San Francisco, CA - Fan Reviews

Fan Review - By Miss Magic

Just flew in from San Francisco from having the best weekend, attending both shows in California on December 13 and 14, 2002 in Sacramento and San Francisco. I actually can't find the right words to describe what I saw and heard in the past 48 hours. Unbelievable. Awesome. Fantastic. I could go on, but I'm sure you get the point. These shows were nothing short of brilliant as Def Leppard has proven, yet once again, to all sceptics, that the fans have no intention of calling it quits yet! I had front row reserved seats in Sacramento and managed to get to the front in San Francisco, so I had a fantastic view, but wherever you were that night, the view was great.

The setlist consisted of a good mix of High 'n' Dry, Pyromania and Hysteria, with a little Adrenalize and Euphoria for taste. The three cuts off "X" (You're So Beautiful, Long Long Way To Go, Four Letter Word and Now) went over well with everyone and sounded great. I was slightly disappointed with the fact that we didn't hear any "Slang", but nonetheless, the place rocked, with an enthusiastic crowd - clapping, cheering, singing - what a sight it was. You could really tell the guys were having a good time along with the fans, with each member covering every side of the stage, acknowledging everyone in the crowd, no matter where you were standing or sitting. (You know, it's amazing what can happen when a lead singer throws his arms in the air and gets a high decibel reaction from everyone or a bass player does his signature search into the crowd). The setlist varied a little in San Francisco, with the addition of "Stagefright" and "Wasted" (yes, you heard right.. Wasted!), but I was pleased to see that no one in the place was sitting down. There was enough energy at both shows to light up a small town, and I'm not exaggerating. I've seen many Def Leppard shows starting in 1988, and this one absolutely has to be the best tour (and that's saying quite a bit since Hysteria comes really, really close with me!)

Ricky Warwick was awesome as well, in my opinion. Takes a lot to get up in front of a crowd of 10,000+ with just a guitar to perform material no one's heard before. But he was well received at both shows, and I, for one, thoroughly enjoyed it. Will definitely get the CD once it comes out

I could tell you a lot more, but I want you all to find out for yourselves. Whoever is attending any of the remaining shows in the U.S. or the upcoming U.K. shows, you are all in for a rockin' time. No foolin' - this is a tour to remember for a long time to come.

Fan Review - By VanBruce

Enjoyed the show immensely. I really enjoyed the High N Dry set at the beginning. That set the tone for a great show and they really rocked. Everyone sounded good. Joe's vocals held up quite well and Rick's drumming is so much better (steady and fills are more creative). As usual, they played all the hits and four songs from the new X disc. Only "You're So Beautiful" didn't hold up very well live. The other three sounded very good.

The only issue I had with the concert was with some of the mixing. With the volume set so high, some feedback early in the concert was ear piercing and Rick's kickdrum was set about 3 notches too high on a few songs. I hope they come back through again next year, cause I'll be there.

Fan Review - By Michael

Def Leppard tore into a rocking set over two hours long that spanned their entire career. Starting off with "Disintegrate" off the "Euphoria" album that is an instrumental was a great lead in to the rest of their set. They then broke into old school tunes like "Let It Go", "Another Hit Ans Run", "High 'n' Dry", "Bringin' On The Heartbreak", "Switch 625", and "Stagefright". These songs all worked well together because it showed they still had that harder edge from the early days and hadn't abandoned it. It was a great build up to their evolved pop sound that began with the "Pyromania" album. The crowd was clambering to do a little singing, when the boys broke into "Foolin" you could hear the chorus and everyone loving slipping that "F, F, F, Foooooolin". They kept the crowd's enthusiasm with "Hysteria" and a few tunes from the "X" CD. The crowd responded remarkably well during their new tunes "You're So Beautiful", "Long, Long, Way To Go", "Four Letter Word", "Now" and "Promises" off their last album "Euphoria".

The crowd got into a frenzy for the final hour with classics such as "Women" an extended version of "Rocket" that had a lengthy guitar solo that exhibited the cool balance of rock and pop that Def Leppard has mastered. They did a guitar intro to "Photograph", one of my all time favorite tunes. The crowd sang in synchronicity for the rest of the evening as they played "Animal", "Armageddon It", "Pour Some Sugar On Me", and "Rock Of Ages". They came back for a three-song encore that included "Love Bites", "Let's Get Rocked", and "Wasted". It was great to hear "Wasted" as they haven't played a third song in the encore for most of this tour and it shows that they were appreciative of the fans enthusiasm that did show up. My only critique of this show would be that the songs they played for the encore other than "Wasted" weren't really suited as encore type of songs, I rather rock out than hear "Love Bites". I really wanted to hear "Too Late For Love" which they didn't perform on this evening either.

All in all Def Leppard are true professionals, evident with the effort that they put into the time they took before the show to make sure the sound was right, the time they took to meet with their fans, and playing for over two hours with fans that really wanted to be there and weren't just there to hear a band that is cool for the moment. The most common response I got from people when I told them I was going to this concert was - "Def Leppard, they're still together and play?" Yes, they are still together and they are doing it better than ever for the fans that have taken time to follow these guys through the decades. DEF LEPPARD ROCKS!.

Back

share this page: