Winnipeg, MB - Media Reviews

Def Leppard not endangered, yet By Rob Williams

Don't put Def Leppard on the endangered species list just yet.

They haven't had a major hit in more than a decade and their relevancy in today's musical climate is practically nil, but the hard-working quintet from Sheffield, England refuse to be put down.

They have never stopped releasing albums and still remain a strong concert draw, as witnessed by the 8,000 fans that turned out at the MTS Centre last night for a healthy helping of hits from days gone by.

And on that front the band -- playing a make-up date for a cancelled April show -- didn't disappoint, offering the nostalgic audience almost everything they could want to hear from throughout Def Leppard's 31-year career.

Six of seven singles from 1987's 15-million seller Hysteria were sprinkled throughout the 90-minute set -- Hysteria, Rocket, Animal, Armageddon It, Pour Some Sugar On Me and Love Bites -- along with highlights from Pyromania and Adrenalize, including Foolin', Photograph and Rock of Ages.

The set was similar to their last two appearances here in 2002 and 2005 with some songs moved around and material from their new album Songs From the Sparkle Lounge replacing whatever new material they were pushing at the time (the less said about the album X the better).

For most nostalgia acts, playing new songs is a sure way to get fans out of their seats and into beer and washroom lines, but tracks like C'Mon C'Mon and Nine Lives held the crowd's attention nicely since both fit comfortably into the band's glossy pop-rock template.

Frontman Joe Elliott remains the focal point of the group, running around working the crowd and spending plenty of time on an extended T-shaped stage that ran into the audience. Guitarists Phil Collen and Viv Campbell and bassist Rick Savage prowled the stage chugging out familiar riffs and singing backup vocals into microphones scattered all over the setup's three tiers while drummer Rick Allen held court centre stage on his own riser in front of a giant video screen showing a variety of graphics and clips of the band from days gone by.

Allen left the stage while his bandmates gathered at the top of the T-stage with acoustic instruments for up close and personal versions of ballads Two Steps Behind and Bringing on the Heartache, both which had the audience singing along at Elliott's urging. They finished the latter song plugged in on the main stage.

Prior to Def Leppard, a youthful looking Billy Idol won over the crowd with 70-minutes of well known singles from his '80s heyday, pumping his fist and sneering while singing hits like Eyes Without a Face, White Wedding, social favourite Mony Mony and set closer Rebel Yell. He even showed off his punk rock past with a version of Ready Steady Go, one of the best known songs from his former band Generation X.

The driving 1978 single fared much better than his misguided version of the Doors' L.A. Woman. On that one he pandered to the crowd -- which was already on his side -- by changing the lyrics to "Winnipeg woman." Yes, it was as cheesy as it sounds.

Idol was taking the place of prog-pop band Styx, who were originally slated to open in April, but had their own tour scheduled this month.

By Winnipeg Free Press 2008.

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Whippin' Up Hysteria By David Schmeichel

It wasn't quite mass hysteria that greeted hard rock legends Def Leppard last night, but it still came pretty close.

Actually, it came even closer to Hysteria - the landmark 1987 album that spawned seven consecutive hits for the Brit-rockers, six of which were scheduled to be squeezed into last night's set list.

The sequencing strategy was shrewd, given the quintet is already on record as confirming they sometimes have trouble with live shows, since fans - particularly the casual ones - don't always go crazy for their lesser-known tracks.

But that wasn't a problem with last night's crowd of 8,000-plus, most of whom seemed just as content to rock out to the new stuff as they did the proven hits.

It helped that the band - fronted by arena-rock veteran Joe Elliott - kicked things off with the one-two punch of Rocket and Animal (both from Hysteria, natch), before testing the waters with C'Mon C'Mon (from this year's Songs from the Sparkle Lounge disc) and the power-ballad Foolin', from their breakthrough '83 album Pyromania.

Follow-up Make Love Like a Man gave Elliott a chance to strut around the unadorned stage while guitarists Phil Collen, Vivian Campbell, Rick Savage (bass) and Rick Allen (drums) recreated Def Leppard's trademark multi-layered sound. And the singer practically beamed with pride while introducing Nine Lives, the group's new crossover attempt with country star Tim McGraw.

Now so far, the song hasn't exactly caught fire on either country or rock radio, but last night's crowd received it warmly, as they did more recognizable gems like Love Bites, Two Steps Behind, Armageddon It, Photograph and Pour Some Sugar On Me.

By The Winnipeg Sun 2008.

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