West Palm Beach, FL - Media Reviews

Def Leppard, Styx, Tesla By Louis Shapiro

Some music just never fades and on Thursday in Wellington, the proof was ever present as classic rockers Tesla, Styx and Def Leppard had people from different generations clamoring to see them…and the bands didn’t disappoint.

Tesla began the show in full force with Edison’s Medicine, their first single off the 1991 album Psychotic Supper. It only took few seconds till they got the crowd really revved-up. However, a lot of that could also be associated with the fact that the band members looked just like they did in the 80’s & 90’s with their long hair. They didn’t seemed to have aged a bit. Jeff Keith, the lead vocalist, still sounded great, as did the rest of the band. Their set included Getting Better, Hang Tough, Heaven’s Trail (No Way Out), a massive sing-a-long to Signs, then a two acoustic guitar rendition of Love Song before finishing up with Little Suzi and Modern Day Cowboy. Everyone laughed when Jeff Keith tripped & dropped his mic while briefly leaving the stage before returning for Love Song. Overall, Tesla, an underrated band, put on a great show.

Before Styx got on stage, an announcement was made that Styx’s charity, Rock To The Rescue, was giving away an autographed guitar to benefit the local charity . Styx’s show came out with a huge drum set for their drummer Todd Sucherman and a revolving keyboard for Lawrence Gowan. Gowan played the keyboard at times backwards while revolving; it was incredible to watch. The whole band played with a lot of energy and the crowd loved it. Their set included: Grand Illusion, Too Much Time On My Hands, Fooling Yourself (Angry Young Man), Miss America, Lady, Blue Collar Man, Bohemian Rhapsody, (Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay, Come Sail Away and an encore including: Paradise Theater and Renegade. Everyone sang during Blue Collar Man and really went wild for Come Sail Away. However, another great highlight during Lawrence Gowan’s solo of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody and Otis Redding’s (Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay. I didn’t realize how well the whole band sang, including legendary guitarist and vocalist Tommy Shaw. The crowd loved their show and in return Styx genuinely seemed to love their embrace. They left the stage by tossing several guitar picks and drumsticks into the audience.

Next was the headliner, Def Leppard, who stepped onto the stage to a standing ovation. Their presence while a spectacle in its own right was only one part of the fun as the stage transformed into a digital display. During each song, a different image and theme appeared including images from wars, neon signs and a tribute to Steve Clark, the guitarist who died prematurely. But, there weren’t any images needed to see guitarist Phil Collen and drummer Rick Allen still rockin’ their looks from many years ago. Collen, afterall still looked ripped and performed without a shirt while Allen still proudly wore his Union Jack clothes. However, while not as flashy with their clothing styles of years past, vocalist Joe Elliott and the rest of the band didn’t disappoint either. Altogether they hit high notes for anthems of: Rock, Rock Till You Drop, Animal, Foolin, Promises, Paper Sun, Love Bites, Armageddon It, Rock On, Two Steps Behind, Rocket, Bringing on the Heartbreak, Hysteria, Let’s Get Rocked and Pour Some Sugar on Me before coming back for an encore of: Rock of Ages and Photograph.

Some notable highlights included Joe Elliott’s guitar and vocal solo for Two Steps Behind and a rockin’ jam session that the guitarists led into a crazy fun display of Rick Allen’s drumming prowess. The crowd absolutely went wild and gave Allen a standing ovation.

Joe Elliott explained how he loved touring with Styx, who he said were old friends and Tesla, who he said Def Leppard toured with back in 1987. Elliott said West Palm Beach felt like the hottest place he performed at, but promised he would be back and thanked the crowd for all of their energy.

By South Florida Insider 2015.

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