Def Leppard

[Izzy]

I hope they play Women when they come to Tampa.

dont we all,

that set list was very strong though, great to see switch 625 abd mirror, mirror in there

..i dont think excitable has been played live in decades - a bizarre choice, but atleast they are changing things up unlike GNR - ''whats that beautiful as an interlude...again?'

[SLCPUNK]

Two years ago was my favorite Lep concert I think. The crowd was so receptive and their set list was hands down the best I'd heard in years. Including Women as well as Gods of War.

[Sparksry]

O ya ., im seeing them in sarnia ontario for bayfest its gonna be chill

[SLCPUNK]

Styx was supposed to be second, after Foreigner, but I assumed something happened because they ended up playing first. They were good, I've always loved Styx, but somewhat cheesy.







I did not really know what to expect with Foreigner. They really surprised me-they totally owned it. The show stopper was "Juke Box Hero", in the middle of that song they drifted into "Whole lot of love". Even cooler was that  Jason Bonham was banging it out for them. He was their anchor for their show I felt, so very strong. They finished the set with "Hot Blooded" which was so sweet.








The lead singer looked like he had just gotten off the Partridge Family tour bus...





Leppard came on promptly at 9:30.



I always seem to end up right in front of Phil, but Sav always makes the rounds, so we got some good pics of him too.






Their stage set up was a little different than the past. It had a second tier above it (reminded me of GnR set up).





This was actually to the left side of me. They had extended a walkway out into the center of the audience. They all came out and played a mostly acoustic set of "two steps behind".




We both liked this picture of Joe, just came out cool looking.....Notice the horns at the bottom, lol.




Phil blows it up...




This is one of my favorites overall. Phil, with Rick on drums, and Joe on the screens behind him.




Close up of Rick, the guy had a shit eating grin on his face all night.






Overall, an A plus evening. Totally awesome. It was pouring rain all the way up to the concert, and I was worried that it may get called off. I also had been fighting off some cold, and was worried I'd be ill, and not enjoy myself. Well, I got soaked, took some migraine medicine, and it worked out just fine.



 

[Malcolm]

Awesome pics man..Glad you had fun...Id like to see Foreigner

[SLCPUNK]

Awesome pics man..Glad you had fun...Id like to see Foreigner

Thanks.

If you get a chance, see them, I was very surprised.

[Malcolm]

Brandy McDonnell of NewsOK.com recently conducted an interview with DEF LEPPARD singer Joe Elliott. A few excerpts from the chat follow:

On whether DEF LEPPARD is planning on stopping anytime soon:

"Why would you? ... We're musicians, and our job is to play for people. And the more we play and the more people we play in front of, the happier we feel. We always wanted to be the biggest band in the world. For a little while, we were. Who's to say that we won't get it back? But even if we're not, you know, we're one of that elite few that can still play (for) 20,000 people."

On the band's renewed popularity:

"There's obviously a demand for what we're doing, because the ticket sales on the last tour alone were the best we've had since the 'Hysteria' tour (in 1987, the height of the band's heyday). It makes you feel wanted, and it makes you feel valid."

"I don't necessarily think we've even written our best song yet. ... If you think that you can never better 'Pour Some Sugar on Me', we might as well just pack in right now. But the fact (is) that we believe that we can add to our legacy and put something out there that shocks people not necessarily in its content but in the fact that they go 'My God, they can still do it.' That's the kind of thing that you drive yourself on to do."

"It's all well and good to be able to pay your bills, but if you haven't got a drive in life or a passion, I don't see the point in getting out of bed in the morning."

"I believe we're a better band now than we've ever been. We seem to just get better every tour we do. We're more consistent; we play better. We last longer. We're like the Energizer Bunny. We just seem to have this boundless enthusiasm that gets bigger the older we get. Maybe because we feel that there is an end of the road at some stage, so you have to suck all the energy you can and put it back to your crowd. Because you just never know when it's going to end.?

On the group's upcoming album:

"It's typical DEF LEPPARD in the sense that, like, it's very melodic. It's obviously hard-hitting. But it's not bog-standard in the sense of it's not exactly what everybody's going to expect. There's a lot of elements that people will embrace and be familiar with, but it's also got some stuff in it that's ... more adventurous than maybe what people think that we're capable of."

