Def Leppard - Sheffield Motorpoint Arena 13/12/2011

[Rockingbear]

Def Leppard

Sheffield Motorpoint Arena – Tuesday 13th December 2011

Mötley Crüe ‘may’ have been the main draw for the majority of tonight’s audience, however, for me it was Sheffield’ finest Def Leppard whom I had made the effort to come and see. Steel Panther and the Crüe were just an added bonus.

There are not many bands that would relish following Steel Panther and Mötley Crüe but Def Leppard are seasoned professionals and very confident in their abilities to put on a great show. With such a huge back catalogue their main problem is choosing a set-list that will satisfy all the fans. I personally only had few minor gripes with the latter and would have probably only changed two or thee songs, all of which came at the beginning of the show.

The brilliant new song “Undefeated” was a strange set opener and was followed by “Rocket”, the first of seven tracks to be taken from the phenomenal, ground-breaking album “Hysteria”.

Leppard have covered numerous songs over the years but still persist in playing The Sweet’s “Action”. I would have personally replaced this with “Stagefright”, “Rock! Rock!” or “Another Hit n’ Run”. The same goes for probably my least favourite Lepp’s track “Make Love Like A Man”, however, this is probably retained for its incredible backing vocals that obviously give Joe a rest. Mr. Elliot has never been the World’s greatest vocalist but, for the most part, this evening he was on fine form.

Compared to Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard’s stage set was very minimal and there were no explosions and pyrotechnics to accompany the songs just massive, hi-tech video screens and a multi-level stage similar to the one on their “Pyromania” tour where I first saw them 28 years ago!

The first of the ballads “When Love And Hate Collide” went down well with the partisan crowd (if most had come to see Mötley Crüe then they did not disappear when Leppard hit the stage). The only surprise of the evening was the inclusion of the title track from 1996’s, often overlooked, album “Slang”.

“Women” was well executed and once again highlighted the superb backing vocals of the whole band.

Half way through the set and the band take it down a notch with acoustic versions of “Two Steps Behind” and the awesome “Bringin’ On The Heartache” which finished as the full blown electric version. At the close of this track Rick Savage positioned himself above Rick Allen’s drum kit and belted out the thunderous bass line to the “Switch (625)”. The Lepps were already in top gear mode by this time but this powerful instrumental just signals the band going into overdrive as they conclude the show with hit after hit; five of the remaining tracks coming from the multi-platinum “Hysteria” beginning with the wonderful title track. Fortunately, Joe’s vocals held up pretty well on this track although the pre-chorus on the next song “Animal” was a little strained especially in comparison to the near perfect chorus sung by the entire band, and most of the audience. “Armageddon It” maintained the momentum and the backdrop video screens were utilised to full affect during “Photograph”, surprisingly the only track played from the incredible “Pyromania” album. The photographs of Steve Clarke were particularly poignant. “Photograph” is arguably the hardest song these days for Joe Elliott to sing and, though not perfect, he delivered it quite well this evening.

Strippers favourite “Pour Some Sugar On Me” brought the main set to a close before the band returned for a well deserved encore. Joe Elliott was obviously genuinely thrilled to playing in his hometown even if the atmosphere was strangely subdued which it was all night. I do not no the reason for the latter, maybe the cold weather or the close proximity to Christmas?

“Love Bites” was given an extra dynamic with some great soling from Vivian Campbell and Phil Collen, the latter who was evidently suffering from illness but did not show it in a near faultless performance.

Crowd favourite “Let’s Get Rocked” left the fans to go home with big smiles on their faces.

Fantastic value for money: three great bands, however, I personally think that Whitesnake were a more complimentary co-headlining act for Def Leppard. You have to praise Leppard for having the confidence and fortitude to share their stage with such big bands but as always, they were not about to be upstaged!

[No Surprize]

Great review RB, appreciate it.