Date: Thursday, June 22, 2017
City: St. Louis, MO
Venue: Hollywood Casino Amphitheater
Opening act(s): Tesla, Poison
Headlining act: Def Leppard
Tesla Setlist:
Into The Now
Edison’s Medicine
The Way It Is
Signs
Love Song
Little Suzi
Modern Day Cowboy
Poison Setlist:
Look What The Cat Dragged In
Ride The Wind
Talk Dirty To Me
Something To Believe In
Your Mama Don’t Dance
Guitar Solo
Fallen Angel
Unskinny Bop
Drum Solo
Every Rose Has Its Thorn
Nothin’ But A Good Time
Def Leppard Setlist:
Let’s Go
Animal
Let It Go
Dangerous
Foolin’
Love Bites
Armageddon It
Rock On
Man Enough
Rocket
Bringin’ On The Heartbreak
Switch 625
Hysteria
Let’s Get Rocked
Pour Some Sugar On Me
———————
Rock Of Ages
Photograph
Notes:
- Same set as the previous seven shows.
- Show #16 at this venue; first since August 27, 2016.
Videos:
Review:
Following the show in Kansas City one day ago, I spent the late evening hours writing my review before going to sleep in my hotel, voice shot and ears ringing.
I began the next day by filling my gullet with some Kansas City barbecue courtesy of Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que (try it, if you haven’t, but make sure you go to the one on West 47th at the gas station – and get there early!), and then hit the road for the three and a half hour drive east to St. Louis.
After killing some time at Dave & Busters, I made my way to my favorite concert venue: Hollywood Casino Amphitheater. It’s really a love/hate relationship, as I have more memories here than any other venue. Tonight’s show would be my sixteenth show here, which is the most times I’ve visited any venue. It’s where my first ever concert happened way back in 1996, along with many other milestone shows.
But… I hate the place because after more than 26 years in operation, it’s still a complete clusterfuck getting out of the venue after the show.
Regardless, I was excited for tonight’s show. It would be my fifty-second time seeing Def Leppard, and I had scored some rather great tickets very recently. I had originally purchased tickets for this show through the Rock Brigade ‘fan club,’ if you can call it that. My original seats were in the upper Center Section, Row X, which is the first row in that section, directly behind the box seats. I was satisfied with those seats, as they would have provided a good view of the entire stage from a distance while possibly having few obstructions since it was that section’s ‘front row,’ depending on the box seats. I planned on using them unless something really, really good became available.
But, on Monday, June 19, I was able to upgrade to the lower Center Section, Row G. I was dead center in the tenth row, which was something I could not pass up.
We arrived at the venue very early and visited will call to pick up the new tickets.
After getting the tickets, we got in line and began to suffer through the heat. The temps were only in the mid 80’s, but the sun was glaring down on us and it was pretty humid. Which is pretty typical for this time of the year in the midwest.
Making matters worse, though, was having the doors open 10 minutes late. 10 minutes doesn’t sound like much right now, but when you’ve been standing and baking for a half hour already, every minute counts.
Finally we were allowed in. We made a visit to a merch booth outside the seating area, as I offered to purchase a shirt for Brittany as part of our upcoming eight year anniversary. So she got what she wanted, and then we made our way down to the seats.
As I had hoped, they were amazing. Now I just had to hope that I wouldn’t have a giant in front of me like I did last night. And thankfully, I didn’t. Now… That doesn’t mean I had a PERFECT view for photos/video, as there was a giant directly in front of the catwalk, so his dome is present in most of my photos and video from the night (there’s always a head). But I can’t complain. I personally had a great view of the entire stage.
Many other fans also arrived early, including Karen, Ruth, Windy, and Steve, who all came over from the Kansas City show just as Brittany and I did. So we talked to them for awhile. I also chatted with my boss, Chris, as he and his wife had come to the show. Another coworker of mine, Joe, was seated farther back in the venue.
Tesla took the stage at 6:55 and did their thing. There isn’t much I can say that hasn’t already been said. They played the same set and sounded great.
That familiar dread set in after they left the stage, as I was now just 20 minutes away from Poison. After writing last night’s review, I had the idea of actually keeping count of every time Bret Michaels said “St. Louis,” “CC,” “Rikki,” “Bobby,” “cancer,” and “Def Leppard.” I even opened a note on my phone to try to keep tabs.
Poison went on promptly at 8:00, and I began my tally. But Bret managed to say “St. Louis” EIGHT times during the first song, “Look What The Cat Dragged In.” That averages out to about twice per minute, and that doesn’t account for between song banter. At that rate, I would have very likely developed carpal tunnel syndrome and had a dead phone battery. So I abandoned that idea quickly.
As their set continued, I began to reminisce about seeing Poison in the past… And what I mean by that is specifically thinking about when I saw them on June 27, 2012. At that show, I was in the third row, directly next to the catwalk. As a result, I high-fived Bret Michaels. That’s one thing… But these days, he’s known to actually stick the damn microphone in your face to sing during any number of songs. I began to wonder… How would I handle such a thing today? Would I be a nice concert goer and sing the right words? Or would I be an ass and make something up to sing? Would I just pretend not to know the words? Who knows. I guess I’ll deal with that if the time ever comes. Hopefully it won’t.
From there, I began to think about how I was going to write yet another review of Poison. What I wrote for yesterday’s concert was very amusing to me (and others, as I’ve been told!), but I didn’t want to do more of the same. That’s Poison’s gig! So in the middle of their set, I decided to approach it much like one of my favorite YouTubers approached his video review of the most recent Transformers film… Instead of being all-out negative, I’m going to find five positive things to say. And since Poison is the Transformers of rock bands (as in all flash with no substance but for some reason enough people like them that they pop up every few years), it makes sense to take this approach. Or try to, at least. So here we go.
They stick to the hits. I’m not a fan, but I know every song they play. And that is probably great for the casual fan. But it’s also great for me, because if these are the top tier, best Poison songs, and I hate them this much… I can’t imagine how bad a Poison deep cut must be.
They give out guitar picks and drum sticks. Bret and CC were especially good about giving out picks during the show. They handed them out to several fans, but they were sure to give a bunch to the quite busty gal that was at the end of the catwalk. And at the end of the show, Rikki tossed a few drum sticks out. I nearly caught one, as it hit off the tip of my finger, but it wound up going to a woman to my right.
They make the most out of their stage. Yes, the stage. Certainly not their time on stage, since their hour features only nine songs (one of which is a cover), two solos (three if you count the harmonica “solo”), and a shitload of banter. As an opening band, your space will be limited. So it’s nice to see that they have some extra lights and smoke on the stage. I guess.
They make people happy. Much like how people continue to flock to Transformers movies in droves, regardless of how god awful they are, people go see Poison and enjoy it. Watching Bret point at random people or general places for an hour is really, really annoying. But for those fans who actually get pointed at, or get high-fives, I see the glee on their faces. And I respect that. It’s not my thing because I have higher standards for most of the bands that I like, but I’m glad people get to see what they enjoy.
Ok so I wasn’t able to be entirely positive while listing five positive things, but that’s really the best that I can do.
It’s also only four things, but I took a page out of Bret’s arsenal and filled the extra space by talking more.
I’m sorry, I just can’t help myself.
I’ve really got to hand it to Leppard’s crew, as they have the set up down to a science. I remember concerts 10 or 15 years ago having much longer stage changes with far less complicated gear, so to see them prepare the massive stage in less than 20 minutes is really quite amazing.
Once again, Def Leppard hit the stage at 9:20 with “Let’s Go,” and I had my camera rolling. Even before I upgraded my seats, I had decided to film the three ‘new’ songs at this show as I wanted to have them all properly documented (meaning last year doesn’t count) from one of my shows. I had a great view of the stage from either seat and have two shows left to really enjoy these songs, not knowing which ones may or may not live on beyond 2017.
“Let’s Go” is far from my favorite song from the Def Leppard album, but it does give me the most nostalgia since it makes me think of sitting at my desk at work when the song was first released, and of course being lucky enough to see the first ever live performance of the song.
Joe caught a glimpse of my Down ‘N’ Outz shirt at the end of the song and pointed me out.
The sing-along kicked into high gear with “Animal,” and the size of the crowd kept things warm even as the outside temps finally began to cool off. For the second year in a row, the show sold out and had more than 20,000 in attendance.
“Let It Go” sounded as great as ever, despite me being ready for the song to be rested for the first time in several years now. It used to be a deep cut that would be a set highlight when it popped up. But now, it has been in nearly every set since 2012 and could use a break to make way for something else.
Joe introduced Phil, who was quickly drenched in sweat (much like we had been for several hours), and he promptly kicked off “Dangerous,” which sounded great and went down quite well. Of the three new songs in the set, “Dangerous” is the one I want to see remain beyond this tour if only one survives.
As with Kansas City, the set was exactly the same as what was played in the same venue in August 2016.
I filmed “Man Enough” as planned, and it too went down quite well with the crowd. I forgot to mention in my Kansas City review that the intro to the song has been altered since I saw Lep in Grand Rapids, as Rick is now kicking it off with drums only while Joe gets the crowd to clap along before Sav joins in with the bass. It reminds me of what they started doing with “Gods Of War” back in 2012. The difference is it makes sense on “Man Enough” and it works, which it absolutely did not for “Gods Of War.”
“Rocket,” “Bringin’ On The Heartbreak,” and “Switch 625” followed. I decided to film “Switch 625” since I had a great vantage point for it, but the lights shining directly at me (and my phone) destroyed the video. But oh well.
The 2017 Forum Song Tournament Winner, “Hysteria,” featured a huge sing-along as it usually does, and it was neat to hear Joe’s updated “Heroes” tag at the end again.
“Let’s Get Rocked” was preceded by Joe’s standard pot smell joke (“I was going to say something important, but I forgot”), and the song went off without a hitch tonight after Phil’s guitar troubles yesterday. “Pour Some Sugar On Me” went down a storm as always.
When the band returned for the encore, Joe made more jokes about the pot smell including saying “now I’m fucking starving.” Perhaps it was getting to him (not really), as after giving Rick his introduction, he put his mic in the stand and it fell over. The mic itself fell down between the front of the stage and a stack of amps in the corner between the stage and catwalk. It made a loud thud when it hit the ground, and Joe motioned to the sound guy that he needed another. So another mic was brought to him. Then Sav looked down where the mic fell, laughing and pointing at it.
Rick got his proper introduction, and then kicked off “Rock Of Ages.”
More trouble arose between the tunes, as Vivian broke a string (or something) while on the catwalk with Phil before they kicked off “Photograph.” When he did it, he looked at Phil and said “that one hurt!” They started the song and he tried to play, but it wasn’t working. So Vivian removed his guitar and walked over to get another, leaving Phil to play the intro to “Photograph” by himself. It made it sound quite weird.
The show concluded with “Photograph” for the twenty-second consecutive time. I’ve seen a lot of shows in the amphitheaters during the summer in these parts, and I’ve heard Joe have some pretty rough nights as a result of the thick, humid air. However, he handled it perfectly this evening and was in fine form from beginning to end. I couldn’t say the same for myself, especially after back to back nights. So props to Joe and his new vocal coach for getting him back in shape and keeping him there.
Two shows remain for the 2017 US tour, both of which I’ll be attending. And they will get me to another personal milestone…
Media Review:
Def Leppard thrilled fans at sold out show in Saint Louis Thursday
Some things just never go out of style. Take, for example, a Def Leppard concert, throw in popular 80’s bands Poison and Tesla and voila! You have the makings for a sold-out show. That is exactly what happened Thursday night in Saint Louis, MO.
Performing at a sold-out Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre the bands, each of whom had their heyday primarily in the 1980’s, but neither were considered a one hit wonder by any means, performed like they were back in 1988, the only thing missing were the ripped up jeans (though I saw some on fans) and Aqua Net fixed hair.
While those things may have (thankfully) gone out of style, the music that was produced Thursday was timeless. If you question that notion just ask the nearly 20,000 fans packed into the Shed. And before you say anything about age I saw a very wide variety of age groups. Sure, there were lots of middle aged fans (counting me) but there were many, many younger fans as well. In fact 3 seats down from my was a kid, maybe 8 years old-ish, who sang along to every-single-Def-Leppard-song-word-for-word. It was awesome.
So was the show.
Def Leppard’s set started with “Let’s Go” (from their 2015 self-titled CD) and seemed a bit out of place. It wasn’t until the next song, “Animal” that the crowd really got into the music and got ramped up. I don’t have a problem with the song, itself. Only the placement. Not my choice to lead off a show, but that was the only thing I could find at fault this night.
In fact, the Leps sounded superb. Not a cookie cutter, sound exactly like the record note-for-note kind of perfect, but stylistically. Joe’s voice sounded better than it has in a long time and the guitar solos were the kind that came from the heart. Again, not a rehashed note-specific style from any particular record, but a soulful in-the-moment kind of vibe.
With this being the 3rd from the last stop on their 39 city summer tour, the band was in perfect synch and having fun on stage.
Lead singer Joe Elliott ( along with bassist Rick Savage, drummer Rick Allen, and guitarists Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell) mused about the heat in Saint Louis: “Welcome to summer. This is hot” and later added “Out of all the shows on this tour, this is the hottest.” But that didn’t stop them from roaring through a 90 minute set that read like a “Best-of”. Obviously, they couldn’t fit all of their fan favorites into a 90 minute set, but what they did choose satisfied most. From “Rocket” to “Rock of Ages” the crowd cheerfully ate it up. My personal fav was the instrumental “Switch 625” immediately after “Bringin’ on the Heartbreak” which was played essentially for only three tours during their first 20 years, but has since become a staple at their live shows.
2017 is a milestone year for Def Leppard in that while it is the 30th anniversary of their mega hit LP “Hysteria” (25 million in worldwide sales) it is also the 40th anniversary of the band’s beginnings with Elliott and Savage. From the way they were playing and the younger fans rocking in the crowd it’s a good bet they will be selling out venues like this come their 50th anniversary.
Poison rocked their turn with a lively set and amped-up energy. Vocalist Bret Michaels, guitarist C.C. DeVille and bassist Bobby Dall each took several turns on the stage extension getting close to the fans and high-fiving them and doing the rock-star pose for cell phone pics.
Their set seemed perfect in building the crowd up with hit after hit like “Talk Dirty to Me” and “Fallen Angel” to a crescendo ending with “Nothin’ But a Good Time”. With the tremendous popularity they had in the mid 80’s to mid 90’s the band seemed the perfect pairing to Def Leppard on this tour.
And what is a Def Leppard show without Tesla to open? It seemed many shows in the 80’s I saw them Tesla was the opening band. And it fits. With Tesla’s straight-forward heavily bluesy feel the band made their set time seem to breeze by.
By Sean Derrick @ Midwest Rewind, 2017
TurnToDust86 