Allentown, PA - Media Reviews
Def Leppard at PPL Center shows its music is timeless By John J. Moser
You’re going to get a little of everything tonight,” Joe Elliott, lead singer of the British rock band Def Leppard, told the crowd at Allentown’s PPL Center on Tuesday.
“Something old, something new, something borrowed.”
And the band lived up to the promise, with a 16-song, 87-minute set that included a lot of the old hits (only two songs released this century and only one other as recent as the 1990s), two new songs from last year’s titled album, and one cover.
But all of it was good. The hits, only very slightly updated, still sounded good and resonated with the near-sellout crowd of perhaps 9,000.
The two new songs – the first single “Let’s Go” and the new single “Dangerous” -- also were very good, and fit nicely in the band’s catalog.
In fact, the concert opened with “Let’s Go,” an appropriately titled first song, though a bit muted to kick off a rocking night. “Dangerous” was even better, sounding only marginally different from the group’s 1980s heyday sound.
The songs stood up well stacked among hits such as the 1987 hit “Animal,” “Let It Go,” the group’s first U.S. charting single from 1981, and its big 1983 hit “Foolin’,” which was slow and strong.
The hits were the highlights of the show, and Def Leppard played them exceptionally well. “Love Bites” was strong, and the poppy, energetic “Armageddon It” even better. The title track from the band’s 1987 album “Hysteria” also sounded good.
The dual-guitar attack of axmen Vivian Campbell and Phil Collen helped elevate the evening. The strutting, shirtless Collen was ripping as early as “Let It Go” and Campbell on “Dangerous.” They combined at the front of the walkway into the crowd on the six-minute mid-show instrumental “Switch 625.”
But the crowd even bought into the drummy, chanty “Rocket,” “Hysteria” and the good-and-intentional 1984 minor hit “Bringin’ on the Heartbreak,” which Campbell’s guitar helped elevate. And they cheered the show’s “borrowed” song – a cover of David Essex’s “Rock On.”
Early in the show, Elliott told the crowd, “We were only here, what, nine months ago, not even that,” referring to the band’s September concert at Allentown Fair. “We’ve been coming here for a long time, but this if the first time we’ve played indoors. It’s loud – we like loud.”
And the truth is, Tuesday’s show wasn’t significantly different from the fair’s, down to the set list, which different only by the new songs replacing “Two Steps Behind” (a shame) and “Paper Sun” (a good choice, it sounded dated), and dropping “Rock Till You Drop” to make the show one song shorter.
Ironically, the PPL Center show had a bigger feel, but seemed polished to the point of workmanlike; the fair show just seemed more immediate and energetic.
But the end of the show, even though the same as at the fair, still was very good. The rocking, chugging “Let’s Get Rocked” was the radio rock that defines Def Leppard, and the main-set-closing “Pour Some Sugar On Me” not only is the group’s best, but it played it exceptionally well, with the dual-guitar attack perfect.
The encore was the best of the night – an appropriately rocking “Rock of Ages,” right into the 1983 No. 1 breakthrough hit “Photograph.”
Again noting it was the band’s first indoor concert in Allentown, Elliot told the crowd, “Wow, if this is what it’s like, I want to come back.”
But the thing that explained the night’s success was how good the new songs fit in with the old. It showed that with Def Leppard, there really isn’t an old or new. It’s music really is timeless.
Supporting act REO Speedwagon gave a good nine-song set that lasted nearly an hour. And actually, condensing the band into that time probably focused its best material – the strong hits “Take It On the Run,” Can’t Fight This Feeling” and “Time for Me to Fly.”
But it didn’t feel right that singer Kevin Cronin, best known for being behind the piano, spent the night out at the front of the stage. The show was stronger when, for its biggest hit “Keep on Loving You” and the energetic, six-minute closer “Roll With the Changes,” Cronin was behind the keys.
Also, the band, as could be expected 35 years past its commercial peak, has diminished skills, and the large PPL Center just seemed to accentuate them. The group was far better at its more intimate show at Penn’s Peak in 2013.
Openers Tesla turned in another enjoyable meat-and-potatoes set of eight songs in 45 minutes. And while it, too, has played frequently in the area in recent years, its set Tuesday seemed better.
Its members have the “rocker” act down, especially singer Jeff Keith and his Steven Tyler struts and poses. But its music – especially “Love Song” sounded stronger and more nuanced in the big arena.
By The Morning Call 2016.
Did you know that if you looked up the word “Arena Rock” in the dictionary, you’ll find a photo of Def Leppard? I’m confident the word was invented to categorize this great band who truly knows how to create monster radio hits and instantly put a smile on 1,000s of people’s face when performing live. With more than 65 million albums sold worldwide; Def Leppard are the masters at both!
Tuesday night, May 17th, Def Leppard rolled in to PPL Center in Allentown, PA with openers REO Speedwagon and Tesla for their 2016 Summer Tour. The bands mission was to show this Pennsylvania crowd why they are one of the world’s premiere live acts. There was no shortage of diehard fans decked out in concert shirt, tight pants, and short skirts. Everybody came to have great time and relive the 80’s in which Def Leppard played such an integral part; whether hearing them at a parties, driving to the beach, or breaking-up just to make-up, I’m sure Def Leppard was there.
The band opened the show with their newest hit, “Lets Go” and never looked back! It was a fast paced high energy set filled with all the hits songs that fans have come to know and love dating back to High and Dry. Guitar driven rockers like “Rocket,” “Foolin,”, “Bringing on the Heartbreak,” “Armageddon It,” “Dangerous,” and “Switch 625” were all performed flawlessly and nicely tied to a tremendous spectacle light show. It wouldn’t be a Def Leppard concert of course without “Pour Some Sugar on Me” as that tune still gets everybody from rockers to housewives all fired up. The song that brought down the PPL Center was the immortal party anthem “Photograph” as you would suspect during the encore.
The band has a cleaner more stream lined stage than in the past with video screens the length of the stage depicting historic band photos and videos from their illustrious career. The monster floor-to-ceiling video screen behind the stage caught the live action in a larger-than-life format as well as provided a tremendous light show.
One of the highlights for me was the lead guitar work Vivian Campbell did at the end of their hit “Love Bites”, playing it effortlessly over the top of Les Paul guitar neck. Vivian is a stand out guitar player from his days in Dio so it was great to see him get the spot light. He and Phil Collen dazzled the crowd with some talented playing and showcased their array of guitars; Vivian’s typically stuck with Gibson Les Pauls while Phil utilized his staggering arsenal of Jackson guitars.
Phil, shirtless as usual, owned the right side of the stage, trading licks and interacting with fans in the audience while Rick Savage and Rick Allen laid down the back beat like an unflinching freight train. Savage ran the length of the stage song after song with his Jackson black, white, and grey Union Jack Flag bass, whipping the already crazed fans into frenzy.
Joe Elliot’s performance was powerful as he commanded the stage and led the crowd to sing with him on every song. He ran the stage, owned the catwalk, told great stories, and joked with the fans all the while belting out tune after tune.
For the over thirty six years Def Leppard’s concerts have been a must-see event, so whether you’re a causal fan or a diehard you will really have to check them out on their 2016 Summer Tour that takes then across the US all the way to October, I promise you’ll leave the show grinning from ear to ear!
By My Global Mind 2016.
share this page:
get def leppard news
Stay in touch with the latest updates.
explore def leppard tour history