On the group's current tour setlist:

"We've come up with a whole new visual aspect to it, and we've totally revamped the set. We've dug real deep in the catalog, and we've pulled some nuggets that we've not played either ever or for a very, very long time. Obviously, there's certain songs that we have to play. Let's be honest, we actually want to play them. We like the reaction that we get when we play 'Sugar', 'Photograph', etc."

[Izzy]

I love Joe's interviews, he's so down to earth, and it really shows on stage - most bands make touring feel like a chore, with Leppard you know they are on stage out of choice and they dont want to be anywhere else.

[darkdays_01]

Nice pics !


The more i hear about this new record the more anxious i get. I like the fact that they are stating no ballads and it is hard hitting. Also like the fact that there is going to be some different stuff going on. Sounds like a good mix of the Slang sound and the Yeah! production. will be interesting to see what they come up with. It just sucks that it takes them so damn long to get this stuff out. Apparently the album is done even the artwork. Only thing that bothers me is that this is there last record for Universal so you know there is going to be no promo at all. There is usually hardly any anyhow but it is safe to say there wont be any this time unfortunately. Never figured out why Universal never promoted Leppard in recent years like Bon Jovi.  They have produced a ton of songs on recent albums that if had any promo would have been hit singles. X as weak to me as it was had a handful of songs that could of been big radio hits. I would like to see those guys get a huge single one more go around if any band they deserve it.  Especially as of recent , They have been on the road on and off for the last three years and they always deliver live. Never have been to a bad Leppard gig.

[Mr. Dick Purple]

I hope is something different but not like slang 

[Izzy]

I hope is something different but not like slang?

when i hear ''different'' i also hear ''Slang''

..i dodnt think i've listened to that album since the day i got it....

[darkdays_01]

I hope it sounds like Slang, imo there best album.

[Mr. Dick Purple]

You think slang is the best Leppard album? 
I think Retroactive is the best album even though all the songs are b-sides I wonder why those were b-sides 

[Izzy]

I hope it sounds like Slang, imo there best album.

Are you trying to kill off the band?

I'm not saying your opinion is wrong...its just...well.....

your wrong

[SLCPUNK]

I learned to like Slang quite a bit.

[Mr. Dick Purple]

How the hell did you do that? There have to be some mystic syrup 

[darkdays_01]

I hope it sounds like Slang, imo there best album.

Are you trying to kill off the band?

I'm not saying your opinion is wrong...its just...well.....

your wrong

There best song writting to date. The organic sound, Rick Allen playing real drums. Great album replace Breathe a Sigh with the b side Worlds Collide and it would be flawless.  Retro Active is good too, way better than Adrenalize and Slang is way better than the God awful Euphoria. What a step backwards after Slang. Not trying to kill off the band at all, if Slang would have been released in 92 instead of Adrenalize Leppard would still be a top seller instead of a nostalgia act. It took me awhile to admit it but that is what they have become, but they still deliver live unfortunately they goto go on these package tours and play a shorter set.

[fuckin crazy]

so we got some good pics of him too.

Sorry for the late response. What did you use to shoot those pics, speed, ect. That is some fine photo work.

[Hammy]

Think I have only posted in this thread once or twice before.  I seemingly remember my first time was when I was just starting to like this band.  Like I said then, the only song I had ever heard by them was Let's Get Rocked and I hated it, but after hearing some of their other tunes like the very obvious but catchy and great Animal and Pour Some Sugar On Me, I really started to like them.  I started out by getting the Greatest Hits, and then I went with some pretty obvious choices like Pyromania & Hysteria.  Now I liked 'em, a fair bit, but in recent months my interest had dwindled and I hadn't listened to them in a long time.  Recently in my local record shop though I saw their record On Through The Night it was cheap and I loved the look of the cover so I picked it up, and boy am I glad I did.  This stuff is fantastic, this album for me is so much more enjoyable than all their other stuff they really did kick ass, as much as I like their other stuff I wish they'd made more stuff in this veign, this album is superb and obviously one that's often overlooked 'cos whenever I hear their Greatest albums talked about I've never heard this mentioned....

[Izzy]

Wasted is a great tune - On throught the night and High'N'Dry are very much in the same vein - i'd have a look out for that album too