St. Paul, MN - Media Review Quotes

By Josef Hernandez

Def Leppard took the stage to thunderous applause as the crowd was primed for the main act. The band kicked into its opening song, “Let’s Go,” and something strange happened as the energy level in the Xcel Energy Center seemed to drop. The song, of the band’s latest album, was not a crowd favorite and the flow of the concert seemed to drop. The band kicked things back into high gear with one of its hits, “Animal,” and the power of the show began to rise only to once more stall after the next couple songs. When the lead singer, Joe Elliot, introduced the fourth song of the set, “Dangerous,” there was a surprisingly slight reaction from the crowd. The light show and the band’s performance showed the high talent and showmanship that the band has crafted over four decades but the set list was uneven and the crowd never got fully vested in the show. It was not until about halfway through the show, when the songs from the band’s last album were finished, that Def Leppard took full control of the show and brought the crowd to a crescendo with hits such as “Rocket” and “Hysteria” before finishing the main part of the show and leaving the stage to thunderous applause with “Pour Some Sugar on Me.” The band returned for a two-song encore of “Rock of Ages” and “Photograph” and showed that Def Leppard still has the skill and music to deliver a rock concert as strong as any other band.

Def Leppard’s stage show, with stunning visuals on large screens that carried down to the stage, and even on the steps leading up to the drummer, and a spectacular light show was solid and up to the expectations of the audience. The set list, however, just was not always up to par and seemed to stumble through the first half of the band’s performance with less popular songs mixed in with the hits that the crowd wanted to hear. The new songs, which lack the power and fan support of older material that made the band an international sensation, made the set feel uneven and kept the energy of the show from sustaining the full power of the music throughout the entire concert. Def Leppard is still a band worth carrying a show filled with thousands of rock music fans and the tour is a must-see concert event of 2017. It just felt as if there was some missed opportunity in the set list that kept the concert from becoming a show for the ages.

By AXS 2017.

Read the full review at - axs.com

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