Pittsburgh/Burgettstown, PA - Media Reviews

Def Leppard & REO Speedwagon fill First Niagara Pavilion By Scott Tady

Plenty of bands remain from 1977, but precious few still can fill amphitheaters.

So a tip of the hat or a metal horns salute to Def Leppard, for achieving that feat Friday at First Niagara Pavilion.

A security guard said the pre-show estimate was 16,000, though the turnout looked larger, maybe boosted by better-than-usual walk-up sales, judging by how packed the lawn was (a far cry from that Tuesday night Joe Walsh-Bad Company show where lawn fans were invited down to the undersold pavilion).

Def Leppard's older fan base appreciates a weekend recovery date, and they needed it after the English hard-rockers ripped through a 16-song set that began with “Let's Go” from last year's self-titled “Def Leppard” album. Another new one, “Dangerous,” popped up early, though otherwise the quintet stuck to the popular old ones.

Bare-chested from the get-go to show off those 58-year-old washboard abs (seriously), Phil Collen applied the razor-sharp guitar goodness to “Let It Go.”

Joe Elliott, 56, has learned to make a few vocal concessions, singing in a lower register during the bridges of “Foolin'” to conserve energy for the chorus heights and wails.

“Armageddon It?”

Fans were getting it.

Elliott, sporting some cool zippered jackets and ripped jeans, reminisced fondly about the band's circa 1980 show at the Stanley Theater in Pittsburgh with the Scorpions. Elliott said he and bassist Rick Savage formed the band in the steel town of Sheffield in 1977, inspired by groups like UFO and Queen. Elliott polled the Burgettstown crowd on how many of them were alive in 1977. A show of hands revealed a landslide victory for those who were around then, with Elliott quick to credit the younger ones for keeping the music alive. He recalled seeing the Rolling Stones years ago, where sons, fathers and grandfathers grooved together to “Jumpin' Jack Flash” and said “I hope that happens to us some day.”

All that talk Friday set up Def Leppard's delightful cover of David Essex's “Rock On” that sounded frisky and funky until the last verse got harder-edged and industrial.

Next came the pop-metal “Rocket,” led by the meaty thumps of drummer Rick Allen stomping on his extra set of foot pedals. Vivian Campbell found moments to shine including on “Armageddon It” and in a tandem guitar solo with Cullen.

Elliott sounded fine on the power ballads “Bringin' on The Heartbreak” and “Love Bites.”

Already standing, the crowd danced blissfully to “Pour Some Sugar on Me”. The encore brought 1983 “Pyromania” hits “Rock of Ages” and “Photograph” for which fans stuck around rather than doing the Burgettstown early exit shuffle.

Maybe the lesson here is to schedule classic-rock concerts only on weekends.

College kids call it “dad rock” in a dismissive tone, though the time-honored hooks sounded good Friday, with credit also going to the lively warmup set from REO Speedwagon which played 10 songs, each a radio hit. From Bryan Hitt's opening drum clobbers on “Don't Let Him Go” to the final frenzied but uplifting moments of “Roll With The Changes,” the Midwest rockers were all business and plenty fun.

“How yinz doing?” Kevin Cronin asked as “Take It on The Run” and “Keep Pushin'” raised the energy and pop ballad “Can't Fight This Feeling” made the ladies in the crowd sing along and sway.

Dave Amato, formerly of Ted Nugent's band, capably handled the caterwauling guitar parts on “Tough Guys.”

In a technique explained in his interview with The Times, Cronin overhand wrapped his left thumb and fingers firmly around his guitar's neck to produce that instantly recognizable riff launching the perfect breakup song, “Time For Me to Fly”.

Before they found crossover success, REO Speedwagon was a hard-rocking band, as the group reminded on “Back on The Road Again” (sung by bassist Bruce Hall).

“Ridin' The Storm Out” lacked its normal gale force strength – these 1970s rockers have made concessions to their ages, too -- though it was good enough Friday.

Cronin plunking piano and scaling the vocal climbs of “Keep on Loving You” received well-deserved cheers.

By Times Online 2016.

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Def Leppard with REO Speedwagon and Tesla - First Niagara Pavilion By SeanB

The 80’s were in full swing this past weekend at First Niagara Pavilion as Def Leppard, REO Speedwagon and Tesla rocked out with a near capacity crowd. It may have been 30 plus years (or longer) since these bands first appeared on the scene but all three bands delivered a performance that was ageless. All three bands sounded just as good as they did in their heyday.

Tesla took the stage first coming out to “Rock Me to the Top” off of their 1986 debut album Mechanical Resonance, and didn’t let up once during their short set which included hits such as “Edison’s Medicine”, “Hang Tough” and “Little Suzy.” The crowd was singing along for the entire set which concluded with the guitar wizardry that is “Modern Day Cowboy.”

REO Speedwagon was up next with a killer set that included all their hits, with the highlights being “Can’t Fight this Feeling”, “Ridin’ the Storm Out” and of course “Roll With the Changes”. Vocalist Kevin Cronin sounded just as good as ever.

Finally it was time for Def Leppard to hit the stage with “Let’s Go” off of their 2015 self titled release. Joe Elliot and the boys took command of the stage and played a set that spanned their decades long career, all the while sounding like they did when they first started. While the set consisted primarily of songs from the album Hysteria, some deep cuts such as from High and Dry and Pyromania made an appearance. Joe Elliot even reminisced about their 1981 show at the Stanley Theater opening for Ozzy Osbourne with an anecdote about Ozzy pissing out of the dressing room window.

All in all it was a great night of some classic 80’s rock music and the fans in attendance were treated to a great show.

By Iron City Rocks 2016.

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