(note: Luke Matthews took the photo above from the show last night…he has a good camera).
Last night’s KISS/Def Leppard show was AWESOME…and as I quickly found out…I was the only guy who might not have been wearing a black t-shirt….but check out my hot date.
Let’s start from the top…
Def Leppard…AWESOME.
This was the 5th time I had seen Def Leppard, and after seeing them open for Poison at the
Wells Fargo Arena a few years back, I came to the conclusion that maybe I was sort of done watching them live. I was wrong.
Def Leppard brought it. There was another 80s Hairband that came through Des Moines a month ago…named Motley Crue. I love the Crue, but they could have learned a thing or two from watching Def Leppard last night. Def Leppard was on point…loud…and looked like they were actually enjoying the moment.
It was a greatest hits party…all the way through. My wife kept jabbing me in the side each time a new song would start and say “I love this song”. She was not alone.
I came to the conclusion…that even though it’s perhaps not their best song…my favorite song of theirs, without a doubt…is “Let’s Get Rocked”. (I do apologize for my singing here).
My apologies to my now 2nd favorite Def Leppard song “Animal”…which had held the top spot for some 20 years now.
Joe Elliott’s favorite 3 moves?
1. The finger point to the sky
2. The “I’m bowling” fist thrust…like you’re bowling a strike.
3. The trucker horn. (where your fist is up high, and then you bring it down).
I wrote Def Leppard off too fast…I’d pay gladly to see them again. That was 80 minutes of pure fun.
Between Kiss & Def Leppard…I couldn’t help but notice that the men’s bathroom line was twice as long as the womens’. What alternate reality am I living in? Maybe it was a bunch of girls sneaking into the mens’ room? (you know you’ve done it…we’re fine with it…unless we really have to go).
There were also 4 guys totally decked out in KISS outfits…they were great. I couldn’t help but notice that they didn’t have the best seats though…if you dress head-to-toe as KISS, you should have better tickets, right? Plus, no idea how they went to the bathroom in those things.
I had never seen KISS before…and there was no disappointment. Are you kidding me? KISS! I’d use an expletive to fully describe the AWESOMEness, but I don’t need a meeting today…I’m too tired.
From the moment KISS hit the stage…from a giant spider, of course, it was on…
They sounded great…they looked tremendous…it was full-blown KISS!
When I say “they”, I mean Paul & Gene…I couldn’t even tell you who the guitarist & drummer are now, but it didn’t matter. They sort of us just did their thing and let Gene & Paul take center stage.
As this was my first time seeing KISS, I have to ask the question that’s asked every time “How do they not fall over in those platform boots?”
Seeing Gene Simmons spit fireballs…
to spitting blood…
to being raised to the rafters during “God of Thunder”…all things I’m really glad I got to see. I will tell my kids about that one day.
“Lick It Up” & “I Love It Loud” were my personal favs from last night.
If you were at the show…question for you…how many picks did Paul Stanley go through? He was tossing those suckers into the crowd left & right.
This morning…my throat hurts…my hearing is muffled….which means, it was a helluva show.
As Paul Stanley said to the kids in the crowd…we were here for your parents…and we will be here for you!
Can’t wait.
AWESOME is as AWESOME does!
