Main Street Recommends

Above photo from Def Leppard’s website 

For those of you who are familiar with my music reviews, you know that I am a music lover who tries to attend as many concerts as my wallet can handle during the summer months. Also, as previously proclaimed in a variety of show reviews, Saratoga Performing Arts Center is one of my favorite venues to attend. It’s an easy drive, the staff is always very friendly, and the venue itself is always incredibly clean and well kept. 

Now, I have been a Def Leppard fan since I was a kid, mostly due to my parents inundating me with ‘80s rock when I was younger. In fact, one of my favorite sweatshirts that I wore throughout high school was a dark red, tie-dyed Def Leppard hoodie that I probably bought from Forever 21 or a similar store. I must’ve gotten rid of it at some point, because I did go in search of it prior to the concert, only to come up empty-handed. Regardless, I tell you this so that you know that I’m not a fake fan and that I wore the hell out of that sweatshirt before tossing it. 

Okay, let’s get back on track. I have an annual tradition with my parents for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day in which I purchase concert tickets for us as a gift. More often than not, we head to SPAC, since it’s close by and typically has a pretty good line up for the summer season. This year was no different. I started looking for concert tickets sometime in March and was thrilled when I saw that Def Leppard had a date at SPAC. Easy money. Tickets were added to the cart and that was that. What I didn’t realize was that Bret Michaels, the lead singer of ‘80s glam rock band Poison, was the opener. My dad was going to be over the moon. 

Bret Michaels plays Poison classics 

Bret Michaels immediately got the crowd on their feet when he opened his set with Poison classic, “Talk Dirty to Me.” In fact, the entire setlist for this show was composed of Poison songs, which was probably a safe bet, as that’s what Bret Michaels is most synonymous with and likely what the crowd wanted to hear. He followed up with “Ride the Wind,” from Poison’s 1990 Flesh & Blood album, and then got everyone back on their feet for “Your Mama Don’t Dance,” which is actually a cover of Loggins & Messina, a 1970s pop duo. 

Michaels and his band then followed up with “Look What the Cat Dragged In,” from Poison’s 1986 debut album of the same name. Michaels noted that while they don’t play this track at every show, it is one of the most requested tunes. If the roar of the crowd was any indication, he wasn’t kidding. 

At the beginning of his set and throughout the show, Michaels continued to acknowledge the passing of rock legend and “Prince of Darkness” Ozzy Osbourne, who had passed earlier that day. He once again dedicated this performance to Osbourne before grabbing his acoustic guitar and performing “Something to Believe In.” During the song, he encouraged the crowd to hold up their phone flashlights and even asked for the camera person to come on stage and film the crowd rather than himself. “That’s what matters,” he said while the crowd was shown on the big screens. Throughout the entire performance, it was evident that Michaels was having a fantastic time and was obviously grateful that he still gets to perform like this which, as both a fan and avid concert-goer, was endearing to see. 

He and his band finished out the set with three of Poison’s most popular songs, “Unskinny Bop,” “Every Rose Has Its Thorn,” and “Nothin’ But a Good Time.” Before leaving the stage, Michaels took a few minutes to touch hands with those in the front row of the pit and even went so far as to sign a few shirts and records before he left the stage for the night.

Right after Bret Michaels’ set, I made a mad dash for the bathroom (as did everyone else) and stopped to grab some fries for my dad and I in the half hour before Def Leppard was due on stage. In between sets, they were blasting Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne classics, which was also a nice tribute to the rock legend. 

Def Leppard hits the stage 

Def Leppard entered the stage promptly at 9:20pm to the Pyromania intro and immediately launched into “Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop),” from their 1983 Pyromania album. They continued with the rockin’ theme, moving onto “Rocket,” from 1987’s Hysteria, and “Let’s Get Rocked,” from the 1992 album Adrenalize.

Even after over 40 years of performing, the band still plays beautifully together. The musicianship is tight, the harmonies are gorgeous, and the energy is through the roof. They went on to play “Foolin’,” from the Pyromania album, before playing my personal favorite Def Leppard song, “Armageddon It.” There’s something about that riff right at the beginning – can you hear it now? – that gets me stoked. The harmonies at the chorus still sound so good and that solo from Vivian Campbell in the middle of the song is godly. 

1987’s Hysteria hits “Animal” and “Love Bites” were next, followed by a few songs I shockingly did not know, but enjoyed nonetheless – 2024 single, “Just Like ‘73,” 1981 hit “Let It Go,” and Pyromania’s “Die Hard the Hunter.”

About an hour into the show, Def Leppard paused to recognize the passing of Ozzy Osbourne. A brief speech by lead singer Joe Elliott was followed by an acoustic set in honor of Ozzy, featuring various photos of the band with Black Sabbath in the ‘80s and individual shots of Ozzy on the big screen. The acoustic set began with a snippet of Black Sabbath’s “Changes,” followed by Def Leppard originals “This Guitar” and “Two Steps Behind.” 

They brought the energy back up with, “Bringin’ On the Heartbreak,” which rolls cleanly into the instrumental “Switch 625,” which appears on the album as a seamless lead-off. Joe then addressed Rick Allen on the drums to famously kick-off “Rock of Ages,” with “gunter, glieben, glauten, globen.” 

Now, what does that mean? Nothing in particular, apparently. Producer Mutt Lange said that the intro is simply German-like gibberish said during the recordings of “Rock of Ages” instead of the regular one, two, three, four.  

The last song Def Leppard played before the encore was “Photograph,” which of course, got everyone on their feet and singing like it was their job. After saying goodnight and leaving the stage for a few minutes, they reemerged to play two of their most popular songs of all time – “Hysteria” and “Pour Some Sugar On Me.” 

Now, we listened to “Pour Some Sugar On Me,” one of those songs that everyone knows the words to, on our way back to the parking lot, as we really didn’t want to get stuck in the horde of traffic on the way out. I will say, however, that everyone we passed on the way to the parking lot – my dad and I included – was singing the words and enjoying the concert even on their way out. 

Overall, it was a fantastic concert. Both Bret Michaels and Def Leppard sounded incredible and the performances were just off the charts. Another happy concert experience at SPAC for me – stay tuned for the remainder of the summer, because I just might have a few more on the schedule.

Listen to the setlist from the show below: