Def Leppard and Journey

They've been around for a while, it all began in the '80s and their albums Pyromania and Hysteria made them gods, well, let's just say that they been placed them in the "Diamond Club."

Def Leppard, headed by vocalist Joe Elliott are still as amazing today as they were then. Yes, I admitted, I like these guys, their music rocks, regardless of what many guys will tell you. These were the people I rock to in the 80's and I was rocking to them last week at the Mohegan Sun Arena.

Rocket is one of the first 80's songs that I recalled cranking out in the stereo. I lived in the Dominican Republic then, but we rocked just the same. These guys are now in their mid to late 40's, but they still performed as if they were in their 20's. In this particular venue, Def Leppard made use of three screens split to present some awesome graphics as well as camera effects that made the show one of the best I seen. Being a Designer is truly great to see a show where I could admire more than just the artists, but also the great art up on the screens.

I saw the same venue in June, but was disappointed because the first act, Journey was offkey and balance. I then came to find out a week later that Steve Augeri was suffering from a severe throat infection and had to leave the tour. The only thing that made this performance worth while was that all the other members passed on the mic through out the show proving that they still a great band.

It was a great show back then, but this one was more special. We manage to get great tickets, very close to the stage and very near the entrance/exit for the bands. We happened to have arrived a few minutes early, and instead of wasting time in the lobby, we decided to find our seats. This was a great decision on our part, as the seats allowed us to preview NEAL SCHON and his family. He was stretching on the side lines and it gave us a chance to see that these musical gods are but real people like you and me. He was hanging there with some of the band members, but more importantly, he was chilling with his wife and playing and chasing his kids around. This was an amazing experience.

Neal opened up with his traditional National Anthem guitar solo. Then the band played on and we were very excited to see there new singer, Jeff Scott Soto. This guy was unbelievable. He played like a true champion. More importantly he made the show about the band and not himself which most rookies tend to do. He got the band involved in every aspect of the performance. The vocals, though did not sound like original Journey vocalist Steve Perry, it was refreshing and exciting. Steve Augeri is a great vocalist, but he never ceased to be "the clone" to many of the fans. This guy definitely has a future with this band.

The bottom line is that although these two bands have proven themselves over and over again, they still try very hard and never cease to impress their fans. Def Leppard has a new album, Yeah!, its premise is pretty cool in that it is all about cover songs with a nice rock twist. These two bands came to play together and the producers have really found a winning combination. Rock On!!!!