def fucking leppard!!!the year was 1987. i was 8 years old, and already completely obsessed with music. my first 45s were "let's get physical" by olivia newton john and the theme song to "greatest american hero". my first album was bon jovi's "slippery when wet" in 1986. that was huge, but not as huge as what was to come the following year.
i was constantly watching mtv. i actually owned a "club mtv" sweatshirt. so, while grooving to bon jovi, europe, and george michael, i see a new video. 5 guys from sheffield england. i was instantly in love with the hottie with the long blonde hair and massively ripped jeans. and they had such a cool name...def leppard.
i bought the
hysteria tape, and the rest is history. i can very clearly remember sitting in my room, on the floor next to my boom box, listening to the song "hysteria", rewinding, listening again, rewinding, over and over again. i had pictures of joe elliott plastered all over my walls. i may have only been 8, but i already had a very serious crush on one hot hunk of man. i would daydream about kissing joe elliott...all day, every day. my world was ruled by lep. and that's why, in 1991, i remember being devastated when i heard that steve "steamin" clark had died.
july 27, 1988. the day def leppard played at the allentown fairgrounds. i was mad at my mom for at least a full year because she wouldn't let me go to the concert. sure, i was only 9, but i
needed to be there.
fast forward to this past tuesday. in discussions about possibly going to see bon jovi in december, a friend mentions to me that def leppard was playing that night in boston. memories flood my brain instantly. i hadn't thought about lep since 1993. i mean, every now and then i would think, "oh, i should buy
hysteria on cd." but then i'd forget. anyway, we agree to meet at the show, and see if we can find some cheap tickets. turned out they were selling student tickets (and kelly's a BU law student). so, kelly, melissa and i get our $20 tickets. we missed 5th row seats by 10 minutes.
the show starts, and i almost cried. i couldn't believe i was FINALLY seeing def leppard! i wasn't sure what to expect going into it, really hoping it wouldn't be a sad, nostaglia act. it wasn't. it was absolutely awesome! sav was wearing a white muscle shirt, with white-ish jeans, always trying to see how far apart he could spread his legs while rockin on the bass. phil collen has his shirt off for most of the show. rick allen still has only one arm. and joe elliott is still one hot hunk of man. i couldn't stop myself from repeatedly yelling, "i've wanted you for 17 years, joe, and i still do!!!" one of the most incredibly fun shows i've been to. and that's just 2 weeks after finally seeing paul mccartney.
i haven't listened to lep in years, and yet all the words to all the songs just came pouring out of my mouth. even the random screams, and the "come on, steve, get it"s. and then that made me sad that steve is no longer there.
overall, one of the best experiences of my life. if it hadn't been raining, melissa and i were gonna wait out back by the buses, just like we never got to do in 1988. joe would never even know what hit him.
setlist from 10.11.05 - boston, ma
action, let it go, make love like a man, hysteria*, promises, no
matter what**, love bites, armageddon it, gods of war***, rock on^,
rocket^^, photograph, animal, rock of ages
E: bringing on the heartbreak, pour some sugar on me
* phil collen takes his shirt off
** badfinger cover, off of new album, also covered by lillian axe in
the early 90s
*** SICK
^ i forget who the original was, but michael damian the soap star
covered this around the time sugar/armageddon came out
^^ REALLY SICK
setlist provided by posty.
i'm officially re-obsessed with lep. i've been listening to
vault almost constantly since wednesday. and i stand by my opinion that "hysteria" is one of the greatest songs ever written. and it's now my ringer, and i couldn't be happier.
