Cardiff, Wales - Media Reviews

Def Leppard, Whitesnake and Thunder, CIA By David Barnes

David Coverdale rocked and rolled back the years as the 2008 incarnation of his 1978 band Whitesnake blew away an adoring capacity audience at Cardiff's CIA after the night had been opened by an impressive Thunder.

Prowling the stage like a caged tiger on heat, ex Deep Purple Coverdale and his stupendous five-piece band powered through number after majestic number.

This was no concert for the uninitiated. It was for the hard core fans, many of whom had been following the Snake for 30 years, and boy did they just love it.

In a set which included some 14 songs plus towering guitar solos, Whitesnake served up what the customer ordered, rising to a crescendo with Is This Love and the anthem Here I Go Again until climaxing with In The Still Of The Night. Awesome.

Headlining, Def Leppard took up the gauntlet and produced a performance of epic proportions which saw energetic frontman, Joe Elliott, don a Wales rugby shirt for the encore before plunging into the seminal Let's Get Rocked.

Leppard, on full power throughout, had the entire arena vibrating to its very foundations as they delivered a 15 number set which included Two Steps Behind, Hysteria, Photograph, Pour Some Sugar On Me and the stunning Rock Of Ages.

"Don't forget us and we won't forget you" yelled Elliott at the end of almost five hours of music.

Metal fatigue? No chance on this showing.

This was metal at its very best - untarnished after over thirty years. Brilliant.

By South Wales Argus 2008.

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Def Leppard/Whitesnake/Thunder By Bristol Rocks

You could hear several conversations along the lines of "how the fuck are Leppard gonna follow that??" as you fought your way through the crowd to the bar, and queued for an overpriced under chilled Carlsberg, but they did. Trust me they did.

Leppard aren't making quite so much of their new CD as the boys from the 'Snake are, but we do get a couple of numbers early on - C'mon C'mon and Nine Lives. Other than that it's the greatest hits, but what a selection they have to draw from - Animal, Pour Some Sugar On Me, Armageddon It, Hysteria, Rocket, even the mega cheesy When Love And Hate Collide, and they all sounded spot on.

Phil Collen in particular impressed with his fluid guitar work, while Rick Savage propped up the bottom end with his bass, and the top end too with his excellent backing vocals. Vivian Campbell sports a couple of nice axes in a very 70's shade of metal-flake blue (guitars from the sparkle lounge anyone?? Ok, no.) while Rick Allen continues to amaze with his 100% unique technique behind what looks like a combined acoustic and electronic kit. Yep, that's him with only one arm - amazing.

By Bristol Rocks 2008.

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Def Leppard, Whitesnake, Thunder live in Cardiff By BL

Def Leppard were the headliners on this tour, no matter what the publicity may tell you; of that I have no doubt now. The electronic backdrop which for Whitesnake could only display some heavily pixelated logos suddenly sprang into perfect clarity for the Sheffield band making for some stunning visuals in conjunction with two huge video screens that flanked the stage. Unfortunately a band that once were accused of using backing tapes so good were their live harmonies, sounded decidedly ropy at times on this occasion.

By rockofages 2008.

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