St. Paul/Minneapolis, MN - Media Reviews

Def Leppard headlines blast of nostalgic rock at the X By Katie Lauer

St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center got a geography lesson in rock Wednesday night, with Tesla representing California, REO Speedwagon speaking for the “Midwestern heartland” and Def Leppard offering tunes from England.

Tesla kicked off the night with an enthusiastic eight-track set, which featured “Love Song” and wrapped with “Modern Day Cowboy.” Impressive guitar work, sound and energy set the tone for the rest of the show.

REO Speedwagon followed, and the quintet came out with gusto and vitality. The signature boyish belting from frontman Kevin Cronin didn’t miss a beat as they played their hour-long set of hits from the ’70s and ’80s, including the power ballad, “Can’t Fight This Feeling.”

Prancing and strutting around the stage, the showmanship of Cronin, bassist Bruce Hall and guitarist Dave Amato was energetic. From the start of “Don’t Let Him Go” to the thundering power of “Ridin’ the Storm Out,” you could feel these guys were having fun.

While the stage banter and stories Cronin told kept the audience engaged, it felt a bit like a motivational speaker session instead of a rock show. But what’s a concert without a bit of faux inspiration?

When it was time for Def Leppard to take the stage, the curtain emblazoned with the band’s namesake rose with a rush and their massive LED video wall announced their entrance with a shatter of glass, a nod to the cover art of the band’s new eponymous album.

There are three things there is no doubt the band loves: rock ‘n’ roll, women and England. That’s what fans come to see. They want to hear rock songs about girls sung wearing as many British flags as possible. My personal favorite Union Jack was bedazzled onto drummer Rick Allen’s earmuffs.

Frontman Joe Elliott greeted the audience — “Welcome to the carnival, welcome to the party, welcome to the edge of your seat” — with the first song, “Let’s Go.” The new track “Dangerous” sounded dangerously close to Van Halen’s “Panama.” “That one’s new but this one’s … not so much,” Elliott said. The show continued with “Love Bites,” “Rocket” and “Bringin’ on the Heartbreak.”

One of the best moments of the night was when the band took a break to jam. With his feet on his multitude of pedals and his arm moving so quickly it looked a blur, Allen delivered a powerful solo. Taking a break in the middle and throwing a peace sign in the air, he smiled and looked as if he was genuinely thankful to be there performing while the crowd went wild with cheers and applause.

With a photo and video montage of past tours in the background, they performed “Hysteria.”

After a rocking performance of “Pour Some Sugar on Me” and a break, the band returned for a two-song encore.

Counting in the band with, “gunter glieben glauchen globen,” “Rock of Ages” and “Photograph” showed just why the band has been around since the summer of 1977. Their stage presence, driving hard rock and musical skill are all a testament to why they’re “still rolling, rock and rolling.”

By Twin Cities/Pioneer Press 2016.

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X Marks the Spot for a Night of Rock with Tesla, REO Speedwagon and Def Leppard By Tamara Gruhot

Last night Tesla, REO Speedwagon and Def Leppard rocked the Xcel Energy Center in varying degrees of awesomeness.

Starting the night, Tesla played to an auditorium about half-full. Partway through their set they were joined onstage by Def Leppard’s Phil Collen for “Save That Goodness,” which Collen wrote for Tesla’s new Mechanical Resonance album. Singer Jeff Keith’s famously rough voice was harsher than usual, and the band just couldn’t get the early crowd pumped up, even for the hits “Signs” and “Love Song.” It probably didn’t help that Keith kept doing shoutouts to Minneapolis, and we were in St. Paul.

REO Speedwagon took the stage next, and this is a band that is clearly comfortable with their rock-star status, and knows how to bring what the fans want. With easy banter between songs and stories of original band member Neal Doughty’s Minnesota ties, REO knows how to connect with the crowd. They cycled energetically through their hits, including “Take it on the Run,” “Time for Me to Fly,” “Ridin’ the Storm Out” and “Keep on Loving You,” and all sounded fresh and not at all four decades old. Tossing guitar picks left and right and bouncing all around the stage, REO Speedwagon performs like a band half their age.

Opening with “Let’s Go” from their newest album, Def Leppard, the main attraction performed a good mix of their classics and new tunes. Singer Joe Elliott’s voice held up pretty well through the evening, with only the lack of his trademark high-pitched screams and letting the band take over during many of the chorus lines an indication that he struggled with some vocal issues earlier this year. Guitarist Vivian Campbell showed no signs of fatigue despite his ongoing battle with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. And drummer Rick Allen proved that he can do more with one arm than many drummers can with two in a fantastically powerful solo during “Switch 625,” an instrumental showcase, after which the band had to stop for a bit to let the audience’s appreciation die down before guitarists Campbell, Rick Savage and a gloriously shirtless Phil Collen rejoined and finished the song.

Def Leppard finished off their set with a burst of energy for “Let’s Get Rocked” and “Pour Some Sugar on Me,” which brought the remaining seated fans to their feet. After a brief wait, the band came back out to end the evening’s with an encore of “Rock of Ages” and “Photograph.” The background visuals with “Photograph” included images of former guitarist Steve Clark, who died of alcohol poisoning in 1991.

While the crowd’s energy waned during the performances of their newest songs, and then ramped back up for the old favorites, Def Leppard never let their levels drop. It was a fantastic evening of rock.

By Power 96 2016.

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