Montreal, QC - Media Reviews

By T'Cha Dunlevy

Def Leppard answers fans' thirst for rock: Dipping deep into the hits well. Group's 1987 album Hysteria provides biggest splash.

Rock 'n' roll will never die, they say. Nor, apparently, will old rock bands. Every summer, we get another round of once-big acts playing their once-big hits. And the fans keep coming back for more.

Last night, it was British pop-metal act Def Leppard playing to a sizable crowd of 11,200 at the Bell Centre. And from the opening of the set, it was clear why they were here - they've got hits.

Granted, a good chunk of them come from a small window in the band's career - seven of the 16 songs played were off the group's 1987 album Hysteria, including the first three. The balance of material came from the band's 1981 sophomore album High 'n' Dry and 1983's Pyromania.

They launched with Rocket, an arena rock anthem as good as any. Singer Joe Elliott promptly strutted to the end of the catwalk to lead a singalong, while his band backed him up with a shimmying beat. The chorus brought power chords, smoke and the requisite guitar solos - all ending with an apparently irony-free punch: "Rocket, baby. Yeah!"

Animal, next, could have been a Duran Duran song. Excitable was neither here nor there, but giddily forged ahead, the crowd clapping to the groove as cars and boats exploded on the screen behind the stage.

The early career songs that followed were hit-and-miss. While surely pleasing the diehard fans, they lacked Hysteria's big-league polish. Foolin' was forgettable; Mirror Mirror (Look Into My Eyes) and Hit and Run didn't fare much better.

But cheers broke out with the first notes of Love Bites, the classic power-ballad from (you guessed it) Hysteria. The album's title track, plus the smash singles Armaggedon It and the obligatory Pour Some Sugar On Me, would come later.

When all was said and done, Def Leppard had just enough hits to carry it through the night. Elliott was an able, if unremarkable, leader. He has lost any semblance of edge; but the audience wasn't there for edge. They were there (all together now) for the hits, which, lucky for them, Def Leppard has never been afraid to deliver.

By playing it safe with the set list, and not trying to prove anything resembling continued relevance, the band gave the people what they wanted - but only just.

While the same could be said for Styx, in the opening slot, the results were less convincing. Even the presence of '80s Can-rocker Lawrence Gowan wasn't enough to save this up-and-down set. There were some standout moments - the crowd favourite Suite Madame Blue, Gowan's Criminal Mind and the pre-encore slow song Come Sail Away.

But, much more than the headliners, Styx was lost at sea between its chart-toppers. As vocal duties got passed around like a hot potato, the group seemed to search for direction, and a leader, sounding painfully dated in the process.

By The Montreal Gazette 2007.

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Def Leppard and Styx at the Bell Centre By Ron Hollywood

July 17, 2007 at the Bell Center, Montreal, Quebec.

In one night there were two classic rock bands whose latest CD's were covers of classic rock songs, so what kind of a night was one in for, but classic rock. This sat just fine with the 7,000 mostly older crowd that came out and got just what they would expect.

Def Leppard burst onto stage with Rocket as if it was 1988 all over again especially in their stage presence. Have these guys ever aged? Joe Elliot ran along the catwalk from start to finish all night long. He seemed to be losing himself in the crowd and vice versa. Bassist Rick Savage made sure that he ran, jumped, or walked along every inch of the stage. Duel guitarists Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell traded lick after lick of arena rock glory losing their shirts in the process.

Third song in Excitable was a great album track from Hysteria. With Joe on the catwalk he had everyone chanting along to the "Stand up, Say Yeah!" chorus. Are these political introspective lyrics? No. Was a fun time being had by everyone? "Yeah"! This is what Def Lep has always been about, having fun and this night was no different. For some reason the band seemed a lot more energetic than on their last few tours.

The production was also an added bonus with a stage of stairs, second level catwalk and stage length horizontal screen. The screen would either show close ups of band members or use different effects. This was most effective during Photograph which showed literal photographs at the band through its different eras.

With the set list they surprised the die-hard fans with album tracks like Mirror Mirror and the instrumental Switch 625 from the High 'N' Dry era. The only real dull moment came when Rick Savage gave an echo sounding unimpressive bass solo which led into the awful cover of Rock On. The only non-eighties song played that night.

With acoustic guitars strapped on Elliot, Savage, Collen, and Campbell went out to the front of the catwalk to do an acoustic set of Two Steps Behind and Bringing On The Heartbreak which had the audience singing along with such an intensity that Elliot let them take over.

Continued runs along the catwalk and audience sing alongs would continue with total uproar on hits like Armageddon it, Pour Some Sugar On Me and the closing one song encore of Rock of Ages.

The only real problem was the sound being too loud or muffled and a bad arrangement of Pour Some Suger On Me. For Def Leppard and its fans this night seemed a lot more than just Another Hit and Run (which was played).

By 10scalereviews 2007.

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