Bramall Lane, Sheffield – 22/05/23
After an amazing warm up set from Sheffield’s Vivas, I couldn’t quite believe they played a Harry Styles cover to a Mötley Crüe and Def Leppard crowd and I was even more amazed that I really enjoyed it, the crowd were well and poised and ready for what was going to be an epic night of rock and roll!
Vivas left us on a high, check out their songs It’s Alright and Sweet Talker, half an hour or so passes (just enough time to pop to the bar; Brammell Lane had ‘Beavertowns Neck Oil’ and it was only £6.50 – I was a happy camper!!) I make it back to my seat with a bit of time to spare. Chatting to my neighbours, they were so excited as Motley hadn’t played over here since 2015 and they couldn’t wait to see their favourite band just one last time.
I must address the elephant in the room, there was no Mick Mars, it was a shame he was missing, but John 5 is a beast of a guitarist. That being said, I was slightly uncomfortable having read some of the details surrounding his retirement, but the band came on, John 5 burst onto the stage and melted people’s faces with his soloing abilities. He was epic.
Kicking off with ‘Wild Side’, they played a greatest hits set that had the whole crowd singing along. Vince Neil looked in great shape and sounded great. The backing singers taking some of the higher notes, but Vince was having a blast and vocally he was great.
The band powered through the first half of the set. ‘Shout at the Devil’, ‘The Dirt’ and ‘Livewire’ all demonstrate that this band can still pack a punch, even after 8 year’s retirement! A great guitar solo from John 5 marks the middle of the set and that custom telecaster sounds the business!
A covers medley is up next and we get to hear bits of Anarchy in the UK, Helter Skelter (very cool) and Blitzkrieg Bop! I love a good cover so I especially liked this.
Following the medley, they turned the heat up even more, and played the final five songs, possibly the five essential Motley songs finishing with ‘Kickstart My Heart’. It was a super sounding set, I really enjoyed it. The one disappointment was that Tommy Lee’s drum kit didn’t move. It stayed centre stage, but that is my only complaint. A really great set, it was polished, slick and sounded amazing!
Following Motley Crue’s set, the crowd were well and truly hyped and after a quick change over, Def Leppard entered the stage. An enormous cheer erupted from the crowd as the opening notes of ‘Take What You Want’ filled the stadium.
Watching Def Leppard in Sheffield is like watching Black Sabbath in Birmingham or the Beatles in Liverpool! The ‘Steel City’ rockers promise us a great night and at the end of the first song Joe asks the crowd, ‘Are you Ready to Get Rocked?’ – Well of course we are and the crowd bounce as they launch into the song of the same name.
Watching Joe Elliot is a real masterclass in stadium rock, he is performing to 40,000 people and yet still manages to connect to individuals in the crowd to create that sense of intimacy!
The hits keep coming, adopted South Yorkshireman Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell duel guitar work is stunning and Rick Savage and drummer Rick Allen are both steadfast, meaning this band is tight!
The hits keep coming, ‘Animal’, ‘Love Bites’, ‘Armageddon it’, before the whole band come down to the front and play a couple of acoustic songs. The vocal capabilities of the whole band really shine through especially on the song ‘This Guitar’ with the harmonies sounding fantastic! In fact, in that brief moment, I thought, harmony wise at least, that song bore at least some resemblance to one of the Eagles songs, albeit, just for a moment!
The electric guitars came back out, Joe Elliot was having the time of his life, dressed in Sheffield United colours, he’s been a fan since childhood, this must be a dream come true for him. He announces they are filming the show tonight and wants the crowd to go wild.
‘Bringin on the Heartache’ and ‘Switch 625’ from 1981’s High and Dry album are up next, and what a treat to hear them play some of their early material! One of my personal highlights of the night. Rick Allen’s drum solo in the latter was out of this world. Possibly, one of the best drummers and hardest hitting on the circuit, by a country mile!
Following ‘Switch’, we are back to the bands two most popular albums, Hysteria and Pyromania which takes us through to the end of the night.
‘Hysteria’, (which had a little echo of Bowie’s ‘Heroes’, something I’ve never noticed on the record) Pour Some Sugar on Me, Rock of Ages and finally ‘Photograph’ brings this incredible show to a close!
Def Leppard are at the top of their game and we’ll and truly delivered on Monday night. A truly epic night of stadium rock and roll. The World Tour heads out to Europe next week, before returning to the U.K. in July and if you can catch the show, you really should. It’ll blow you away!
