Def Leppard Live At Rod Laver Arena
I love Def Leppard, I can admit it. In fact I argue with those who criticise the band for their pop tendencies. I believe Pyromania belongs in every CD collection, and when you throw in High N Dry and Hysteria you see that Def Leppard have a strong legacy of rock. So obviously I was delighted to be going to their concert, which had been well overdue.
Unfortunately when I arrived Cheap Trick had begun their set. Thinking I wouldn't know much of their stuff I was pleasantly surprised. I actually knew a decent amount of their music, I just didn't realise they were Cheap Trick songs. I must confess hearing them do the power ballad smash, The Flame was mind blowing even if it completely misrepresents them. They are a rock band, no question about it. Tracks like Dream Police, I Want You To Want Me and personal favourite Surrender best demonstrated this. Cheap Trick put on a fine display of hard rock that left me wondering why I wasn't more aware of their music. They are truly underrated.
Quite comfortable in my spot I was encouraged (or pestered) in to checking out the merchandise. This turned out to be a good idea as I caught up with several regulars and managed to score myself a free T-shirt so I couldn't have been happier. I returned to hear ACDC's For Those About to Rock We Salute You, an awesome song to get the crowd going. Before it finishes the lights go down and it's time to get rocked.
Leading off with Rocket, Def Leppard showed what pop rock is. As a fan I was in awe as they charged through Animal and Foolin. Only a few songs in and my voice already began to struggle.
Def Leppard included Nine Lives and C'mon C'mon from the new album Songs From The Sparkle Lounge, sadly they didn't do Bad Actress. To change it up they brought out the acoustic guitars for the disastrous Two Steps Behind and Bringin on the Heartbreak, which mercifully saw them back to electric as the song closed. While this was a downer there were plenty of highlights to make up for it.
The guitar playing in Love Bites was mesmerising, definitely up there with anyone I've seen. The popular hits like Photograph, Hysteria and even the over exposed Pour Some Sugar on Me all sounded brilliant and were well received. For me though the standout was Armageddon It.
It all appeared to come to a close with Rock of Ages to the point I actually thought there wouldn't be an encore. Def Leppard did come back with When Love & Hate Collide and Let's Get Rocked, which was a touch weak.
Taking it all in I felt that they'd met my expectations. Sure I was sad that it was all singles except Switch 625, and it would have been nice to hear Die Hard the Hunter or Another Hit and Run, but you're not going to please everyone when you've been around as long as Def Leppard has. The band still perform well live and are in great shape, guitarist Phil Collen was up their without a shirt for goodness sake.
I left satisfied, tired, having given the vocal chords a work out, yes I'd been Rocked and like frontman Joe Elliot said "this is as good as it gets".
