07/06/05 - HOHOKAM PARK, MESA, AZ

Review by Christina Fuoco (liveDaily news):
Stalwart '80s rockers Def Leppard during the Rock 'n' Roll Doubleheader tour with co-headliner Bryan Adams balked while attempting to pitch 25 years worth of hits.
Lead singer Joe Elliott, who appeared to be ill, lacked the enthusiasm of tours past. The leather-pants-wearing frontman sounded hoarse, relying on vocal help from his bandmates on songs such as "Photograph" and the ballad "Love Bites." He enlisted the crowd at Mesa's Hohokam Park to sing the chorus to "Animal," and the thirtysomething audience happily complied.

Def Leppard opened the show with "Action" before long, black curtains parted to reveal a screen that interspersed live clips of the band with video images. During "Hysteria," an image of the British flag celebrated the group's heritage. Though Elliott's voice was hoarse, he stuck with his trademark moves, spinning his microphone stand and raising it in the air to encourage the fans to applaud. Keeping with the retro feel, fans held up lighters--instead of the very 21st century cell phones--to salute Def Leppard during "Foolin'." Like tourmate Adams, Elliott said very little to the audience. When he did offer between-song banter, he commented on Phoenix's climate ("It's a hot, sticky evening--what we all like") or drummed up support for the band's recently released greatest-hits package, "Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection." Despite Elliott's struggles, the band, led by longtime guitarist Vivian Campbell, was dead on. Campbell's thick, heavy-handed guitar solos were cheered on by the audience during songs such as "Armageddon It."

Canadian rocker Adams, however, hit a homerun with his set. Promoting his latest album, "Room Service," he playfully led the crowd – not out of necessity--in sing-alongs of hits including "Kids Wanna Rock" and "Summer of '69." The crowd, peppered with a curious number of Whitesnake and Pink Floyd T-shirts, responded eagerly, collectively punching their fists in the air as Adams sang the chorus to "Cuts Like a Knife." For "When You're Gone," a sprightly song that he performed on record with Mel C. of the Spice Girls, he recruited a singing partner--a clearly nervous 12-year-old girl from Glendale, AZ, who admitted that she is working with a vocal coach to pursue her dream of becoming a singer. Adams encouraged her by saying, "I just want to tell you that it's a good job." For the tour, the stage was set up in centerfield with the ballfield available for patrons who wished to stand or sit on blankets. General admission extended to the stands. Fans also watched the show through the netting behind home plate, while others sat on top of the dugout or stood in the ballfield.

Technically, the first-ever concert at Hohokam Park went off with nary a hitch. Traffic snags, however, prevented many in the audience from seeing the beginning of Adams' set, and concession stand employees reported that the stadium ran out of beer close to 8 p.m., only an hour into Adams' performance.

Setlist:
Room Service
Somebody
18 Til I Die
Can't Stop This Thing We Started
Run To You
Kids Wanna Rock
Summer Of '69
Everything I Do
This Time
Cuts Like A Knife
When You're Gone
This Side Of Paradise
Heaven
It's Only Love
The Only Thing That Looks Good On Me Is You

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Thanks to Darren for the setlist and picture. For this show BA came on first followed by Def.

BA and the boys rocking Mesa, Arizona