Review by Shawn Perry
Photos by Maria Huizinga
Def Leppard and Journey were two of the biggest bands of the 80s. They dominated MTV and sold millions of records. They’ve both lost key members and have had their difficulties, but they’ve kept going. When it comes to playing live, they’re the consummate professionals. Together for two nights at the Forum, they closed out a 60-date, co-headlining summer tour, thanking their crew, their fans, and time for being good to their legacies. They say the best things come in pairs. At the Forum, the true essence of that saying came to a head.
Starting at just before 7:30 and going to just after 11:00, there was no scrimping as both bands played full sets of hits, deeper tracks and plenty of soloing. Journey went on first and blew through 19 songs in 90 minutes. Singer Arnel Pineda, at the helm for over 10 years, was a ball of energy. His voice, worn after a solid five-month, four-leg run, was rough at times, but his enthusiasm, interaction with the fans, and seemingly positive disposition is contagious.
Close followers of Journey may have thought the band’s days were numbered after guitarist Neal Schon blasted other members of the band for visiting President Trump at the White House in 2017. Tensions were especially high between Schon and keyboardist Jonathan Cain. Though they were both stationed on opposite sides of the stage and never really engaged each other, no on one was wiser. And apparently, it’s all water under the bridge now. Any frustrations Schon has likely come through in his soaring solos.
Cain, for his part, took the spotlight with a dramatic piano movement supported by an orchestral undertow after “Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’.” Not to be outdone, super drummer Steve Smith showed off his trickery on the skins, tins and sticks for a few minutes. Just when you want to write Journey off as a pop rock band, they come along with chops to spare that place them in a league all their own. Bassist Ross Valory, no slouch himself, stood in the middle of it all, keeping the hatches battened down.
Though the group has 14 studio albums to their credit, including two with Pineda, they focused primarily on the big six from 1977 through 1986. The album covers graced the backdrop to earmark the story. Naturally, 1981’s Escape got plenty of coverage, as did 1977’s Infinity, their first with Steve Perry. Schon took the microphone after scattering around a few notes on his axe and recalled how “Lights” was the first song he and Perry wrote together. He also remarked how the former Journey frontman had just released a new album, Traces, adding, “It’s very good.”
Cain also spoke to the audience, remembering a late night bus ride in 1982, and dedicating “Faithfully” to all Journey fans, before finishing the set off with what has become the band’s anthem and most celebrated song, “Don’t Stop Believin’.” One could speculate that Journey may well be at a crossroads, and changes could be forthcoming. After tonight, it’s anyone’s guess. If this is the last we will see the band for awhile, this performance could assume a special poignancy.
A half-hour later, it was Def Leppard’s turn. With a bigger, flashier stage show, it only seemed appropriate the British quintet would make a grand entrance once the countdown wall gave way, Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus” faded to the background, and “Rocket,” the fifth single from the group’s multi-platinum Hysteria album, would get things started. Like Journey before them, Leppard has no shortage hits, and most of them played tonight were from the band’s two biggest albums — 1983’s Pyromania and 1987’s Hysteria. There were, however, a few detours through other eras of the band’s storied exploits to keep it interesting.
A couple of 90s power ballads — “When Love And Hate Collide” and the lone acoustic number of the night “Two Step Behind” — soothed the masses between the high-energy high jinks. “Man Enough,” with its “Billy Jean” like cadence, was pulled in from the band’s most recent studio, self-titled release from 2015. Combined with the light show and lasers, it had the audience clapping wildly and moving about. The band’s magnificent take of David Essex’s “Rock On, ” featured on Yeah!, an album of covers released in 2006, is a great example of Leppard’s well-known allegiance to their mostly British influences of the late 60s and early 70s.
The only extended jam occurred during the course of “Bringing On The Heartbreak,” which found bassist Rick Savage and drummer Rick Allen riffing away before Collen joined in for a rumble through original guitarist Steve Clark’s instrumental “Switch 625.” Meanwhile, the current two-guitar tag team of Collen and Vivian Campbell took most of their respective solos within the context of the songs. And make no mistake about it, Def Leppard’s entire oeuvre rests with their songs.
Next to the first two cuts they sliced off — “Rocket” and “Animal” — the final four numbers of the night rank as the biggest in Def Leppards catalog. “Hysteria,” with a taste of David Bowie’s “Heroes” added to the fade, and “Pour Some Sugar On Me” ended the main set. An encore of “Rock Of Ages” and “Photograph” finished the night off in style, with Collen venturing out on the runway of the main stage with a camera mounted to his guitar’s headstock, and Campbell joining in to help out on some slight-of-hand guitar trade-offs. Final bows, obligatory thank you’s, and pointed fingers at the first few rows had everyone screaming for more. Two days after the show, Def Leppard were nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (Journey were inducted in 2017). It isn’t unreasonable to believe that, unlike Journey, they’ll carry on for some years to come. When you have a credo like “Rock rock ’till you drop,” you just can’t up and quit without actually dropping.
