Styx/Def Leppard Edmonton reviews

[Jazz]

From the Edmonton Journal newspaper:

http://communities.canada.com/edmontonj ... -styx.aspx


· Def vs. Styx
Def Leppard didn’t appear on stage until 9:40 p.m. last night — which is why we didn’t get a review in today's paper.

I wanted to see more than 20 minutes of the show before peeling out of Rexall to file a review, but as it turns out, it wasn’t really necessary.

The Sheffield rockers were only headliners in name. They were out-rocked, out-classed and out-sung by their opening act — Styx.

This was Def Lep's third visit to Edmonton in four years. They always attract a large crowd — 10,000 fans were at Monday's show — but they seem to be tiring of the road, or at least growing complacent.

Their show seemed rather similar to their previous two gigs — shirtless guitarists, Joe Elliott and his Jesus Christ poses, video screens filled with vintage photos, etcetera ...

Perhaps if Def Lep wouldn't come through town so often, their shows wouldn't feel so stale.

Styx, in contrast, seemed lively, fresh and genuinely stoked to be performing in a hockey arena.

The prog-rockers, now featuring Lawrence Gowan (in place of Dennis DeYoung), haven't played Edmonton since 2001 — and then, they only pulled in 2,300 fans at the Shaw Conference Centre.

Styx was also blessed with greater musical diversity than Def Lep — from wussy synth arrangements to new-agey ballads to outlaw rock to manly guitar solos.

After awhile, the headliner's songs ended up following the same formula — an opening (and somewhat melancholy) verse about sex, a punchy chorus of chants, and wailing guitars.

Perhaps Def Lep was the Nickelback of the '80s.

------------

From the Edmonton Sun newspaper:

http://www.edmontonsun.com/Entertainmen ... 6-sun.html

By MIKE ROSS, SPECIAL TO SUN MEDIA


Def Leppard lead singer Joe Elliot rocks Rexall Place last night. (Jordan Verlage, Special to Sun Media)

Def Leppard is the Sheffieldian Bon Jovi.

They write light pop songs in a hard rock guise, their lyrics are idiotic, their sound is mired in a bygone era, they appeal to women and their album titles are very silly - Pyromania, Hysteria, Adrenalize, Hypothesize, Prosthelityze and their latest album, Yeah!

And yet there is something endearing about these sturdy lads. Perhaps because their days of churning out monstrous hits are behind them. Perhaps because they don't try to latch onto passing trends.

They are underdogs, troupers, seasoned warriors of the road who know who they are, who their fans are and how to please them. They stick to their guns. They know how to rock - for people who like to bang their heads gently.

While Bon Jovi subjected its crowd to the new "country" sounds of Bon Jovi in its concert earlier this year, Def Leppard did no such thing last night at Rexall Place. The band came out guns a-blazin', all cylinders firing, all horses at full trot, pick your cliche. They opened with Rocket, an up-tempo shuffle about a "satellite of love" on a "collision course with my heart." Then came Animal, another of the Leps' distinctive songs with one-word titles that make the chorus easy to sing along to. And we did. While visuals depicted each of the band members as a circus freak, the crowd of 10,000 screamed as one, A-ni-mal!


The audience may have been spoiled by the stupendous lead vocals of Gowan in Styx - more about him in a moment - but Joe Elliott wasn't quite up to par for the first couple of tunes. But he warmed into his role and reached those high notes. He had the right moves, he said the right things.

He noted the previous night was "quiet" in Calgary and invited the superior Edmonton rock fans to "blow them off the planet." There was the expected reaction. The band, one-armed drummer and all, pounded out the distinctive "hard rock with a pop edge" sound this band is known and loved for. Dependable - that's another appealing trait.

A word now about the classic rock conundrum of "doing one from our new album." Let's face it: No one wants to hear a classic rock band do one from their new album. We'll indulge the old guys, let them have their tune, but it had better be back to our favourite sugary rock hits by the time we get back to our seats with the beer. By press time, Def Leppard had played only one track from Yeah!, called Rock On, a Davis Essex tune also covered by the Smashing Pumpkins (and that's Def Leppard's closest connection to grunge rock).

The rest was wall-to-wall hits.

Actually, it wasn't wall-to-wall hits. Several of the lesser known songs, such as Mirror Mirror (Look Into My Eyes), came off like filler. It's when Def Leppard experiments with minor keys that my attention starts to wander. Also, there seemed to be a distinct lack of "oomph" in some of the tunes. Perhaps, as this was the second last show of the tour, they're saving it up for the final show in Saskatoon tonight. They better not diss Edmonton. It sure wasn't quiet last night.

But overall, this concert was very predictable. That's an unappealing trait.

OK, so the show chomped. But not nearly as much as Bon Jovi. Not even close.

