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Saturday, 5th September 2015
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Chicago/Tinley Park, IL - Fan Reviews

Fan Review - Curt Taft

Having not even had a chance to recover from my 40th Def Leppard concert, number 41 was taking place the very next day. This one would be in Chicago. Well, technically Tinley Park, but you'll never hear it called that during the show.

Tonight was Loopfest, a name given to one concert each year by the local rock station 97.9 The Loop. Def Leppard had the honor of headlining in 2005, when then-new band Silvertide kicked the crowds ass only for Billy Squier to step on stage and put them to sleep with his one man blues performance. That was just my 15th Def Leppard show. Now here they were, ten years and one day later, headlining again for my 41st show.

Much like the amphitheater in St. Louis, this venue underwent a name change since my last visit for Leppard in 2014. And much like the amphitheater in St. Louis, it is now called the Hollywood Casino Amphitheater. So now the two venues I visit the most have the exact same shitty name.

I went to will call to pick up the tickets I upgraded exactly one week before the show. Whereas I was originally going to be seated in the front and center section, Row R, I was now in Row M smack dab in the middle. Come to find out, I was directly in front of the catwalk and back four rows.

My good luck with pick collecting continued as I once again snagged a Tesla Dave Rude pick thanks to one of their techs.

Surprisingly, Tesla took the stage right at 7:00 instead of going on a few minutes early. As a result, they cut "Gettin' Better" from the setlist. That annoyed me a little since I was ready to film that song, so I wound up with footage of "Hang Tough" instead. The rest of their set was the same as it has been at every other show this tour. Of course I enjoyed them, but I will still hope for a different song or two next month in Moline. Come on Tesla, you have more than eight great songs!

Whereas last night was a celebration of my 40th time seeing Def Leppard, tonight was a celebration of what will hopefully be my final time seeing Styx live. They won't be opening for Leppard next month in Moline, so tonight would be my final time seeing Styx this year at the very least. They seemed equally eager to get it over with as the changeover between Tesla and them seemed expedited...

In fact, Styx took the stage at 7:55 instead of 8:00. I had to wonder what the hell was going on with the timing this evening.

Original bassist Chuck Panazo once again joined the band for "Fooling Yourself." My mom likes Styx, so I did my best to not look too annoyed during their set. Instead, I took photos for her and was even going to shoot some video. I decided to shoot "Blue Collar Man," as that is one of their more tolerable songs in my opinion. Considering their set hadn't changed at any of the previous shows this year, I got my phone ready after the (intolerable) "Lady."

But instead of going into "Blue Collar Man," guitarist Tommy Shaw introduced Gary Loizzo from the band The American Breed, and he came out to sing on a cover of "Bend Me, Shape Me." At this point I realized that the reason Styx went on early is because they were clearing adding a song to their setlist. Never fails, my last time seeing them and they extend their set. But it was neat to see the cover they played with an artist from another era.

After that happened, I completely forgot that I was going to film "Blue Collar Man" and wound up not shooting any video of Styx at all. Chuck Panazo once again joined the band for "Come Sail Away" and closer "Renegade."

During the break, I made my way over to the far left section to meet up with Stephanie and Evan from the forum. I had met Stephanie at the St. Louis show last night, but it was my first time meeting Evan. I talked to them for awhile, which included discussion of when the announcement of the new album and single release will occur. Tonight's Lep show is the final one before a break that will see them resume on my birthday, September 16, in Washington. The band has been saying they will be playing the new single on the third leg, so hopefully that means it will be released within the next 10 days or so.

Def Leppard came on right on time at 9:25 and opened with "Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)" once again. I could immediately tell that Joe was at the top of his game even though tonight's show was the third of three in a row to finish off the second leg of the tour. As the night went on, I was convinced that Joe sounded better at this show than any others I've attended so far. It helped that it was a cool evening, unlike last night's humidity-fest.

"Animal" was played second, and then Phil took the end of the catwalk to start "Let It Go." If I had one complaint on this tour, it's that I never got to see the setlist that included both "Promises" and "Paper Sun." I should have gotten that set in Sedalia based on their rotation at the time, but it never got played at any of my first five shows this tour. As much as I love "Let It Go," I've seen it at eight straight shows dating back to the final show of Viva! Hysteria, not to mention one other Viva! Hysteria show and two of the three I caught in 2012... And one in 2011... But hey, I was able to see "Paper Sun" live not once but twice this tour and that's the important thing. I don't expect it to remain in the setlist for my final show this year, which is fine as long as it's replaced by the new single!

Even though the new single SHOULD be replacing "Rock On," but oh well.

Phil caught a glimpse of my Delta Deep shirt during "Let It Go" and gave me a shoutout, which was cool.

"Promises" was played this evening, and I took the opportunity to film it. I had quite the good view of the stage tonight thanks to my proximity to the catwalk and the fact that everyone in front of me was short for a change!

I get the impression that Joe is strumming a different song each night as he makes his way down the catwalk lately, and tonight's song was "Wild Horses" by the Rolling Stones. He only sang the first two words before stopping and saying "Nah, not tonight. Let's wait till Mick and the boys come through town, maybe they'll do it for you. Let's stick to something that I know all the way through." Of course, "Two Steps Behind" followed.

"Rocket," "Bringin' On The Heartbreak," "Switch 625," "Hysteria," "Let's Get Rocked," "Pour Some Sugar On Me," you know how it goes. Each sounding amazing as ever, with the crowd getting louder and louder with each hit that was played.

The band returned for their usual encore of "Rock Of Ages" and "Photograph." Joe was still killing it and probably could have continued for another hour without missing a note.

Instead, he and the boys can return to their respective homes and relax for a bit.

Meanwhile, the next time I'll be writing one of these, we'll have heard a brand new Def Leppard single and the album will be right around the corner.

But for tonight, this show was all that mattered. There isn't a lot I can say that I haven't already said in my reviews for Kansas City, Sedalia, Indianapolis, or St. Louis.

See you in Moline!

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