This was a GREAT SHOW, see it if you like these groups, you will not be disappointed.
Classic riffs
ROCK REVIEW: Styx, Foreigner, Def Leppard bring timeless showmanship to Smirnoff
12:00 AM CDT on Sunday, September 2, 2007
By MARIO TARRADELL / The Dallas Morning News
mtarradell@dallasnews.com
Call them dinosaur rockers if you like, since these bands' heydays were a good 20 years ago. But there's no denying the showmanship of Styx, Foreigner and Def Leppard. Playing for 17,000 fans Saturday night at Smirnoff Music Centre, each group had its classic moment on the platform.
Photos by NAN COULTER/Special Contributor
Kelly Hansen (center) and Jeff Pilson of Foreigner rock out Saturday night.For Styx, the magic came together by the end of its 45-minute set. Keyboardist and occasional lead singer Lawrence Gowan appeared solo center stage and began to belt the opening lines of "Come Sail Away." Before long, he was behind his rotating organ doing the tune's familiar ballad intro. Then it went full band.
Mr. Gowan and his musical mates swooshed through the progressive rock staple. They cranked it out as if their futures depended on it.
Foreigner delivered the arena goods with "Juke Box Hero" about three-quarters into its 50-minute stint. New lead singer Kelly Hansen made you forget original belter Lou Gramm. Mr. Hansen appeared underlit on a riser by the drums, creating a mood for the brooding rock track.
He never let up from the first notes. The man was all over the place, savoring every drum, bass, guitar and keyboard riff from fellow Foreigners such as founder Mick Jones, who's still six-stringing. Mr. Hansen performed with so much relish you'd think he made the song a hit back in 1981.
Finally, there's Def Leppard. The band headlined at Smirnoff last year and packed a sell-out crowd of 20,000. Twelve months later, they're down 3,000 attendees. Still, not bad at all for a so-called '80s band.
Anyway, deadlines allowed me to witness only the first hour of the Leppard's show. But it's doubtful they would have topped "Love Bites." That song is the sexiest heavy-metal ballad ever recorded. You had guitarist Vivian Campbell's sultry, piercing guitar solo and lead singer Joe Elliott's suggestive lyrics. Add in drummer Rick Allen's simmering beat and you got a memorable concert snapshot.
There's more to say about each gig. Styx rocked with youthful abandon during "Too Much Time On My Hands." Foreigner's "Urgent" was immediate, what with Tom Gimbel's rhythmic saxophone and Mr. Hansen's powder-keg potency. Def Leppard's intimate rendition of "Bringing on the Heartbreak" proved all consuming.
We're talking "wall of sound" here, folks. Styx, Foreigner and Def Leppard may be out of favor with hip-hop driven pop radio and young kids bent on the latest emo-rock releases. Yet when it's time for a trunk full of recognizable songs, old-school musicianship and the sheer personality to entertain a large crowd, the hotties of the hour can't get the party started.
Classic riffs
ROCK REVIEW: Styx, Foreigner, Def Leppard bring timeless showmanship to Smirnoff
12:00 AM CDT on Sunday, September 2, 2007
By MARIO TARRADELL / The Dallas Morning News
mtarradell@dallasnews.com
Call them dinosaur rockers if you like, since these bands' heydays were a good 20 years ago. But there's no denying the showmanship of Styx, Foreigner and Def Leppard. Playing for 17,000 fans Saturday night at Smirnoff Music Centre, each group had its classic moment on the platform.
Photos by NAN COULTER/Special Contributor
Kelly Hansen (center) and Jeff Pilson of Foreigner rock out Saturday night.For Styx, the magic came together by the end of its 45-minute set. Keyboardist and occasional lead singer Lawrence Gowan appeared solo center stage and began to belt the opening lines of "Come Sail Away." Before long, he was behind his rotating organ doing the tune's familiar ballad intro. Then it went full band.
Mr. Gowan and his musical mates swooshed through the progressive rock staple. They cranked it out as if their futures depended on it.
Foreigner delivered the arena goods with "Juke Box Hero" about three-quarters into its 50-minute stint. New lead singer Kelly Hansen made you forget original belter Lou Gramm. Mr. Hansen appeared underlit on a riser by the drums, creating a mood for the brooding rock track.
He never let up from the first notes. The man was all over the place, savoring every drum, bass, guitar and keyboard riff from fellow Foreigners such as founder Mick Jones, who's still six-stringing. Mr. Hansen performed with so much relish you'd think he made the song a hit back in 1981.
Finally, there's Def Leppard. The band headlined at Smirnoff last year and packed a sell-out crowd of 20,000. Twelve months later, they're down 3,000 attendees. Still, not bad at all for a so-called '80s band.
Anyway, deadlines allowed me to witness only the first hour of the Leppard's show. But it's doubtful they would have topped "Love Bites." That song is the sexiest heavy-metal ballad ever recorded. You had guitarist Vivian Campbell's sultry, piercing guitar solo and lead singer Joe Elliott's suggestive lyrics. Add in drummer Rick Allen's simmering beat and you got a memorable concert snapshot.
There's more to say about each gig. Styx rocked with youthful abandon during "Too Much Time On My Hands." Foreigner's "Urgent" was immediate, what with Tom Gimbel's rhythmic saxophone and Mr. Hansen's powder-keg potency. Def Leppard's intimate rendition of "Bringing on the Heartbreak" proved all consuming.
We're talking "wall of sound" here, folks. Styx, Foreigner and Def Leppard may be out of favor with hip-hop driven pop radio and young kids bent on the latest emo-rock releases. Yet when it's time for a trunk full of recognizable songs, old-school musicianship and the sheer personality to entertain a large crowd, the hotties of the hour can't get the party started.
I guess this is 'classic rock' for them...i felt sooo old :tongue:
