• Blog,  Concerts

    80s Classic Rock: Def Leppard/Poison/Tesla Concert Review

    Another concert of the year experienced!
     
    I went with my friend Heather Criswell to Louisville to see Def Leppard, Poison, and Tesla, at the KFC Yum Center.
     
    This was my 5th time seeing Def Leppard, 3rd time seeing Poison, and 2nd time seeing Tesla.
     
    And all rocked!!!
     
    Tesla started the show with a relatively short set, but packed in some great songs.
     
    They have always been a consistent band, musically, and have never really made a bad album.
     
    All the musicians (Guitarists Frank Hannon and Dave Rude, Bassist Brian Wheat, and Drummer Troy Lucketta) are solid, and singer Jeff Keith’s voice is still strong.
     
    Go see this band if you get a chance. They’re actually opening for Poison in Huntington soon.
     
    Next up was Poison.
     
    This is actually their first tour in 5 or 6 years. Singer Bret Michaels has been quite busy with solo albums and tours, but luckily, got back with the band (Guitarist C.C. Deville, Bassist Bobby Dall, and Drummer Rikki Rockett) for this.
     
    I hope they stick around while, and make a new album. It’s been too long.
     
    They played basically their greatest hits, but that was good enough for the packed crowd in Louisville.
     
    Including me and Heather.
     
    Bret is the consummate frontman, interacting a lot with the crowd, Drummer Rikki Rockett, who is a Stage 4 Cancer survivor, was playing his heart out the whole time, bassist Bobby Dall was solid and running all over the place, and guitarist C.C. Deville was rocking out the whole time and having fun.
     
    People have bad mouthed Poison a lot over the years, and I personally feel that is unfair.
     
    To me, they have always been solid, and are way better musicians than people give them credit for.
     
    A famous photographer, who I actually respect, once said that only girls like them and that if any guy liked them, they were sad.
     
    Well, I’m a guy and I like Poison.
     
    I have no problem saying that.
     
    If that makes me sad, then okay.
     
    I’ve been a fan since 99 and I’m more than cool with that.
     
    If you don’t like me saying that, then screw you.
     
    But anyway, Poison rock and I’m glad they’re back.
     
    Now to the headliner: Def Leppard!!
     
    Like I said earlier, this was my 5th time seeing them, and I swear they just get better each time I see them.
     
    Again, like Poison, I’ve been a fan since 99 and I first saw them on my 18th birthday in 2000, and as solid as I think they are on album, I think they are sooo much better live.
     
    They’re rawer and more in your face, which I love.
     
    They played three songs off their latest album, the great self titled album, but the rest of the set relied heavily on their HUGE albums Pyromania and Hysteria, as well as a few other classics.
     
    Singer Joe Elliott is still singing amazingly well and for the people who don’t agree, they’re wrong.
     
    Guitarists Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell (another Cancer survivor) are both out of this world as players.
     
    Bassist Rick Savage is great. I’ve always loved his style.
     
    And drummer Rick Allen is an inspiration.
     
    After losing his left arm over 30 years ago in a car crash, he had to teach himself to play all over again, and the band let him take the time to do it, and stayed loyal to him.
     
    That’s friendship.
     
    And it paid off.
     
    And I’m so tired of hearing the jokes about him. Enough already!!
     
    He’s amazing and I dare anyone to try to play drums with just one arm.
     
    But anyway, they are amazing and for anyone who have never seen them, please go and see them.
     
    I’ve been going to concerts for almost 20 years and have seen most of my favorite bands.
     
    And I swear they are one of the best live bands I’ve ever seen.
     
    They blow most bands away, in my opinion.
     
    But again, all of this is my opinion, and I stand by all of it.
     
    Thank you Heather for buying the tickets to this show, for being a great driving companion, and I hope you had as much fun as I did.
     
    My next concert is May 16, when I go back to this same venue to see the Red Hot Chili Peppers for the first time.
     
    Rock on everyone!!

    Def Leppard Set List:

    1. Let’s Go
    2. Animal
    3. Let It Go
    4. Dangerous
    5. Foolin’
    6. Love Bites
    7. Armageddon It
    8. Rock On
    9. Man Enough
    10. Rocket
    11. Bringin’ On The Heartbreak
    12. Switch 625
    13. Hysteria
    14. Let’s Get Rocked
    15. Pour Some Sugar On Me
    16. Encore:  Rock Of Ages
    17. Photograph

    Poison Set List:

    1. Look What The Cat Dragged In
    2. Ride The Wind
    3. Talk Dirty To Me
    4. Something To Believe In
    5. Your Mama Don’t Dance
    6. C.C. Guitar Solo
    7. Fallen Angel
    8. Unskinny Bop
    9. Rikki Drum Solo
    10. Every Rose Has It’s Thorn
    11. Nothin’ But A Good Time

    Tesla Set List:

    1. Into The Now
    2. Edison’s Medicine (Man Out Of Time)
    3. The Way It Is
    4. Signs
    5. Love Song
    6. Little Suzi
    7. Modern Day Cowboy

    Photo Gallery (click on thumbnail to view larger image)

  • Blog,  Concerts

    An Evening With Alice: Alice Cooper Concert Review

    I saw Alice Cooper for the 5th time Tuesday in Charleston, WV.
     
    He played at the Charleston Municipal Auditorium, right across the street from where I work.
     
    As usual, his show was a lot of fun.
     
    He played a lot of his hits, but also played a lot of deep album tracks, which was great.
     
    I’ll be seeing him again opening for Deep Purple in Cincinnati in September.
     
    I can’t wait for his next album, which should be out this year or next.
     
    His songs, albums, and concerts are classics and his band is phenomenal.
     
    His wife even plays a part in the show, and has on and off for years.
     
    In fact, that’s how they met.
     
    Another great concert.
     
    Next up: Def Leppard/Poison/Tesla in Louisville today with my friend Heather Criswell.
     
    And I have even more to come next month, June, July, August, and September.
     
    Fun times.

    Set List:

    1. Brutal Planet
    2. No More Mr. Nice Guy
    3. Under My Wheels
    4. Lost In America
    5. Pain
    6. Welcome To My Nightmare
    7. Billion Dollar Babies
    8. The World Needs Guts
    9. Woman Of Mass Destruction
    10. Nita Strauss Guitar Solo
    11. Poison
    12. Killer
    13. Bass and Drum Jam/Band Jam
    14. Feed My Frankenstein
    15. Cold Ethyl
    16. Only Women Bleed
    17. Escape
    18. Ballad Of Dwight Fry
    19. I Love The Dead
    20. School’s Out (w/Another Brick In The Wall)
    21. Encore:  I’m Eighteen
    22. Elected

    Photo Gallery (click on thumbnail to view larger image)