Des Moines, IA - Media Reviews

Def Leppard rocks 10,118 fans at State Fair By Sophia Ahmad

On Saturday night, English metal band Def Leppard played sounds as sweet as saccharine to a crowd of 10,118 fans - the largest attendance for an Iowa State Fair Grandstand show this year (minus the inaugural Corn Dog Chomp).

The iconic band rocked hard all night. The set list included "Animal" from its 1987 power-hit album, "Hysteria," and newbie "Come Undone" from this year's "Songs from the Sparkle Lounge."

The shirtless and tanned Phil Collen strummed a tight guitar solo for "Foolin," off of the 1983 "Pyromania" album. In response, Vivan Campbell (shirt on, but wide open) played his own riff in "Love Bites." The audience didn't wait for him to finish; as soon as the first notes hit the air, the crowd yelled and followed with slow, soulful clapping.

Throughout all the screams and belts, frontman Joe Elliot's voice stayed strong all night. Still, he invited the audience to sing along.

"For the next few minutes, everybody is invited to be a member of the band," he said.

The invitation wasn't really necessary. The audience was already two steps ahead, chanting the rock anthems loud and clear, especially "Photograph."

Known to many as the '80s song with possibly the most obvious sexual euphemisms, "Pour Some Sugar on Me" caused the biggest stir in the audience: Beers spilled, hands shot up, and the few who didn't know the words sang anyway. By then, pitch "both the band's and the crowd's" was irrelevant.

By Des Moines Register 2008.

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Def Leppard fans pack concert By Sophia Ahmad

English metal band Def Leppard played sounds as sweet as saccharine Saturday for an Iowa State Fair crowd of 10,118 - the largest at the Grandstand this year.

The iconic band rocked hard all night. The set list included "Animal" from the 1987 power-hit album "Hysteria" and newbie "Come Undone" from their 2008 album, "Songs from the Sparkle Lounge."

The shirtless and tanned Phil Collen strummed a tight guitar solo during "Foolin" off the 1983 "Pyromania" album. In response, Vivian Campbell (shirt on, but wide open) played his own riff in "Love Bites." The audience didn't wait for him to finish - as soon as the first notes hit the air, the crowd yelled and followed with slow, soulful clapping.

Throughout all the screams, frontman Joe Elliott's voice stayed strong all night. Still, he invited the audience to sing along. "For the next few minutes, everybody is invited to be a member of the band," he said. The invitation wasn't really necessary. The audience was already two steps ahead, chanting the rock anthems loud and clear, especially during "Photograph."

"Pour Some Sugar on Me" caused the biggest stir in the audience: beers spilled, hands shot up, and the few who didn't know the words sang anyway. By then, pitch - both the band's and the crowd's - was irrelevant.

Alt rockers Everclear opened the evening with "Everything to Everyone" and "Father of Mine" off their 1997 album "So Much for the Afterglow."

If there was ever a recitative pop vocal style, Everclear frontman Art Alexakis embodied it in the first few songs. He didn't really sing, but rather spoke or preached.

In 2004, the Portland, Ore., band was restructured, and it showed - its style seemed less angry and edgy than the radio cuts from when the album first came out. At times, the crowd seemed uninterested. "You gotta warm yourself up for Def Leppard, so help us out," Alexakis said.

Any bit of boredom disappeared, however, when Everclear closed its set with a dance party that featured some lucky ladies from the audience. Just before the band played Tommy Tutone's "867-5309/Jenny" from Everclear's 2008 cover album "The Vegas Years," one of the dancers grabbed Alexakis' posterior, and he responded by spanking her. The audience roared. They were officially ready for Def Leppard.

By Des Moines Register 2008.

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