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Def Leppard Tour History Fan Archive.

Media Review - AEG and Target Center presents Kiss and Def Leppard By Tracy

As the Def Leppard curtain goes up so do the tunes. Won't Get Fooled Again is the indication that they are going on soon. As Daltry hits the YEAHHHHHHH The Lep kick into the song. Right as you think they are gonna finish the whole song they start up with Let It Go from High N Dry. I huge treat for all us NWOBHM fans. The stage consisted of one huge screen in the back 2 on each side of the stage. enough to create way cool images through out the show. Animal is next to keep in with the greatest hits set of the night. Def Leppard knows exactly what the fans want and they play it for them. Kicking it back to Pyromania with Foolin', Love Bites from Hysteria and Let's Get Rocked from Adrenalize. The acoustic guitars come out and we get Two Steps Behind and about half of Bringin' on the Heartbreak. When the solo kicks in so do they, and even hanging on the end to play Switch 625. LOVE IT. Phil Collen, Vivian Campbell, Joe Elliot, Rick Savage and Rick Allen are so good. To see this them is a treat and should never be missed. Ending out the set is Hysteria, Rocket, Armageddon It, and are you ready for it? are you ready for it? Pour Some Sugar On Me. The corwd is great all through the set. Of course closing out is Rock of Ages and Photograph. Again it is a pleasure to see a band that knows what the people want and not try to push the boundries where the fans are going, What Are They Doing? They had the best response of the evening.

By 1013 Music Reviews 2014.


Media Review - KISS, Def Leppard thrill fans young, old with classic thunder By Ross Raihala

KISS really spoiled Twin Cities fans after headlining the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand in both 2012 and 2010. There's a certain magic to seeing a bunch of old dudes rocking out in greasepaint beneath a gorgeous late-summer sky. Sunday night, the newly minted Rock and Roll Hall of Famers turned in a perfectly ridiculous indoor concert at the Target Center.

Was it fun? Totally. But it would've been even better outside, especially given that it was a dual headlining show with '80s metal superstars Def Leppard, a bill far too big and blustery for a basketball arena. Still, KISS leaders Paul Stanley (age 62, guitar, vocals, fancy dancing) and Gene Simmons (age 64, bass, vocals, fire breathing) made the most of their surroundings and shoehorned in their seriously cool spider-inspired moving stage for a tight 75-minute set.

Oddly enough, KISS began with "Psycho Circus," the title track from the worst of their trio of post-reunion albums. From there, though, they stuck almost entirely to the monsters in their catalog, giving Simmons the chance to spit both fire ("Hotter Than Hell") and fake blood ("God of Thunder") and Stanley the opportunity to fly over the crowd to a second stage for "Love Gun."

A surprising number of families, many with little kids in KISS makeup, showed up, and Stanley acknowledged them with a bit he's been doing at every tour stop, where he tells the crowd he's been coming to (insert city name here) longer than some of the audience members have been alive. KISS always has done well with children, who appreciate the superhero antics and explosions while (presumably) not understanding the crude sexual innuendo of many KISS songs.

Def Leppard brought a different energy in their own, earlier 75-minute set -- less dyed chest hair, more songs for stripping. The good news for the band is that guitarist Vivian Campbell is in remission from his battle with Hodgkin's lymphoma. Chemo stripped him of his famous mane of hair, but not his determination to keep playing, so that's awesome.

Less admirable was Joe Elliott's voice. You know how they used all sorts of magical technology to make it so Rick Allen could still be Def Leppard's drummer, even after he lost one of his arms? Now they've done the same for Elliott's voice. But even with all the echo and other effects added, Elliott missed most of the high notes, and his constant pleas for the audience to sing for him got a bit tiresome.

To make up for Elliott, the rest of the band cranked up the volume for a nonstop barrage of hits: "Rocket," "Love Bites," "Hysteria" and "Armageddon It" among them. The beefy one-two punch of "Rock of Ages" and "Photograph" during the encore brought an extra dose of summertime indoors.

By Pioneer Press 2014.


Media Review - KISS and Def Leppard at Target Center, 8/17/14 By Erik Thompson

KISS brought their 40th anniversary victory lap tour through the sold-out Target Center on Sunday night. A legion of young and old fans witnessed their makeup-clad, platform boot-wearing rock heroes. A few odd song choices dotted the newly minted Rock and Roll Hall of Famers' crisp 75-minute set, but KISS still brought the hits. Add in a spirited set from co-headliners Def Leppard, and classic rock was alive and well in downtown Minneapolis.

Def Leppard provided massive countdown clocks on the sides of the stage, letting everyone know precisely when the rock would commence. With the Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again" blaring over the PA, the curtain was raised as the song built to its boisterous conclusion. It eventually dropped to reveal the English quintet picking up the ending of the familiar mod anthem, as singer Joe Elliott chimed in with the lyrical kiss-off, "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss." Union Jacks were everywhere, from Rick Allen's bass drum, to the scarves draped on Elliot's mic stand, to the big screens behind the band, as the group wasted little time firing up the crowd with their early High 'n' Dry hit, "Let It Go."

