Manchester, NH - Media Review Quots

By Marc Lacatell

Lepp offered up another one from their new album, “Dangerous” with a sound that clings to the vintage-Leppard sound. Then the lights dimmed, the video screens went black and twelve blue lights bathed the stage as Elliot proclaimed, “This one goes back to 1983.” The monster hit “Foolin’” from their record-breaking Pyromania, followed. Phil Collen made his presence known with a blazing solo and background vocals to match. Leppard took their foot of the gas a bit to add the ballad, “Love Bites” with a hypnotic digital backdrop that presented with what appeared to be the lyrics to the song being transcribed onto antique paper as if it were a love letter. At times, it was hard not to watch the colossal video monitors and to remember to watch the band. Taking a quick breath, Elliot looked to his right and interjected, “Holy shit. Look who’s here. He puts the fast in Belfast. All the way from Ireland, can you make a lot of noise please for Vivian Campbell?” With a humble grin, Campbell struck the opening riff to the rocker “Armageddon It” in which he gets to share some of the spotlight with his flashy take on the clever solo once played by the late Steve Clark.

Alone on stage, as previously mentioned, Joe Elliot took a walk down to the end of the catwalk and addressed the crowd at this point, thanking them for their allegiance but also to share a heartfelt story about meeting a young man who was oddly very interested in Elliot’s parents’ LP collection. He continued that they had bonded over their love for rock and roll and after continuing to build their friendship they agreed to form a band together to see what would happen. Elliot let his fans know that this friend, who became and is still his best friend today, is Rick Savage. To which, Elliot left the stage and Savage took a few seconds to have the stage to himself to noodle a slinky bass riff or two before initiating the funky bassline to the ’73 David Essex #1 hit, “Rock On”. The rest of the band joined and proceeded to rile the crowd to an almost fever pitch. Leppard’s version of “Rock On” was slick, heavy and exciting. With Elliot donning a white Captain’s jacket and a black top hat, he and the band made the song their own.

The equally funky “Man Enough”, with a bassline and beat reminiscent of Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust” kept the groove going before the video screens lit up with the image of hundreds of television screens and the addition of the radio-control crackle intro to “Rocket”, continuing Leppard’s nod to their influence stemming from 70’s glam rock icons with mention of characters like Ziggy, Bennie and the Jets, Jean Jeanie and a certain Killer Queen. Def Leppard was dialed in and clearly enjoying themselves on stage as Campbell and Collen orchestrated their guitar licks, in order to introduce the iconic heavy metal power ballad, “Bringin’ On the Heartbreak” which bled into “Switch 625”, an instrumental that follows “Heartbreak” on the studio album High ‘N’ Dry.

By Glide Magazine 2017.

Read the full review at - glidemagazine.com

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