Indianapolis, IN - Media Reviews

Def Leppard, Poison keep the ’80s rolling at Klipsch By David Lindquist

Rock bands sound rested and ready on tour-closing date in Indianapolis

Klipsch Music Center enjoyed consecutive sold-out shows Saturday and Sunday, when 48,000 music fans visited the Noblesville amphitheater across two nights.

Saturday’s headliner, Florida Georgia Line, specializes in catchy, shallow songs not a great deal different than the hits Sunday’s headliner, Def Leppard, made in the late 1980s.

Florida Georgia Line is a pop-country duo, and Def Leppard is a pop-metal band (or “hair metal” to use a derisive term from the Reagan era).

That’s where the comparisons end.

Florida Georgia Line never made an album to rival Def Leppard’s bone-crushing classic “Pyromania,” which arrived in January 1983 — two months before Quiet Riot’s “Metal Health,” eight months before Motley Crue’s “Shout At the Devil” and a year before Bon Jovi’s debut album.

The rest is Aqua Net history, and Def Leppard presented its legacy with strength and style at Klipsch.

I personally hadn't seen Def Leppard in action since a bizarre appearance at the Indiana State Fair in 2000. On that night, sound amplification was limited to about 60-percent strength, the band was onstage by 7:20 and gone by 9, and only about 7,500 attendees showed up.

Sunday's capacity crowd was treated to a full-volume show under the stars.

Sure, most everybody came out to hear the hits from "Hysteria," a massive commercial success built on saccharine-sweet vocals, winkingly suggestive lyrics and unshakable overproduction.

But at least "Rocket" delivered addictive sensory overload thanks to hundreds of vintage TVs depicted on massive video screens. And "Hysteria's" title track was accompanied by one of the better career-spanning videos you'll see.

Joe Elliott was in strong voice for this show that closed out the band's U.S. tour, and guitarists Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell did more than enough to dazzle glam-rock loyalists.

Which makes songs such as "Let's Get Rocked," from 1992 album "Adrenalize," all the more disappointing. Def Leppard chose to make audio cartoons just as the music world embraced gritty realism.

Back to "Pyromania," the band exited on a high note with a one-two encore shot of "Rock of Ages" and "Photograph."

Earlier, that album's "Foolin' " showcased the band at full power: sledgehammer bass from Rick Savage, precision drumming from Rick Allen and piercing solos from Collen.

When looked back to their influences, the quintet mustered a winning rendition of 1973 David Essex tune "Rock On." Amid the song's pop DNA, Def Leppard delivered one signature, jaw-shattering punch.

The highest compliment to be paid to supporting act Poison is that you never want another band to be onstage when Bret Michaels, C.C. DeVille, Rikki Rockett and Bobby Dall are at work.

An all-killer, no-filler set included 1986 breakthrough hit "Talk Dirty to Me," an instrumental quote of the Who's "Baba O'Riley" tacked onto "Unskinny Bop" and a rendition of Eddie Van Halen's "Eruption" tucked inside DeVille's guitar solo.

Michaels has enthusiasm and a knack for showmanship that never flags, but I'm not sure his band mates were thrilled about the marketing of a Michaels solo show during the performance (without making it clear he wasn't talking about a future Poison date). For the record, Michaels will perform Aug. 7 as part of the Free Stage lineup at the Indiana State Fair.

By Indystar 2017.

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