Boston, MA - Media Review Quotes
By Ken Capobianco
This year WBMX-FM ("Mix" 98.5) decided to go indoors for its MixFest, holding it at the FleetCenter and offering a generous platter of pop craftsmanship. With David Gray, John Mayer, Guster, Rubyhorse, and two of today's pop princesses - Pink and Avril Lavigne - to go along with old-school metalists Def Leppard, the show was a decided walk on the mild side. Good songs, solid choruses, well-strummed acoustic guitars, polite thank-yous: This was a show moms could love, and many of them in the audience did, shaking and shimmying alongside their children.
It was the Def Leps who shook up the house up after what was a sometimes too-pleasant evening. With rip-snorting guitars and drum wallops to back Joe Elliott's effortless vocal gymnastics, the quintet helped the audience get the Lep out during its closing set. The band mixed old sing-along classics with new tunes from its fine new CD, "X," which recalls the best of the hummable rock that once created Def Lep hysteria.
The rest of the show proved that six hours of craftsmanship can have you craving for someone to shake it up. Perhaps more mix is needed in the MixFest - a little R&B, a blast of white noise - to go with the manicured pop.
By The Boston Globe.
Read the full review at - bostonglobe.com
By Linda Laban
MIXFest, with Pink, Def Leppard, John Mayer, Avril Lavigne, at the FleetCenter, last night. What on Earth could 17-year-old skater pop princess Avril Lavigne possibly have in common with middle-aged soft-metalers Def Leppard?
Besides both appearing at WBMX-FM's MIXFest 2002 at the FleetCenter last night, that is? Diverse as they are, both acts know how to spin out a pop-toned hit. Indeed, the link between all seven artists on the bill was a canny knack with hummable, memorable tunes.
True to its name, Mix-98.5's six-hour annual celebration, co-sponsored by the Herald, culled artists from the United States, Ireland, Canada and the United Kingdom. The show fused varying nationalities as well as musical attitudes - just as long as those included a strong melody and a persuasive backbeat.
Ending a long evening, Def Leppard, its glory days long since past, dragged out too many middling songs, including Now from its ballad-heavy new CD X, which is out Tuesday. Even catchy, chart-busting '80s hits like `Animal' seemed dulled by time.
By Boston Herald 2002.
Read the full review at - bostonherald.com
By Mitch Lafon
Def Leppard Live at the Mix98.
It was with great anticipation that I drove from Montreal to Boston to catch one of England's finest back on North American soil. The band was the closing act on a bill that seemed better suited to 'N Sync than Def Leppard, but so what? Also, at the Fleet Center that night were Canada's newest star, Avril Lavigne, the ever energetic Pink (who actually surprised me, by putting on a reasonably rocked out show), the always lethargic David Gray, the "15 minutes of fame" John Mayer, and the "who cares about" Guster and Ruby Horse.
The crowd was a mix of older and newer faces. All there to catch a glimpse of their generation's big-named act. The press was well-treated and though I had met Def Leppard before, I never thought I'd be given a chance to meet Pink or Avril Or David... That's just not the beat I cover, but with the help of the gang at Mix 98 I was given a chance to meet them all. The venue was filled to capacity and stayed filled throughout most of the show. Having seen the younger 'kids' there, I was expecting a nearly empty venue by the time Def Leppard took the stage, but to my surprise they stayed and sang and danced. Who knew? I guess someone has been rummaging through their older sister's or brother's CD collection.
After having sat thru the good (Pink and Avril), the bad and the ugly, it was time for the main attraction... Def Leppard! The band had looked a little tired on their last tour in North America, so it was anybody's guess as to what tonight's show would bring. Luckily, the band brought back the excitement they had on earlier tours. Could it be that the critical acclaim of their new album X has put a bounce back in their walk or was it simply that the band wanted to show the others on the bill the true meaning of 'rock band'? Either way, it was hard to find anything to complain about this night.
Sure, the band could have dropped the song “Promises” from the set for “Bringing On The Heartbreak” or even “Rock Brigade” (for that matter) and, yes, the sound at first needed some tweaking in the mix, but at the end of it all... it was Def Leppard in an arena in North America in 2002... How can that not be good?
By KNAC 2002.
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