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By Terence Cawley

Thinking critically about Def Leppard is like thinking critically about a good beer buzz or getting double-jumped on a trampoline; with pleasures this primal, what’s there to think about? As they proved with the massive opening salvo of “Rocket” and “Animal,” no one cranks rock ’n’ roll up to cartoonish proportions quite like these lads (certainly, the scads of ’80s glam-metal bands they spawned couldn’t). That meant power ballads that didn’t skimp on the power, rock songs about the awesomeness of rock, and, in Joe Elliott, a singer who sold it all without a hint of irony or self-consciousness.

The band wasn’t incapable of restraint, playing it cool with a minimal cover of David Essex’s “Rock On” and the cheeky strut of “Man Enough.” They even struck a surprisingly affecting note with the wistful “Hysteria,” accompanied by a slideshow from their big-hair heyday. It was the trifecta of “Pour Some Sugar on Me,” “Rock of Ages,” and “Photograph,” however, that reaffirmed Def Leppard’s divine purpose: heavy metal as the ultimate party music.

After all that, Journey’s set couldn’t help but feel a bit anticlimactic. “New” singer Arnel Pineda (he joined in 2007) certainly tried his best, jumping and spinning around with the exuberance of someone who still can’t believe he gets to sing in his favorite band. Filling Steve Perry’s shoes is no small feat, but Pineda nailed the soaring, anthemic melodies that elevated “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)” and “Open Arms” above the corporate-rock competition.

By Boston Globe 2018.

Read the full review/photos at - bostonglobe.com

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