Def Leppard have been around since the late '70s themselves, stalwarts of the classic rock scene just like KISS, so they also know a thing or two about longevity and rocking arenas. Their well-paced set was packed with hits from throughout their career, as a slightly reworked version of "Animal" was followed by a rousing run-through of "Foolin'" with the large crowd singing along emphatically. Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell's guitars added some warmth and texture to "Love Bites," while scripted lyrics were spelled out on the screens on stage. On this number and others throughout the set, Elliott's vocals struggled to reach some of the high notes of old, and he counted on his bandmates for help.

Songs like "Let's Get Rocked" and "Armageddon It" represent the bloated, cheesy classic rock that grunge did away with, but they still had an appeal for Sunday's crowd. An acoustic version of "Two Steps Behind" saw a mass exodus to the bathrooms and beer lines, but thankfully that misstep was quickly righted by a slow-burning "Bringin' On the Heartbreak," which began with Collen, Campbell, and Elliott standing side by side at the front of the stage.

After a quick wardrobe change for Elliott, "Hysteria" featured vintage photographs of the band in various stages of their career. "Rocket" had an artistic backdrop of a wall of TVs on the screens surrounding the band, giving a nod to the industry that help propel them into superstardom. The over-the-top guitar jam singalong that is at the heart of "Rocket" perfectly exemplifies just why they became such a massive band in the first place, but also what made them fall out of style so rapidly.

"Are you ready for this?" Elliott asked before the band launched into "Pour Some Sugar On Me," which hasn't aged too well but can easily and effortlessly rock an arena any day of the week. After taking a brief encore break, the band returned with Elliott mentioning how $1 from every ticket sale is going to the Wounded Warrior project, then he let "our own wounded warrior" Allen kick off the boisterous "Rock of Ages," which sounds good no matter what decade we're in. Classic images on archival celluloid rolls appropriately filled the screens as the band delivered their potent last song of the night, "Photograph," with Elliott saying warmly, "Thank you, Minneapolis, it's been a pleasure as always. Don't forget us, and we won't forget you."

After a changeover long enough for the crew to construct the towering spider-like feature on the stage, KISS dramatically ascended from the top of the structure and immediately launched into "Psycho Circus." While the song clearly isn't one of the strongest from their 40-year catalog, the pyrotechnics and menacing costumes assured that the start of the show was a spectacle. Gene Simmons took over lead vocals frequently throughout the rapid-fire set, adding some bite to the enduring hit from KISS's eponymous 1974 debut album.

At times, the band took on the role of masked cheerleaders leading the crowd to cheer this thing called KISS, with the occasionally stale music becoming secondary to the visual extravaganza. There aren't many surprises the band can jolt us with that we haven't already seen before, so we're left with this unstoppable musical machine that steamrolls through town every couple of years with a show entertaining enough to keep fans coming back. "Man, Minneapolis, we've been coming here for a long, long time," Paul Stanley said appreciatively toward the start of the show. "In fact, we've been coming here since before some of you were born. We know what to expect from you, so don't let us down. You're looking at a band that's in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame because of you!"

"Shout It Out Loud" got the crowd involved in the simple chorus, while "War Machine" took on a sinister, Danzig-esque metal edge. Simmons breathed fire in a carefully orchestrated routine during "Hotter Than Hell," as flames shot out over the top of Eric Singer's drum kit, with the intense heat from each burst felt throughout the arena. There isn't any spontaneity in a KISS show, with each move perfectly calculated to coincide with an explosion or burst of light. So when you remove that element of surprise from the equation, some songs ("I Love It Loud," "Hide Your Heart") don't hold up on their own, and when you are playing a set celebrating your 40th anniversary as a band, having a few clunkers in a set of only 15 songs is a big misstep.

"I read the newspaper, and I see that the world is full of bad news," Stanley explained. "We can't change the world, but what do you say we just have a good time tonight?" And anthemic versions of "Lick It Up" and "God of Thunder" -- complete with Gene menacingly spitting blood during an introductory bass solo -- assured that a good time would be had, because this was a freaking KISS show after all. "Calling Dr. Love" featured Paul strangely sitting on the edge of the stage, ceding the spotlight to Simmons, before he flew above the audience to a stage at the back of the arena for a lively take on "Love Gun."

A song as potent as "Black Diamond" will always kick ass and ignite any set, and it certainly did on this night, kicking off a powerful string of hits that closed out the night. "Rock 'n' roll is about something in your heart," Stanley said passionately. "And Minneapolis, you've got it!" With that, the group tore through a raucous version of "Detroit Rock City" that proved to be a brazen highlight of the set. Of course, they couldn't let us leave without playing their party staple, "Rock and Roll All Nite," which brought the night to a lively end as confetti and fire rained down from above. After 40 years, the KISS army marches steadily on, leaving another city shaking in its wake.

By Minneapolis City Pages 2014.


