Bristow, VA - Media Reviews

Def Leppard, Poison, Cheap Trick Concert Review By Kim Reed

The Def Leppard, Poison, and Cheap Trick tour gave fans what they wanted to hear, a red-blooded rock show with heavy guitar riffs and a heavy emphasis on the hits.

The nostalgic rockers performed for a packed house, and lawn, at Nissan Pavilion earlier this month and collectively delivered close to three-hours of brazen rock.

Cheap Trick played a short set that included back-to-back classics "The Flame" and "Surrender". The band has a fondness for unusual instruments and Rick Nielsen played a unique five-necked guitar.

Poison delivered a set that was fun and energetic, but predictable. The crowd ate up every fantastically cheesy moment of "Unskinny Bop" and "Talk Dirty To Me" and swayed to "Somethin' to Believe In" and "Every Rose Has It's Thorn." Bret Michaels rocked a Poison t-shirt (see #10), cowboy hat, and perhaps the same jeans worn when the band actually headlined Nissan Pavilion. Michaels hosted an afterparty at the nearby Hard Times and performed a number of covers without CC, Rikki, and Bobby.

Most popular rock bands from the 80's are lumped in to the "hairband" category. By performing after Poison, a true 80's glam/hairband, Def Leppard may have separated themselves from the not always flattering "hairband" label. Def Leppard likes to rock. Their sixteen song set included four songs with the word "Rock" in the title, plus one "Rocket" which includes the lyric "guitar, drums, load up, stun!"

The setlist posted by Rolling Stone varied slightly for the Nissan Pavilion show. Perhaps the fan cries/nasty comments were heard by the band who added Foolin' to the set.

Joe Elliott abandons his falsetto but his more distinguished voice works especially during the acoustic medley. In the abs department 51-year old lead guitarist Phil Collen gave Gwen Stefani a run for her money. The evening had a number of guitar solos but amputee Rick Allen's drum solo was inspiring and described by one audience member as "unbelievable."

By Examiner 2009.

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