Date: Friday, August 15, 2008
City: Grand Rapids, MI
Venue: Van Andel Arena
Opening act(s): Billy Idol
Headlining act: Def Leppard
Preview:
Def Leppard has been on tour this year for their latest album, “Songs From The Sparkle Lounge.” I had tickets to see them on the very first leg of the tour back in April, in Grand Rapids, MI. That show ended up being postponed after the singer, Joe Elliott, came down with an upper respiratory infection. It was rescheduled for August 15, this upcoming Friday.
Had I gotten to see them back in April, they would have had REO Speedwagon and Styx opening for them… Two bands I cannot stand. I already had to sit through Styx opening for them twice in 2007. This also left Leppard playing a short, safe setlist that only featured one song from the “Sparkle Lounge” album, since it had not yet been released. Their setlist would have been virtually the same as what they were playing in 2007, only “Let’s Get Rocked” had replaced “Excitable” and “Nine Lives,” the one new song, had replaced “Another Hit And Run.”
Now the band are back after touring the UK and Europe. REO and Styx are no longer the openers for my show in Grand Rapids, as they have been replaced by Billy Idol. I like Billy, so a cool opener is a bonus. Only having one opener has also opened up some time for Leppard to play a couple of extra songs. Not only that, but they are now playing three songs from the new album instead of just one. And last night, they dropped “Nine Lives” and threw in my favorite song from the Sparkle Lounge, “Go.” Hopefully this remains the case for Friday! The only downer is that they apparently replaced the excellent “Mirror, Mirror” with the standard “Make Love Like A Man,” but that’s a sacrafice I can easily make to hear “Go” live.
Turns out my show being postponed was a great thing! I also have my “Slang” Tour book that I will hopefully get signed… But we’ll see.
Written on August 10, 2008 on MySpace
Billy Idol Setlist:
Cradle Of Love
Dancing With Myself
Flesh For Fantasy
White Wedding [w/ Rick Allen]
John Wayne
New Future Weapon
Mony Mony
Eyes Without A Face
Blue Highway
LA Woman
Ready Steady Go
Rebel Yell
Def Leppard Setlist:
Rocket
Animal
C’mon C’mon
Foolin’
Make Love Like A Man
Nine Lives
Love Bites
Rock On
Two Steps Behind
Bringin’ On The Heartbreak
Switch 625
Hysteria
Armageddon It
Photograph
Pour Some Sugar On Me
Rock Of Ages
———————
Bad Actress
Let’s Get Rocked
Notes:
- First show of the 2008-2009 Songs From The Sparkle Lounge tour.
- Show rescheduled from April 18, 2008 due to illness in the band.
- First time seeing “C’mon C’mon,” “Nine Lives,” and “Bad Actress” live.
- First time seeing a new song, “Bad Actress,” performed in the encore.
- First time seeing “Make Love Like A Man” since October 28, 2006 in Bloomington, IL (show #18).
- First time seeing “Let’s Get Rocked” since October 28, 2006 in Bloomington, IL (show #18).
- First close for “Let’s Get Rocked” since June 21, 2003 in Rockford, IL (show #12).
- “Bringin’ On The Heartbreak” was the half acoustic version.
- Longest show since the September 4, 2005 Chicago show with 18 songs.
- Rick Allen joined opener Billy Idol on stage to perform “White Wedding.”
- Show #1 at this venue.
Videos:
Review:
Year after year, I am fortunate enough to be able to catch Def Leppard on tour, with this show being my 21st. I was originally supposed to see them on April 18, but that show was postponed due to illness in the band. This would benefit me in many ways.
First off, it brought on a new opener, Billy Idol. Had the show taken place in April, I would have had to sit through REO Speedwagon (no thanks), and Styx for the third time (even bigger no thanks). I really like Billy Idol, so this was a switch I was happy to make.
Having one opener also opened up some time for Def Leppard, and they surprisingly extended their setlist by two songs. And finally, they were only playing one new song back in April since the album hadn’t yet been released. Now, they were playing three. They had even played “Go” for a couple of shows right before this one, and that song is my favorite from the new album and one of my top ten favorites of all time from the band. So I was really excited to see it, though they dropped it at the show right before mine. Still, I had hope for them to play it.
On the flip side, it was Def Leppard that was sick back in April. This time, it was me. I had an extremely sore throat along with a headache, two things that do not mix well with a concert. Still, I was going to give it my all and try to have a great time.
Billy Idol came on a little after 7:00. He opened with “Cradle Of Love” before going into “Dancing With Myself.” He was more reserved during these first few songs. “Flesh For Fantasy” followed before Steve Stevens put on his acoustic guitar to start a soft version of “White Wedding.” It only lasted for a short while though, as the rest of the band came back on stage during a long scream from Billy. Also joining the other band members was Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen, joining in on drums. The song rocked and Rick looked like he was having a great time on stage.
Billy then did two new songs, “John Wayne” and “New Future Weapon” which were actually really good. His set continued, featuring mostly hits, such as “Eyes Without A Face,” “LA Woman,” and “Ready Steady Go.” Billy made the mistake of calling the city Cedar Rapids instead of Grand Rapids during his introduction for “LA Woman.” The highlights were definitely “Mony Mony,” which had Billy jumping down in the crowd to have them sing along, and the closer, “Rebel Yell.” Billy Idol was even better than I expected him to be and is one of the best openers I’ve ever seen.
