incredible. There were no problems like those encountered in Phoenix. The sound was lush, rich, and full, just as a Def Leppard concert should be. The vocal harmonies were awesome. These guys obviously care enough about pleasing their fans to rehearse to perfection, as their performance tonight was absolute perfection. Having only been financially able to see my first Def Leppard concert during the 1992 Adrenalize tour, it was totally amazing to me to see the earlier songs like "Let It Go" and "Another Hit And Run" performed live. Joe's voice is so much fuller and richer now. Their earlier songs had an added depth and were a total joy to hear live.

And then "Switch 625" started. This song totally rocks in concert. From the power of Sav's bass to his command of the crowd, with the support of Rick's drums and Phil's and Vivian's guitars, I was blown away. It was an incredible time for me. Such a stirring of emotions, with memories of Steve but total respect for the musicianship on display before me, it took my breath away.

The most outstanding moment was seeing and hearing "You're So Beautiful" performed live. What a terrific surprise, as this is one of my favorite tracks from "X". This was followed by my favorite Def Leppard song, "Hysteria". By this time, I was in a trance in Leppard land. Oh what a joyous place! Then came "Long, Long Way To Go". This too was a surprise. On the album, I thought the song was okay, but the live performance just brings out the emotion and Joe gives it such a stirring go that I am now a converted fan. "Four Letter Word" brought me back to reality a little. It's a great rockin' concert song and the crowd around me seemed to like it.

Throughout the night, their performance was flawless. Joe said his typical "Hello Sacramento", and "we debated over whether it should be pronounced 'Ten' or 'X' but I gave in" lines, and had the crowd wrapped around his finger. He can really get things rockin'. Just a raised arm, a flick of the hand, and the crowd is eagerly responding as he likes. I got the greatest kick out of watching Vivian and Phil run at each other with their guitars, like they were playing chicken, only to dodge each other at what appeared to be the last minute, then cracking up with laughter. Was this choreographed or simply spontaneous fun? Whichever, it was hilarious.

Seeing and hearing "Animal", "Armageddon It", and "Sugar" were probably the highlights of the night, but there was not a moment their performance was not superb. I had never been a big "Rocket" fan, that is, until this concert. Their performance of it was just amazing. The entire night was wonderful. This was one of the best concerts I have ever seen, and I do not mean just Def Leppard. Of all the bands I have ever seen, this was the best concert I had ever been too.

The only thing that could have made my night better is winning those back stage passes. I hope the charity raffle is available again when they return to the USA. I plan to bring along some extra cash and keep trying! I know Def Leppard will be back, and better than ever. As far as I am concerned, they cannot return to the USA soon enough!


Fan Review - Rocket: An Evening with Def Leppard By Philo

Why head out for an urban evening of 80's hair rock in the big city, when you can motor out to the heartland and do it super trash flashback Jerry Springer style! When a friend informed us she couldn't make the show in San Francisco, we opted to drive for the full head on collision - Def Leppard, Live in Sacramento: rock and roll, lighters, acid wash, mini-skirts, and even a bucket of blood.

Kristin and Jish hopped in the car for a race against time. As rain pelted the car we navigated our way through commuter traffic, feasted on a road dinner of In-N-Out Burger, and arrived in the state capital with room to breathe. A rendezvous with Sarah and my friend Laura, and there we were, the Arco Arena. Lines of people waited outside in the heavy rain to be frisked for guns and knives and hidden Bacardi. They took our tickets, we found our seats and the opening act came on. I don't remember his name, some Irish guy singing sad songs with an acoustic guitar. He singlehandedly sucked the excitement and energy from all of us in a eight song set. He did tell a "rock and roll story" though, something about the cows getting loose from the farm while recording his album, and having to break to escort them back with a shotgun. It wasn't my kind of rock and roll story, but maybe it meant something to the Def Leppard fans visiting in their camouflage from bumf**k nowhere.

Our seats were way up to the left of the stage, but little did we know they'd be the best seats in the house. A couple of rocker chicks, and several of their down and dirty boyfriends came in to find their seats two rows in front of us occupied by a drunken blonde bimbo and her meathead boyfriend. They refused to move for some time, something about losing their tickets and the ushers sitting them there, but eventually they moved a row back, close enough that we can could even smell her Love's Baby Soft. The guys went for beer, while the rocker chicks held down the fort. The sauced couple sat there going off about the guys being morons while the girlfriends sat there listening. Apparently, maybe because of the booze, the couple didn't realize they were all together. When the guys returned the gals told them what was going on.

The relocated decide at this point that they can smoke indoors. The big guy, who I never would have messed with in a thousand years, stands up, turns around and asks them what their problem is. Several audience members in the immediate vicinity scattered like cockroaches. The guy in front of us stands up and they get into each other's faces. Index fingers tap one another's chests as tensions escalate. I don't know who threw the first punch. All I know is that in less than a second there were more than a dozen people in an all out rumble. Laura and I scan the horizon for any sign of security as drunk chick takes off her sweater coat and grabs one of the girls hair in front of her. The crowd topples to the right, to the left, fists swing, connecting, the sound of pain, the splattering of blood. Eventually a crowd of men in various patrol uniforms descend as the guy in front of us turns around and we watch the blood pouring down his face, his eyes wide and manic, his voice loud in screams of rage, his teeth stained by the flowing red. One by one they're escorted away, two rows of seats and floor in front of us quarantined while they disinfect everything.

The lights dim, the music starts, and we have a much better view of the stage.

The tracks from their new album X (10th album, roman numeral X") couldn't have sounded better. Every song had us arms in the air, rocking out like there was no tomorrow. Lighters filled the air during Bringin' On The Heartbreak, but mostly it was a non-stop adrenaline rush of greatest hits: Pour Some Sugar On Me, Photograph, Let's Get Rocked, Foolin, Rock of Ages, and their live version of Rocket totally knocked all of our socks off. There wasn't a big lightshow, nothing exploded on stage. It was live music, straight up, from one of the greatest bands of my generation. We got everything we hoped for and more, proving than in the end it's always worth it to go the extra distance. If Rick Allen can maintain his Thunder God status with only one arm, I think we can all challenge ourselves a little more to venture outside of comfort zones. Let's get rocked!.

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