Saginaw, MI - Media Review Quotes
By James Chesna
Although the band got off to a shaky start, by the time singer Joe Elliott barked out "We are Def Leppard, and this is what we do" to start off a thumping version of "Women," Leppard was in full command of its chops, taking the audience back to the '80s when songs like "Rocket," "Hysteria," "Pour Some Sugar on Me," "Foolin"' and "Animal" were heavily rotated on MTV.
But this was more than just a nostalgia show. The crowd was filled with as many young faces as old.
As the Leps jumped into "Photograph" in the second half of the show, hands were raised in the air and the main floor bobbed up and down to drummer Rick Allen's chugging downbeats.
Known for its studio alchemy - and a penchant for taking longer to complete albums than most bands stay in the limelight - Leppard brought the same kind of rich production values to Wendler's live setting.
By The Saginaw News 1999.
Read the full review at - mlive.com
By Sue White
Collen and Vivian Campbell fired off a twin-attack, taking a tag-team approach in the light of the blazing guitar. Rick Savage proved an able sparring partner on bass, and Rick Allen, well, once again, the one-armed drummer proved anything is possible when you set your mind to it. Performing for a crowd of some 4,000 - many of them fans from the band's "Pyromania" days - the group banged away like teen-agers in a garage band. The struck the pose, and it rang true. They trotted out the cliches and made them seem new again. And throughout the night, it was impossible to see who was having more fun. Suffice it to say the fans weren't the only ones to go home with no voice. Yet this is not to say the British band that put melody back in metal has crossed to the dark side. The hoarseness came honestly, Elliott giving fans his all for more than two hours. Or maybe it was trying to get heard above the thunderous response of an appreciative audience. Style aside, the night proved more than anything the poweof a good song. Out came numbers popular "back when MTV played music," Elliott quipped, drawing murmurs of approval. "Photograph," "Foolin'" and a killer version of "Rock of Ages" found Elliott in fine voice, a legion of air-guitarists accompanying his every phrase.
More than two decades in the business gives a band a lot of material, and Def Leppard came prepared, dusting off "Armageddon It," "Love Bites" and "Rocket." There were the newer numbers, a sampling of the latest album, "Euphoria," and the crowd favorite, "Pour Some Sugar on Me." By the time Elliott and company beckoned the crowd with "Let's Get Rocked," the deed was done. "You really know how to make someone feel wanted around here," he said. "We appreciate that."
That isn't to say the night didn't have the occasional omission. Where were the support musicians so many groups drag along these days, fresh talent to buoy up their own sagging skills? The night was also stripped of the usual high-tech fanfare accompanying Def Leppard; the group is stretching its legs, Collen explained, with the more elaborate stage set still a few months ahead. Instead of the usual lasers and exploding pyrotechnic props, a bank of overhead lights played off a huge Union Jack and smaller Irish show of colors. Yet in both instances, the sparsity only showed Def Leppard is more than a fluke, more than a spectacle. It's refreshing, said one concertgoer, to see a band play that really knew how to play.
By The Saginaw News 1999.
Read the full review at - mlive.com
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