Def Leppard/Poison/Tesla..Live In St Paul(April 21st 2017)

DEF LEPPARD 2017 NORTH AMERICAN TOUR W/POISON & TESLA

DATE: April 21, 2017

TIME: 7:00PM

VENUE: XCEL Energy Center

CITY: St Paul, Minnesota

Hey Folk’s! Less than 2 weeks ago my Sister, Kristin and her Boyfriend, Darren shot down to St Paul to Catch the Leppard show! Being the older bro I told her ‘Review It!” and by golly  along with Darren’s help they reviewed it! Great Job! Give it a read friends!

Take it away…..

It was October of 2009 and the concert of a lifetime was only a few weeks away. I got a phone call from my brother Deke telling me that my all-time favourite band, Def Leppard had cancelled the Canadian portion of their tour. Having received more than one prank call from my brother, I assumed this was just another. I said a couple of swear words and hung up. I quickly googled and was devastated to find the cancellation in Winnipeg the next month had been confirmed.

Fast forward to February 2017. My birthday. I opened a card from my boyfriend Darren, and two tickets fell in my lap for the April show in St Paul. Figured I should invite him along…..

We arrived in St Paul with 15 minutes to spare, no thanks to Garmin. The lights dimmed and Tesla took the stage. Edison’s Medicine filled the arena with a sense of nostalgia which took me back to Grade 10. Love Song sounded like it was off the album in ’91 except I wasn’t crying into my pillow over my ex -boyfriend. Jeff Keith’s vocals were as rich and distinct as their debut in ’86. After 40 short minutes, Modern Day Cowboy closed the show. I could wager a guess and say that there were 20,000 fans wanting more.

Next up Look What The Cat Dragged In…..Poison. Bret Michaels and the band played all the classic hits you know and love to hate. Something To Believe In payed tribute to Prince on the one year anniversary of his death. C.C. DeVille played a face-melting guitar solo(in other words now would be the time to  go and  buy your Concert T’s) before leading into Unskinny Bop. Poison finished their encore with Nothin’ But a Good Time in anticipation of what was to come next.

Def Leppard opened with Let’s Go, their 2015 release not to be confused with Let It Go from ’81. The crowd was somewhat subdued for the first couple of songs until Foolin’ brought the capacity filled arena to their feet. The energy continued throughout Love Bites, Armageddon It, Rocket and Bringin’ On the Heartbreak. An emotional drum solo by Rick Allen had fans screaming for more. The most memorable part of the entire concert was to come. Hysteria, Let’s Get Rocked and Pour Some Sugar On Me, the everlasting tunes everyone came to hear followed. The stage went dark and the crowd went wild. After a 5-minute standing ovation the band returned to bring down the house with Rock Of Ages and Photograph.

HEY KIDS! THE ACTION IS BEHIND YOU’S!

Although it took me over 20 years to see the number one band on my bucket list, they didn’t disappoint. Joe Elliott managed to take the crowd on a ride in a time machine, and for a brief moment I was that teenage girl in ‘87 with acid wash jeans and big hair. –Kristin