Pittsburgh, PA - Media Reviews

Def Leppard @ Civic Arena By Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

What a waste of telant!.

Def Leppard, the English heavy metal quintet, had one of the hottest vocalists going in Joe Elliott.

It has a fine sound system and a precision light show.

It even has a fair number of good songs in its repertoire.

But all that happened in the Civic Arena last night, as Def Leppard and Krokus played for 14,000 fans was a four-hour scream along.

'Say yeah!' exhorted Joe Elliott, when his turn came, and the band played backup to the audience's shrill chorus.

'Is that all the noise Pittsburgh can make?' Elliott challenged, and the fans redoubled their efforts.

Whenever the cheerleading lapsed, though, and the noise died down, there was not much left.

Once they had established their sound, each band maintained a stubborn sameness for the remainder of the set.

In their songs, in their arrangements, in the beat, in the guitar solos, above all in volume.

There were no nuances to listen to, no changes to anticipate, no subtleties to appreciate.

There was nothing to laugh at, nothing to cry about, and nothing to dance to.

For the most part, though, both bands offered volume and beat and not much more.

This is an impoverished conception of rock 'n' roll.

Both these bands have the talent, they have the experience, they have the chops to play music that is more interesting, more effective and more worthwhile.

And the audience is surely capable of appreciating whatever these bands can dish out.

But there's not much hope that the Leppard will change its spots.

By Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 1983.

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