Ottawa, ON - Media Reviews

Leppard Rocks All Ages By Ann Marie McQueen

Def Leppard teased a crowd of 9,200 at the Corel Centre last night, filing on stage amidst flashing red strobe lights and the sounds of Queen singing We Will Rock You. Once they were there, the lights went white and flooded the house, and it was Action for a raucous, reminiscent 90-minute-plus set by the British quintet.

And if many of the 30-, 40- and 50-somethings in attendance have left their brash and boisterous tendencies to, as lead singer Joe Elliott advised, take the "f---ing roof off this place," behind, they still rocked out pretty good. But this '80s band has somehow managed to find a young following too, with a surprising number of youngsters snapping up seats.

The night unfolded with an astonishing array of the group's many hits, with boisterous hits such as Rock of Ages, Photograph and Rocket sounding the most definitive. If you weren't intimately aware of their catalogue, each song might have had you thinking "that was them, too?" It was the group's second night of their Canadian tour, and they seemed to enjoy their time playing inside for a change.

"So why are we here in Ottawa?" asked Elliott. "I'll tell you why. Twenty-five years, that's why."

The group stuck for the most part to its set list, deviating for a stripped-down version of Two Steps Behind from 1993's Retro Active that provided a little downtime amidst the group's string of thrashers, like Rock On, Armegeddon It and Let's Get Rocked. The crowd lapped up power ballads Hysteria and Love Bites.

It's a treat to see Rick Allen do his one-armed drumming thing, while bass player Rick Savage and guitarists Phil Collen and Viv Campbell created a rich sound that filled the centre to the rafters.

The group managed to take the appreciative crowd back to its good old days while staying right in the present. This was no Ozzy Osbourne shuffling around the stage. Just five guys who clearly just love to play, who remember well the days when they were as Elliott put it, pointing at the crowd, "on that side, looking this way.".

By The Ottawa Sun 2005.

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Def Leppard turns back the clock By Patrick Langston

Pop-metal survivors go through classic hits with gusto - Wednesday night, it was mums and young daughters gobbling ice cream and chirping excitedly as they awaited the appearance of fresh-faced American Idol Kelly Clarkson. Last night, it was a steady run on the beer concessions and considerably more testosterone in the air as classic rock lovers piled into the Corel Centre to enjoy 1980s pop-metal survivors Def Leppard.

The show's string of old favorites suited the party-mood audience of 9,200 just fine.

With three Persian rugs adorning the stage and fans roaring their approval, Def Leppard thundered through Action, Let's Get Rocked, Foolin' and a dozen others.

The band -- frontrunners in the British metal renaissance and a far cry from pop-rocker Kelly Clarkson -- is in the homestretch of its three-month, 80-plus date Rock of Ages tour, celebrating the 25th anniversary of its debut and promoting its retrospective double album, Rock of Ages, released earlier this year.

The rigors of the road, at least judging by last night's ninety minute-plus performance, seem only to energize Def Leppard.

Working the arena like the old pros they are, guitarists and bassist Phil Collen, Vivian Campbell and Rick Savage prowled and skipped around the stage while one-armed drummer Rick Allen (he lost his arm in a car accident years ago) delivered a blistering set.

Lead singer Joe Elliott, his light hair a smart contrast with his black leather pants and dark shirt and jacket, the latter emblazoned with a glittering DL on the back, was in good voice given the workout his vocal chords have had recently. Elliott did appear to be fading a bit by the time he hit Rocket well into the set list, but that's always been a great sing-along number, so he turned some of the action over to his fans while the song's big guitar lead gave him a few more minutes to rest up.

Elliott, one of three remaining original band members, minimized his stage patter, boasting a little about Def Leppard's veteran status and, when he introduced the acoustic Two Steps Behind, urging the crowd to "see if we can tear the f**** roof off this place" (the Corel Centre remains intact).

Considering how often the five have performed tunes like Hysteria and No Matter What, the band seemed last night to be still thoroughly enjoying its infectious, melodic creations. Def Leppard encored with Bringin' on the Heartbreak and Pour Some Sugar on Me.

By The Ottawa Citizen 2005.

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