The time between bands was short as usual, and before I knew it, AC/DC’s “For Those About To Rock” was blasting on the PA system. The stage went dark, the song went off, and the Sparkle Lounge intro video began. Joe walked onto the catwalk and started the show with “Rocket.” Being one of my favorite songs, I always enjoy seeing it live. “Animal” followed and was great as always. Then came the first new song of the night, “C’mon C’mon.” I’m not a big fan of this song on the album, but the live version is something else entirely. It’s a great live song and had the crowd clapping and singing along.
“Foolin’” followed before the band went into “Make Love Like A Man,” a song I’ve grown tired of. It has recently replaced “Mirror, Mirror (Look Into My Eyes)” in the setlist, which was not a good move. The end of “Make Love” proved to be a pivotal point in the show for me. First off, my sore throat became way too much to even attempt to sing, so that came to a stop. Also, it was at this point in the show that I was really hoping they would play “Go,” but that was a dream that would not come true. Every tour, I get screwed out of seeing them play anything rare or cool, and this was no different. Joe introduced Phil and “Nine Lives” was played. It was very disappointing that they had dropped “Go” so quickly and that I just barely missed out on it. But at least I got to see “Nine Lives” live for the first time. However, my disappointment in the absence of “Go” and my sickness came together to take me out of the show completely.
Another standard, “Love Bites,” followed. Next up was Rick’s bass solo, which has to go. In 2006 it was something new, cool, and refreshing to see. In 2007, it was “oh yeah, I remember this from last year.” In 2008, it’s just taking up space. “Rock On” has also worn out its welcome in the setlist.
The guys strapped on the acoustic guitars for a typical rendition of “Two Steps Behind,” a song that should be retired from the setlist. The half acoustic “Bringin’ On The Heartbreak” followed and was great, as it provides the best sing along opportunity for the crowd. I always love this song live, especially the electic second half. In my opinion, if they play “Bringin’ On The Heartbreak,” the excellent “Switch 625” must follow, and it did. This song was another highlight of the show as it always is, giving the band their time to shine. Rick is once again getting the spotlight at the end of the song, as he did on the “X” Tour.
Next up was the string of hits, starting with “Hysteria.” “Armageddon It” followed, then “Photograph,” “Pour Some Sugar On Me,” and “Rock Of Ages.”
After a quick encore, the band returned to the stage with a drum beat featuring a bass line from Sav. What followed was an awesome version of “Bad Actress,” a rare appearance of a new song in the encore. Joe wasted no time starting “Let’s Get Rocked,” and suddenly the show as over.
For what it was, it was a great show. It’s just a shame that it’s mostly pop songs and that “Go” has already been dropped. But it’s really good to see the band back up to 18 songs and a great opener is always appreciated. The highlights of the entire night were Billy Idol’s “White Wedding” featuring Rick, “Mony Mony,” and “Rebel Yell,” as well as Def Leppard’s “Rocket,” “C’mon C’mon,” “Switch 625,” and “Bad Actress.”
My original plan for after the show was to go back to my hotel room, grab my camera and “Slang” tour book, then go hang out by the buses, hoping to meet some of the band members. Unfortunately, I felt like I was going to pass out from being sick, so as soon as I hit the bed I was knocked out. I also didn’t want to be responsible for making any of the members sick, forcing them to cancel more shows. We’ve had enough of that this year! It turns out the fans that did hang by the buses got to meet Phil and Viv, so I’m happy for them.
Media Review:
Rock Excess Rules With Def Leppard, Billy Idol
Hedonism was alive and well Friday night as glossy pop-metal outfit Def Leppard enthralled about 8,500 blissed-out fanatics at Van Andel Arena. There were sweaty, shirtless rockers, show-off-y guitar solos, fans making out and much, much more. What would the queen say about all of this rock ‘n ‘roll excess? The Brits (and one Irishman, Vivian Campbell) did pay homage to HRH at the show’s launch, as a huge British flag rose in the background to the sounds of “God Save the Queen,” in stylized, electric guitar format, of course. “Animal” featured a sideshow of band members morphing into creatures such as gorillas and vipers on enormous video screens behind them as they played. For the first few songs, the sound drowned out some of Lepp’s hallmark harmonies, which was pretty much the only negative in almost two hours of loud, raucous head-banging and shiny pop metal.
“C’mon C’mon” and “Nine Lives,” off their new CD, “Songs from the Sparkle Lounge,” were warmly received by the crowd, maybe because they still bore their unmistakable stamp of luscious harmonies, layers of guitar and extra-sharp hooks. The good news is Joe Elliot is as cheeky as ever and still has amazing stamina in the vocal department. The guy can hold a strong note for a looong time, as he did on “Foolin’.” “Thanks for being so patient,” he said, referring to the band’s reschedule from its original April date. Obviously, his voice, hampered at the time by illness, is back in fine form. During the subdued portion of the evening, he and his amigos came out on the catwalk bearing acoustic guitars. Elliot dedicated two softer songs — “Two Steps Behind” and “Bringing on the Heartbreak” — to Susie Young, the ailing wife of James “JY” Young of Styx, and Billy Bob Thornton, the actor/musician, in town as well Friday, with whom the band bowled the previous night in GR.
Things got rabble-rousing again soon after; “Photograph” lit the crowd on the fire, and just when you thought it was as rowdy as it could get, “Pour Some Sugar on Me” stoked everyone anew. With Elliot’s voice in stellar shape, and the shirt-free guitarists Vivian Campbell and Phil Collen scorching it up with blazing guitar solos, it was clear Def Leppard is on top of its game, and probably will be for many, many years to come.
By Lorilee Craker @ The Grand Rapids Press, 2008
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