Def Leppard/Motley Crue UK tour 2011

Now queuing outside Sheffield arena for 2 hours in the middle of winter when it has rained and the temperature is almost below freezing, isn’t something I would normally do for a show but this was an exception. Today marks a great day in rock history for Sheffield and for the rest of the United Kingdom as 2 of the greatest rock legends were going to be performing not only on the same stage but on the same night! Sheffield welcomes to their arena Steel Panther, Motley Crue and Sheffield born n’ bred lads Def Leppard for one night of pure rock that will no doubt go down in history. There was a massive queue when I first arrived and there was me thinking that I was the only one out of their minds to do this but no, there was a long line of egger fans waiting to welcome their rock heroes home. Queuing that early paid off as me and my friends were first in and first to the front at the barriers... a great spot for a great show.

Steel panther I had heard of before but I had never actually listened to them as seeing them in posters they looked like a cheesy throwback from the 80’s but they were getting quite a good reception from the crowd while they were waiting. I overheard a couple of people talk about the bassist and how he travels all the way to America to get highlights and extensions... I knew from then on that they were most likely going to be a cheesy throwback from the 80’s.  Steel panther is a 4 piece glam metal band from California; Michael Starr (Ralph Saenz) on lead vocals, Satchel (Russ Parrish) on rhythm and lead guitar, Lexxi Foxxx (Travis Haley) on bass guitar and Stix Zadinia (Darren Leader) on drums. Their music has thought to be quite controversial as most of their songs include not very subtle innuendoes and when on stage consist of them making rude gestures to the crowd and each other. The band entered how any other support band would by just walking onto the stage and receiving, what I thought, to be a very warm and excited welcome by the Sheffield crowd. They kicked into their first song “Supersonic Sex Machine” and I could then see why people must love them... they were hilarious! They ran around shouting out these lyrics that didn’t really make much sense and made the bounces stood in front of me cringe and give the band looks that said “dude theres kids here tonight!” but they didn’t care, they were here to entertain and that they did. Steel Panther were on for about 40 minuets and put every bit of energy into all the songs they played as if they were the headlining act. One song that had even me cringing was “Asian Hooker” which had lyrics in it which said about certain “things” smelling like Su-Shi at that point I was hoping that this might be their last song, but no, their last was yet to come. From their album “Feel the Steel” came the song Death to All But Metal which had lyrics involving many great rock legends including Def Leppard themselves. The lads put on a great show and the crowd were now ready to face whatever Motley Crue brought to them.

I have loved Motley Crue for a long, long time and fell in love with them after hearing the song “Wild Side” which was on their “Girls, Girls, Girls” album which also features the No. Song “Girls, Girls, Girls”. The arena was now packed and had a great buzz about it that to any band must be a great thing to be able to pull off. All is you could see in front of you was a big white curtain that blocked the whole of the stage... whatever was behind it was obviously something that needed hiding. I was very curious on how they would enter and a man stood behind said “You watch, you watch. They come straight on without warn-“ BANG and on they came. The houselights or the music playing didn’t have a chance to turn off and the band were racing in “Wild Side” with front man Vince Neil stood right in front of me screaming out the lyrics! The band’s set was also very impressive as it consisted of a Wild West themed stage and had a massive rollercoaster loop in the centre with the drum kit attached to it. Motley Crue had been though a few line-up changes over the years but now the original “Crue” were back together again which featured Vince Neil on vocals, Mick Mars on lead and rhythm guitar, Tommy Lee on drums and Nikki Sixx on bass guitar. From where I was stood I could see the entire band quite clearly and I really wanted Mick to come down near me so I could get a good look at the guitar player that has inspired me though-out everything that I play. He finally did come down the runway and I had one thing going through my head... what a creepy guy. He had a hat on that covered most of his face and I could only just make out the eyes that were glaring down at me. For Motley Crue this was really a “greatest hits” tour if you could sum it up and they played all the hits including “shout at the devil”, “Dr Feelgood” and “Girls, Girls, Girls” they also including a few of the new songs in the set-list taken from their new album “Saints Of Los Angeles” which all went down a great success live! For most of the Motley Crue audience the one song that hit everyone and brought everyone together was “Home Sweet Home” which brought on stage a piano and saw drummer Lee take a break from the drums and play the song. It was a touching moment to see especially for those, like myself, who had never seen Motley Crue ever. When Lee got back on the drums I knew what the big rollercoaster track was for, for Tommy sat down on his kit only for it to take him for a ride, for the drum set actually went on a rollercoaster ride in a huge loop while he played his solo. It wasn’t over there though for he picked a member of the audience to come and join him! For their finishing song the band played kick-start my heart and for the first time in the night a mosh pit was born... the high tempo song got everyone moving and kick-started everyone’s heart, it hit everyone like a bull in a china shop!! This band are a must see as they give you all the thrills, music and lyrics that I don’t think no else can!

Def Leppard have become one of the most iconic and influential rock bands on the planet selling over 155 million albums and having multiple albums in the top 10, they did one thing that every band dreams of doing... breaking through to America and really living the American dream. Born in Sheffield, Lead singer Joe Elliot joined forced with drummer Rick Allan who started writing songs they later recruited guitarists but just couldn’t find the right one until they got guitarist Phil Collen who is still with them today along with bassist Rick Savage or “Sav”. The band made their breakthrough with the album “Hysteria” which sold over 20 million copies worldwide and their rise to fame just continued to grow. The band played a sell-out show at Sheffield’s Don Valley stadium in 1993 to which a crowd of 50,000 witnessed them play.

The houselights dimmed and a voice rang out through the arena “good evening Sheffield!” those were the first words that came from Joe as he walked down past Ricks drum kit. The band started the night with a song from their new album “Mirror Ball” and played “Undefeated” which I suppose was a statement to say their still going and nothing will stand in their way. I was very disappointed to see that some people in the crowd were starting to shift away and leave and I heard some murmurs of people saying they had seen enough, but the band was just getting started for after that the band kicked into “Action” to which Joe walked down the runway and got everyone on their feet, even those who were unlucky and had a seated ticket. Even the people all the way at the back were on their feet and stuck in with the “Action”. For Def Leppard this show was really a “greatest hits” one as they played all the good blasts from the past and their set-list included “Animal”, “Hysteria”, “Photograph” and “pour some sugar on me”. I must say after the accident that drummer Rick Allan had he still keeps on performing like any other drummer does. To this day I will never know how he does it and no one will and no one does because no one can do it, only Rick can. Throughout the night I sort of had a feeling that the band would maybe have to finish with some slow songs as they played all of the energetic songs at the beginning, but I was wrong for they only stopped half way through their set to play 2 acoustic songs “two steps behind” and “bringin’ on the heartbreak” than back into the action they went playing “Pour Some Sugar On Me” before finally ending the night with one question... “Do you wanna get rocked”? The arena erupted and that famous guitar riff was amplified to the 14,000 present. For this song Joe let the crowd sing the chorus’s and I have never heard a group of people sing back as loud as Sheffield did that night, it was magical.  

After the song Joe had a few more words to say... “Sheffield, please don’t forget us... and we won’t forget you! Goodnight”

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