This crowd was a Def Leppard crowd. Camden was more of a Journey crowd on opening night. I'll touch on Leppard first. They were better than the NJ show. However, once again, I can not stand "Make Love Like a Man" and to follow it with "Let's Get Rocked" was brutal for me. Fortunately the addition of "Foolin" back into the set was terrific, and the show overall was very good. Just wish Leppard would play more High and Dry and Pyromania stuff. Not playing "Bringing on the Heartbreak" is disappointing and they just should play the earlier heavier material. That said, the crowd ate up what they delivered.
Journey time. I caught some of the soundcheck from the amusement ride area of Hersheypark. Immediately I knew they were going live tonight. Augeri was singing and I think this board has had an effect on their decisions.
Now for the show itself. Steve A. was rough. No doubt about it. It was noticeable. However, I prefered that to the alternative. The only things I heard from the crowd where "Why didn't they play Open Arms" and that the drummer has a killer voice. Worst thing I heard from anyone about Augeri was that "he sounds kind of rough tonight". No one really had a major issue with him though. I thought personally that he was passable. Not the same guy from 98-04 for sure. That said, he got by alright. Hit some high notes but deferred to Deen on plenty. The people I went with liked the show very much. No complaints.
Maybe the band just needs to get off the road for awhile. Augeri's vocals this evening where of course not up to par with what he used to pull off, but they were better than what you get from many bands. Certainly wasn't embarassing by any stretch, and I preferred this to hearing a 2001 tape. I would have no problem seeing them again on this tour.
Anyway, that's my report and it's been a long day. Goodnight everybody.
