Athens, Greece - Fan Reviews

Fan Review - By Vaios

After three times that I had seen the Leps outside Greece (two in the UK and one in Italy), it was time that they paid back the visit, coming to Athens to perform for the first time. The venue was Karaiskaki Stadium, holding around 25,000 for a concert. I was anxious to see how many would turn up, as Def Leppard are rather 'forgotten' in Greece. Around 10-12,000 was the audience after all, not disappointing but still way behind the packed stadium that the Scorpions had repeatedly achieved (Scorpions are very famous in Greece).

When Whitesnake took the stage, it was obvious that a lot of the fans were really there for them. They received an enthusiastic welcome, however Dave (especially) and the boys did not meet the expectations. His voice had serious problems, he left the band or the audience singing instead of doing it himself in many cases, whereas his repeated (too many times) over-sexual poses were not really my thing (I'm a guy of course, but I don't think that girls appreciated them much more). The setlist was less than appropriate, with too many new songs, which are not too bad, however they were kind of boring live. This doesn't mean that I had a bad time, of course Here I Go Again & Still of the Night that closed the set were great, but certainly I have seen them perform much better.

Then was the time for Def Leppard. Despite my high level of bias, it was obvious that they were in a much better shape & mood to please the audience. Too bad the screens weren't there, however the Leps really did a great job. Starting with Rocket, they immediately got the fans going, whereas it was a pleasant surprise to see how well C'Mon C'Mon works live. Animal received the obvious response, whereas Nine Lives (along with my least favourite Two Steps Behind) was the downside of the night, as it was rather weak. It is amazing how a less than great in CD song like Make Love Like a Man can make me (and many others) sing and dance when played live! Then came Love Bites, which make the whole Stadium sing and Sav's solo, followed by the fantastic Rock On (the guitar burst after the 'quiet' part of the song is fantastic).

After 5 minutes of just waiting to finish up with Two Steps, then came the highlight of the night: the acoustic/electric version of Bringin' on the Heartbreak and the wonderful treat of Switch 625. Thank you boys for this, this really made my night! And then the obvious 'hits session', with Sugar and Rock of Ages outstanding. The night closed with Let's Get Rocked as an encore (a little disappointed that they returned for only one song in their first time visiting Greece ). All the guys were looked great, especially Joe, who worked the crowd greatly, having his voice in a very good shape (only in Photograph I sensed some problems) and Sav, who obviously had a good time, running all over the stage and giving us his trademark poses.

The next days, I entered (neutral, not Def Leppard) forums to see the reactions & comments to the concert. Surprisingly, the comments were very close to my perception: disappointment for Whitesnake, even by their own fans, who commented even worse than I did above. For Def Leppard, they were two kinds of comments: One by fans, who were ecstatic by their performance, as most of them saw them first time (having seen them three times before, I was proud to think 'I knew that already guys!'). The other kind of comments was by moderate fans, who either came mainly for Whitesnake or knew basically 5-6 of DL songs and were kind of 'Wow! I never expected Def Leppard to be so good live!' (Again proud to think 'OK guys, this was a typical Def Leppard performance, wait till you see them in their best night!').

Let's just hope that Joe's promise about coming back (as he always does at the end of each concert) will be kept! Thank you guys for a really great night!

Fan Review - By SpYroUs

Def Leppard's first ever concert in Greece!!! And Whitesnake's 3rd.

Whitesnake took the stage at 21:00 and rocked the stadium for 75 minutes. The setlist could include a few extra songs but never mind...Mr. Coverdale's voice sounds a little tired, but it's still great! Highlights of the Whitesnake show include Is this Love, Here I go Again, Still of the Night and a wonderful rendition of Ain't No Love In The Heart In The Heart Of The City? The Snake's are for sure one of the most popular bands in Greece and about 15,000 people sang along Coverdale each and every song!! The other members of Whitesnake are great musicians, especially the two guitarists who offered us a great duel guitar solo.

Def Leppard started with Rocket rocked us with a set that included all their big hits plus two new songs, Nine Lives & C'mon C'mon, which sound as great. Love bites returned to the set and that was a great gift for the Greek fans! Sugar, Rock of Ages, Photograph kicked ass, but for me the definitive highlight was the acoustic and then electric version of Bringin' on the Heartbreak which was followed by a great surprise, Switch 625.

The Lepps left the stage after 80 minutes or so, but they returned for one more song. Joe asked "Do You Wanna Get Rocked?" What a rhetoric question!!!! What a night!!!

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