Getting Styx to open for Def Leppard is getting tossed into the cold pool when you really wanted to go in a little at a time. It's a shock and a surprise. It's instant acclimatization to this particular classic rock milieu.

Even small doses of Styx's giddy brand of Emersonian, Lake-like, Palmeridian art rock bombast has the effect of obliterating 20 years worth of popular music. Just try to get Too Much Time on My Hands out of your head, not to mention Miss America. Aside from the revitalizing addition of Lawrence Gowan - who has found his home at last - this band is largely untouched by the sands of time, like the headliner.

In fact, the sands of time want nothing to do with these bands.

Right from the start came the annoying quirks that have made Styx one of the most loathed bands in rock critic-dom, the preening rock poseury, the lounge lizard attire, the self-important solos, the pretentious psuedo-classical arrangements. But with sheer energy, showmanship and determination, Styx wore me down and won me over. The secret weapon is Gowan and his amazingly rotating keyboard.

The man was in fine fettle, even doing most of the heavy lifting to accommodate costume changes for the other band members. Costume changes! His Criminal Mind was "reborn under the banner of Styx." And he just killed on Come Sail Away. By the third verse, he's standing on top of his keyboard, wailing as hard as he can.

I didn't want it to end. At the end of the encore song, Tommy Shaw told the cheering crowd he was about to say four words, but that he didn't want to say those four words because they would signify the end of the set.

Those four words were "we've got to go," and not, as I had hoped, "Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto."

It was the only flaw in an otherwise splendid show.

I daresay they even upstaged Def Leppard.

---

SOUNDCHECK

MAIN EVENT

DEF LEPPARD

IN THE SEATS

10,000 IN REXALL

LOWDOWN

An evening of classic rock regression notable for a fine performance from Lawrence Gowan, the "new guy" in Styx.

Sun rating: 3 out of 5

[stmonkeys]

Thanks, Jo! Sounds like you got to see a great sow!

Larry's the new guy, huh. I thought that was Ricky.

[stabbim]

Their lyrics are idiotic, their sound is mired in a bygone era, they appeal to women and their album titles are very silly - Pyromania, Hysteria, Adrenalize, Hypothesize, Prosthelityze and their latest album, Yeah!

And yet there is something endearing about these sturdy lads.

"They appeal to women?" What the hell kind of diclaimer/caveat is that?

[MtlLady]

Their lyrics are idiotic, their sound is mired in a bygone era, they appeal to women and their album titles are very silly - Pyromania, Hysteria, Adrenalize, Hypothesize, Prosthelityze and their latest album, Yeah!

And yet there is something endearing about these sturdy lads.

"They appeal to women?" What the hell kind of diclaimer/caveat is that?

*shrug* Must be the two shirtless guitar players. While I personally have no problem with that, the one who is usually to the right of the stage (Phil?) is too skinny for me. (And who the hell would name their son Vivian?? Oh well, to each is own).

That being said, I enjoyed their show here in Montreal.

[stabbim]

Their lyrics are idiotic, their sound is mired in a bygone era, they appeal to women and their album titles are very silly - Pyromania, Hysteria, Adrenalize, Hypothesize, Prosthelityze and their latest album, Yeah!

And yet there is something endearing about these sturdy lads.

"They appeal to women?" What the hell kind of diclaimer/caveat is that?

*shrug* Must be the two shirtless guitar players. While I personally have no problem with that, the one who is usually to the right of the stage (Phil?) is too skinny for me. (And who the hell would name their son Vivian?? Oh well, to each is own).

Heh. Not really my point, but Ok.

What I don't get is why "they appeal to women" is shoved into a laundry list of insults like "idiotic," "mired" and "silly" and then played off against "and yet there is something endearing," as if it's something to like the band in spite of.

Just weird, is all.

[MtlLady]

Heh. Not really my point, but Ok.

What I don't get is why "they appeal to women" is shoved into a laundry list of insults like "idiotic," "mired" and "silly" and then played off against "and yet there is something endearing," as if it's something to like the band in spite of.

Just weird, is all.

Ah, that's easy.

Poor writing on a deadline.

[stabbim]

Heh. Not really my point, but Ok.

What I don't get is why "they appeal to women" is shoved into a laundry list of insults like "idiotic," "mired" and "silly" and then played off against "and yet there is something endearing," as if it's something to like the band in spite of.

Just weird, is all.

Ah, that's easy.

Poor writing on a deadline.

<---nods

Yup, that would explain it.

[Jazz]

Thanks, Jo! Sounds like you got to see a great sow!

Larry's the new guy, huh. I thought that was Ricky.

It was a great show. All of my friends who were there ( seated in various areas of the building) agreed with the reviews above.

Lawrence in Styx is still new around here. We used to see him in town every year and since he joined the band, it's been twice in 8 years! For those of us who frequent the Styx sites, it's old news, but for everyone else...

Jo