let's get rocked

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Def Leppard, Poison, Cheap Trick at the Comcast Theatre (07/07/2009)

Do you wanna get rocked?

Wow. Cheap Trick, Poison, Def Leppard, all simply amazing.

Cheap Trick was the band that I thought I didn't know. In their short 40-minute set I was surprised to know quite a few songs. "I Want You to Want Me" was expected, but as they played their assortment of hits, including "Surrender" and "Dream Police", I found this was a band I already knew. They were the openers despite being the most seasoned of the bands present, and unfortunately it showed. They got far fewer fancy lights and no fancy set, as well as fewer fans in the audience.

The crowd seemed to quadruple as soon as Poison blared on stage to one of their earliest hits "Look What the Cat Dragged In". What was a sitting audience for Cheap Trick was now standing and singing. This moment, the entrance, has been the coolest moment of concerts for me. Seeing the bands I've spent hours blasting in my dorm room (and the singer you've spent hours watching on VH1) sends the craziest rush through me. Seeing favorites of mine like "Fallen Angel" and "Unskinny Bop" performed right there in front of me and I can't resist singing along.

But what was one thing even better than Poison that night? Def Leppard. I was, in the first place, a bigger Def Lep fan than I was Poison. While Poison's tunes are amongst the catchiest and most fun songs around, I have always found far more depth in Def Leppard. But in a concert atmosphere, I truly expected to enjoy Poison's set more because it is just that: catchy, fun, and very, very, rock n roll.

Def Leppard blew me away. Preceding the band's entrance was a video introducing the band (as if Def Leppard needs introducing), showing photos, album covers, and titles of their many hit songs and the final words, "That was then.... This is NOW!". That considered, the set ended up pulling mostly from "then". Nearly every song I could have hoped to hear I heard. "Animal", "Photograph", "Pour Some Sugar On Me", "Rock of Ages", the essentials were all present.

My favorite part of the show came as a pleasant surprise to me. The entire band (save for the one-armed drummer Rick Allen) came out to the end of the catwalk, acoustic guitars in tow, for a section featuring "Two Steps Behind" and "Bringing on the Heartbreak", two of their many popular love ballads. I would have loved to hear "When Love & Hate Collide" as well but it wasn't a big hit in the U.S. and the rest of the show did not disappoint.

Def Leppard's showmanship is outstanding. After touring for nearly every year of their 30+ year career and playing many of the same songs every night, every member gave it their all.

For their obligatory encore, singer Joe Elliott simple came out and asked the audience, "Do you wanna get rocked?" The audience's boisterous screams indicated a yes and off they blared into another hit, "Let's Get Rocked". And that's just what happened that night. I got, completely and utterly, rocked. And words do not describe.

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On a side note, the very concert I was at was filmed for VH1's upcoming "Live and Loud" concert series. The series premieres this Friday (07/17/2009) and will air 3 songs per bands from the concert I was at. You might see me on TV! If you don't, you'll at least see Def Leppard, Poison, and Cheap Trick on TV, and maybe that's the next best thing. :P So watch it. It will be awesome. I know it will be because I was there. A witness. Heck yea.