Hamburg, Germany - Media Reviews

Def Leppard - Live with Ricky Warwick, Hamburg, Germany - November 6th 2003 By Michael

Def Leppard went on stage only a few minutes after Ricky closed his set. There was no stage production, it was all stripped down to a club show.

They opened the show with their cover version of Sweet's 'Action'. Since Def Leppard has such a strong back catalogue of songs I would prefer if they left out cover songs. However, I used the song to find a good spot, since the sound quality depended on where you stood.

Joe Elliott may have put on a few extra pounds, but his showmanship was excellent. Both on and off stage, he is the glue that holds Def Leppard together. It was hard to see recent birthday boy Rick Allen behind his massive drum kit. On Def Leppard's official web-site they have complained a bit about being tired of life on the road. There were no traces of that in their appearance in Hamburg. They just had a day off, so maybe that refueled their batterers, because they gave it 100 percent.

Along with Joe Elliott, Phil Collen is my favorite on stage. Phil smiled throughout the entire concert. Vivian Campbell complements Phil well on guitar and together they are great guitar team.

Third track was the crowd pleaser 'Foolin'' followed by 'Hysteria'. Def Leppard played it safe with main emphasis on the "Pyromania" and "Hysteria" albums. The concert was like a greatest hits at the expense of the new album, where we only got 'Four Letter Word'. Also the band neglected their 2 first albums. A shame since they earlier on this Tour started off with a few "High N' Dry" tunes. The explanation for this could be the short playing time. Def Leppard played less than 90 minutes. With my disappointment in Skid Row's cancellation Def Leppard should compensate by playing a longer set. Unlike their usual 2 hours they actually cut this set shorter. That was the second major disappointment of the day. Def Leppard closed with only one encore, 'Love Bites' and according to their setlist they should have played an additional encore 'Let's Get Rocked', but that never happened. Phil Collen went out after Love Bites and started to play his guitar just to prove to the audience that the power was pulled. I don't know if Def Leppard or the venue is to blame.

Def Leppard are true professionals and they delivered the goods. The albums might have tendencies to sound too produced, but they reproduced their classic sound real well on stage. Of course they are a bit rawer on stage. Overall they are skilled musicians and they were real tight as a band.

Both Ricky Warwick and Def Leppard are amazing performers and musicians. However, I was expecting an overdose of Kick ass Rock 'n' Roll, but got less than 2 hours of music. That left me with a disappointment, which probably permeates this review also.

The evening was over much too soon - actually before it really began. Therefore I expected a party on the bus since the concert was so short. However, all went to sleep :( That was the last, however only a minor, disappointment of the evening. The only person not to sleep was a Ricky Warwick lookalike, who kept me company on the way home.

In a heartbeat I would do this trip again. This could be the last chance to see Def Leppard live, but I hope we get a second chance though. Even though the ticket sales wasn't as expected there is still a market for Def Leppard, because great music never goes out of style. F*ck Skid Row.

Thanks to members of Nice Try, the beautiful Mrs. Elliott Christensen, Glismand for a great trip and of course Ricky Warwick for keeping me company on the ride home.

By RevelationZ Magazine 2003.

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