Media Review - Rock icons KISS and Def Leppard invade the Target Center By Caleb Baumgartner

Last night’s KISS and Def Leppard show at the Target Center was, on paper, a little slice of rock-and-roll heaven for the “clap your hands, pump your fist” crowd. Combining the power of an 80s arena icon and a recent hall of fame inductee should have been a surefire hit, but unfortunately only one of those two icons managed to deliver.

The show was opened by The Dead Daisies, a rock outfit out of Sydney, Australia which is fronted by Jon Stevens, likely best known for replacing Michael Hutchence as leader singer of INXS after Hutchence’s death. Stevens and company didn’t have much of an opportunity to take advantage of the sort of exposure that would come from opening for a show of this calibre, as their set was both brief and sparsely attended. While The Dead Daisies played, the merch booths were jam packed with KISS and Def Leppard fans, and the arena itself was probably only filled to half capacity if that. This was probably for the best, as The Dead Daisies’ set started to blend together in short order, firing off a modern rock sound that maybe had nuances that an outsider couldn’t appreciate but really just sounded like one long and monotonous tune.

Def Leppard finally kicked off the real show (sorry, Daisies) following a very long intermission, powering in with a quick bit of The Who and blasting right into their setlist… and a whole mess of problems.

This is where a very obscure experience may come in handy for folks who have had it… have you ever played Rock Band? And in possibly doing that, have you ever experienced the terrible frustration of the calibration being off juuuuuust a little bit? Where it almost sounds right, but it’s not hitting at the right times, and it’s just terribly frustrating?

If you have, you now know exactly how Def Leppard’s performance felt. So congratulations on Rock Band coming in handy somehow.

There is no better word for their performance than “off.” In fact, one could possibly excuse it as simply being an off night for these guys. But one cannot deny that Joe Elliot’s vocal range is incredibly diminished today, forcing him to use a lot of smoke and mirrors to try to cover for the fact that he simply is not capable of hitting the sort of notes that he is famous for, and the overall performance suffered as a result. The hits were there, from “Hysteria” to “Photograph” to “Foolin’” and “Rock of Ages,” and there were moments in each of those songs where you could feel that old energy, but again, it was just off. Toss in some questionable decisions in the guitar solos that seemed to take away from the performance more than add to it and it just seemed like there may be nothing left in the tank for Def Leppard.

But do not tell that to the fans, because they were loud for those guys all night (minus a few moments of awkwardness during an acoustic rendition of “Bringin’ on the Heartbreak” where it seemed the crowd didn’t know they were supposed to be singing.) After every track, the whole Target Center went nuts, which was incredible to be a witness to. Off or no, people there were VERY excited to see Def Leppard live, and it was clear they were willing to excuse quite a bit for the pleasure of being a part of that sound that they were familiar with.

So while Def Leppard may have disappointed a touch, KISS absolutely did not.

There is a weird mix of carnival and convention to KISS shows. People converge on the sight in a fantastic array of facepaint and wild costumes to declare their fandom in much the same way as fans who attend comic conventions, but rather than paying tribute to superheroes from the inked page, these people pay tribute to Gene, Paul, Ace and Peter (or, on occasion, a mix of the four), while KISS themselves bring an amazing stage show to their performance. Pyro, stunts, weird performance art, a giant robot spider, and general crazy antics aren’t the icing on the cake but woven in with the music to make the KISS experience awesome and iconic.

The entire band was on point for most of the show, blasting out absolutely rocking renditions of tracks like “War Machine,” “Dr Love,” and “Shout It Out Loud” amongst a slew of their other hits, while Paul Stanley played the near perfect, if maybe a bit cliched, frontman between songs. If a Rock and Roll Roboticist (which absolutely should be real thing someday, MIT get on that right now) was ever to create an android to be the perfect rock frontman, they wouldn’t need to do anything but replicate Stanley, whose smoothness and energy is something which really needs to be seen to be believed.

Love him or hate him, Gene Simmons is the perfect compliment to Stanley’s friendly, positive, energetic antics. Simmons still perfectly plays out his role as “The Demon,” still hitting the classic blood-and-fire spots in a way that feels oddly fresh and menacing even now after all these years. On stage and in makeup, Simmons is all id, a primal beast with an element of danger, a truly larger than life character which you cannot look away from. Without getting into Simmons the man, it is clear that Simmons the performer is still outstanding and very good at what he does.

Experiencing KISS live makes it very easy to see why they were recently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They are truly larger than life, more brand than band, with an appeal that transcends generational lines due to the fact that they are more characters than humans. They are rock and roll turned up to 11 in a world where yes, 11 is louder, and no, you can’t just make 10 louder and have it stop at 10 like a normal volume knob, why would you even say that?

While last night made it clear that Def Leppard has diminished with time, KISS seemed to still be on their game, and that made the entire night worthwhile. KISS definitely put on a memorable and enjoyable show that will likely stick with those in attendance for quite awhile.

By Twin Cities Daily Planet 2014.

Reviews from the 2014 Minneapolis MN Show.