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Thursday, 21st August 2008
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Dayton, OH - Media Reviews

Def Leppard Hysteria By alarsen

The tight leather pants - the killer power chords - the bangin' drum solos - the sweaty guitarists on bended knee and most importantly - that crazy big hair.

Anyone wishing to bask in warm memories of the days when '80s hair metal ruled the Earth had their dreams answered at the Def Leppard/Billy Idol show that rolled into Wright State's Nutter Center on Thursday, Aug. 21.

If you've ever been to the Nutter Center for a concert then you are familiar with the major challenges the acoustics present, so there's no need for us to harp on the ricochet reverb and endless echoes. It's there, it's always been there and this show was no exception.

Venue acoustics aside, rock concerts never, ever seem to start on time, so imagine our surprise when Billy Idol took the stage a few minutes early to open the relatively well-attended 7:30 p.m. show with "Cradle of Love."

Backed by a four piece band which included long time guitarist Steve Stevens who looks like he stepped right off of the cover of a metal magazine (from the '80s, natch) and seemed to play as well behind his head as in front of it, Idol wasted no time in showing us that famous sneer that was as cool now as it was back in the day.

Playing mostly well-known hits including "Dancing With Myself," "Flesh for Fantasy," "White Wedding, Part 1," "Mony, Mony," "Eyes Without a Face" and "Blue Highway," midway through his set, Idol played the only new tracks ("John Wayne" and "New Future Weapon") off of his most recent release, a best of compilation entitled "Idolize Yourself."

For Idol's rocking rendition of the Doors' "L.A. Woman" he substituted Dayton for L.A. - a nice touch that the audience happily and positively responded to.

Idol ended his hour and 15-minute set with his shirt off singing "Rebel Yell." He has the body of a 30-year-old and the face and the throaty vocal range of his more than 50 years. Still, he proved he continues to have what it takes.

A slick video homage of Def Leppard over the years did a striking job of announcing the headliner.

These impressive visuals played in one form or another behind the band throughout the evening. Say what you like, but it's nearly impossible to resist the sweet licks these guys were laying out. The visual, energetic show, which lasted just under two hours, opened strong with "Rocket," "Animal" and "Foolin'"

On tour pimping their 14th studio album "Songs from the Sparkle Lounge" which came out at the end of April, the band paraded out "Nine Lives," a collaboration with country music superstar Tim McGraw of all people.

"Love Bites" and a cover of David Essex's "Rock On" with a bass line to end all bass lines followed shortly after. The band took it down a notch with a predominately acoustic set for both "Two Steps Behind" and "Bringing on the Hearbreak" but the calm didn't last for long with the band amping things back up for "Hysteria" and "Armageddon It."

A camera mounted on the end of guitarist Phil Collen's guitar on "Photograph" only added to the already visual show.

"Pour Some Sugar On Me" came at 10:30 p.m. and saw the audience eating it up by the time "Rock of Ages" was being played.

Def Leppard ended the evening's entertainment with "Let's Get Rocked" and made certain their fans knew before they left the stage how much they appreciated them coming out. Lead singer Joe Elliott, whose vocals just don't seem to quite hit all the notes anymore, ended the evening saying, "until next time - and there will be a next time - do us a favor - don't forget us and we won't forget you."

Billy Idol was the appetizer and Def Leppard was the main course in this British rock buffet. They came, they saw, the audience got rocked and, Elliott will be relieved to hear, likely won't soon forget it.

By Dayton Daily News 2008.

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