Sacramento, CA - Media Reviews

For Def Leppard, it's all about well-packaged nostalgia By Rossiter Drake

Strutting confidently about the stage, clad in the tight-fitting leather garb that's always been essential to the hair-metal dress code, the members of Def Leppard appear to have been cryogenically frozen in the 1980s, only to be thawed and dumped in present-day Sacramento for the Friday night show at the Arco Arena.

There are minor discrepancies, of course, between the boys then and the boys now. The Sheffield quintet, whose 1987 smash "Hysteria" has sold more than 16 million copies worldwide, lost founding guitarist Steve Clark in 1991 to a fatal combination of alcohol and drugs, paving the way for ex-Whitesnake shredder Vivian Campbell (a brunette!) to hop on board after the 1992 release of "Adrenalize."

Otherwise, the band hasn't changed a bit, save for a few added wrinkles. Their set lists borrow heavily from their 1980s heyday, so it came as no surprise that the Sacramento show featured no less than 16 selections from early efforts such as "High'N' Dry" (1981), "Pyromania" (1983) and "Hysteria," as compared to just three from their disappointing 2002 comeback bid, "X."

And despite their advancing ages -- remember, these boys formed back in 1977 -- lead singer Joe Elliott and company dutifully jogged about the stage, throwing out obligatory shouts to the crowd ("It's great to be back, Sacramento!") and striking enough provocative rock-star poses to drive the audience wild.

To be sure, Def Leppard has lost none of its touch as an arena act, even if its appeal has grown more selective over the years. The upper deck of the 17,500-seat venue was blocked off Friday, presumably because of lagging ticket sales.

But fans packed into the lower levels rewarded the band with deafening cheers as it ripped through a two-hour greatest hits set featuring spirited takes on "Bringin' on the Heartbreak," "Rocket" and "Photograph."

Their '90s releases, beginning with 1992's lackluster "Adrenalize," have found the band drifting more and more in the direction of bland, undistinguished adult-pop.

But if the boys have lost a step creatively, they're sure-handed veterans on the road, whipping fans into a fist-pumping frenzy with tight harmonies, soaring solos (courtesy of Campbell and longtime guitarist Phil Collen) and overwrought theatrics.

It's all about nostalgia for Def Leppard these days, but they package their nostalgia slickly and professionally, whisking fans back to a long-lost era of hair-metal glory, if only for a couple of hours.

By Oakland Tribune 2002.

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By Dan Wall

It always comes back to me when I witness something like this-if rock and roll is dead, then what were these 8000 maniacs thinking. The crowd at Arco Arena in Sacramento last Friday night was on its feet for the entire two-hour performance by their heroes of the night, Def Leppard.

They sang, punched the air with their fists and had a rollicking good time, a show made that much sweeter by escaping the storm that raged outside. Even though Sacramento is a great town for live rock and roll, this crowd was even more over the top than some of those I've seen in the past. The group fed the madness with a two-hour set of classics that kicked off with the first five songs from its classic High and Dry album and ended with the massive sing-along to Let's Get Rocked.

The promoters made a wise decision to cut off the balcony with curtains, giving the band and the crowd the impression of a sell-out, with every seat in the lower bowl full. It wouldn't have made any difference noise-wise, because these 8000 sounded many times like 15,000 (the arena's concert capacity). It just sounded and felt right from the beginning, when Phil Collen punched out the opening riff to Let it Go. The guitars were loud and crunchy, the bass heavy, the drums letter-perfect, and the vocals huge in the mix.

The lighting and stage show were understated yet effective, but this was a show of songs and musicians, with some of my favorite of both on display. Just take a look at the set list. Virtually every song played has been on the radio at one time or another, and that closing run that started with Promises and ended with Let's Get Rocked is virtually a run-through of the band's greatest hits.

Joe Elliott, the classy lead singer, led the band through the two-hour performance with aplomb as always. He is the perfect combination of singer, cheerleader and frontman, an elegant, handsome man who is one of rock's best vocalists. He does his best to sing some of the hardest rock songs to sing live onstage, and does a very good job.

To his left and right are two of rock's greatest guitarists, Collen and Vivian Campbell. Even though neither are original members, they have both been in band for a long time now (Collen 20 years now, Campbell 11), and fit like a glove together. Usually alone but often in tandem, the two guitarists tore up some of classic rock's greatest riffs with ease, often lifting the songs recorded solos to new levels onstage.

Bassist Rick Savage keeps the bottom in front of the world's greatest one-armed drummer (and one of its greatest even with both limbs), Rick Allen. Allen is worth the price of admission alone, triggering his toms and snare with his left foot, showing a tremendous amount of concentration. I think his handicap has made Allen even a better drummer than before, and he hammered home every song with nary a change to the legendary recorded versions. Of course, all of this would be for naught if the band couldn't nail those perfect four-part harmonies onstage, but if you've been reading along, you can probably figure out that those wear great as well.

If there is a quibble, the boys might want to reconsider playing Long, Long Way To Go as an electric song and consider making it unplugged. The band's next single is a beautiful song and deserves to be a hit, but it should be performed live with the vibe of the record and not the vibe of Pantera.

The band sounded better than ever, though, and looked as excited to be onstage as it did when this whole thing started back in 1981. This is a group that is nearing legendary status in the classic rock field, with a classic Behind the Music on its resume now and a great new album, and it looks like the crowds are coming back as well. Like Bon Jovi and others before it, Def Leppard has weathered grunge, rap rock and nu metal, and is still out there, alive and kicking.

By Classicrockrevisted 2002.

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