Denver/Englewood, CO - Fan Reviews

Fan Review - By Ken T

Def Leppard kicked some ass on Monday night at Fiddler's Green. Cheap Trick and Poison rounded out the triple bill of 80's rock and the place was sold out. Unless you go see Bruce Springsteen or The Dead, chances are you won't see a three hour set from the headline act. The last several Leppard tours have all been with other major acts like Journey, Styx and Bryan Adams. Overall, you get your money's worth - upwards of 4 hours of live music. You just don't get very long sets from each band.

My friend Justin is a huge Cheap Trick fan but he missed a few of their songs because he was stuck in traffic. Great band. Their set was split between their hits and stuff from their new album, er, "8-track," as Rick Neilsen said. They sounded just as good, if not better, than they did last summer with Journey and Heart.

Poison is Poison - I love the band, but I've seen them 9 times now and they have been playing the same set since the Reagan administration. Personally speaking, I don't need a C.C. DeVille guitar solo after three songs! I'd much rather them play "Love On The Rocks" or something deep from their catalog. I walked by Rikki Rockett outside Fiddler's around 6pm but didn't quite have enough time to ask for a photo before he jumped on the tour bus.

Musically, Def Leppard are at the top of their game and they always deliver the goods. I've heard Joe Elliott sound better and I've heard him sound worse. We're not talking about Pavarotti here ' and 30 years of wear and tear is a long time. But I'll give him credit - he never skips the high notes. The stars of the show really are Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell. Rick Allen is the man and it was nice to hear "Switch 625" back in the set following "Bringin' On The Heartbreak" so we could see him go off.

They opened up with "Rock! Rock! (TIll You Drop)" and "Rocket" and immediately had the crowd in the palm of their hand. "Foolin'" was dropped from the set for the first time in 26 years! In its place, the boys broke out a crushing version of "Too Late For Love." The rest of the set was a flurry of greatest hits, but it's all good. You can't argue with their catalog. I always get a big smile on my face when they play "Rock Of Ages."

The stage production was the biggest they've carried since the Adrenalize tour. They came to their senses a few years back and incorporated a HUGE video screen so the people in the back can see better. Tons of great animation, band photos and other swirling images during every song makes it a much more entertaining evening. They even had a special camera attached to Phil's Jackson guitar so you could see a close-up of his blistering live leads. That was probably my favorite part of the whole show. Don't mess with Phil Collen - he's a serious player!

This was my 18th Leppard show going all the way back to the Hysteria tour. My first show was at McNichols Arena in Denver when they shot In The Round, In Your Face. My friends and I even made it into the "Pour Some Sugar On Me" video. As much as I love the band, I'd love for them to come back in 2011 and dig deeper into their catalog. Maybe jump on the bandwagon of artists playing entire albums in sequence. I think they would have to do Pyromania as they already play 7 songs from Hysteria every show they play. How about a theatre tour for fan club members or hard core fans who want to hear Ring Of Fire, Rock Brigade, Lady Strange or Burnout. It will probably NEVER happen, but I can dream, right??

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Fan Review - By Chris

What a night! We arrive at the amphitheater and once again it's raining, seems like the last few Leppard shows we go to it's raining. So my son, my wife and I all have on our Def Leppard hoodies, ready to brave the weather.

Cheap Trick starts out the show, and as one person said behind me when they started the flame, "oh, I know who they are now!" great performance by them as always.

Next up, for me the wild card of the night, Poison. I have to admit when they announced the line up I wasn't to happy about it, but Poison changed my mind. They really put on a great show, I was impressed. They had me up out of my seat singing, and having nothing but a good time.

Then time for the main event. The introduction video is amazing I tried recording on my phone but I was to close to the speakers and got a lot of feedback on it. The guys as always put on a great show, we had a great time, they all sang in good form, Vivian got the show of the night as some blondies in front of him were displaying, ahem their "God, or plastic surgeon given assets". I guess it was only right his birthday was the next day.

The only thing I didn't enjoy from the night was the blutooth thingamajic. I could not get my blutooth to link up with it, very frustrating. Can't wait to see them next time, and there will be a next time!

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