Made it to the East side for a HUGE show on Sunday. This was my 5th Def Leppard show and it was the biggest crowd so far. It could be due to taking Bryan Adams and them both having headlining sets, but I'd like to think it's just because there is a new wave of fans getting into great rock music.
After seeing Rick Springfield just less than an hour away the night before, I was pretty much ready for this show without being too worn out and frazzled. I did sleep in and miss church, though. I thought I'd be there since I woke up at 7am and figured I'd toss and turn for a while and then get out of bed at 9am. Thankfully, I got more sleep, which was needed. When I woke, I got a message from Anne letting me know when she'd be heading over to pick me up for our trip.
We hit the road in a non-air conditioned car, but the cloud cover provided a nice breeze so we were ok traveling. There was only the radio, but we always have some great conversations. Anne and I don't agree on a lot of things politically, but I think we both prove that people from opposite ends of the spectrum can still get along and have a great time together. We also agree to disagree and don't force our views on each other. I have a blast visiting with Anne and so it was great to have a couple hours to do so. She does her homework, too, so it's always intelligent conversation. Of course, we talk about my future girlfriend in Iowa City, too. :) That's always fun!
When we got to Iowa City, we stopped to change cars and ride with Steph and her daughter, who has lately become known as "that cute little girl" and "Baby G", depending on whether you are on the Official Def Leppard Forum or someone's blog. I was unaware of what all was going down in Iowa City, so I was kind of surprised at the time we spent there. I was looking for Steph to be outside pacing, wondering where we were. Instead, she was inside patiently (?) waiting for Anne and her transfer paper. She had purchased a very cute white shirt for "Baby G" to wear with the pictures of her meeting Joe Elliot and Phil Collen at her last Def Leppard concert. Fortunately, it only took us a half hour or so to hit the road for Davenport, after making a brief food stop. I wasn't so worried about the time, but I just knew that Steph might be after seeing her before the Bret Michaels show. :) (I'm just giving Steph a hard time here, folks!)
When we walked out to the car, though, I quietly asked Anne where she would prefer sitting: the front seat so she could visit with Steph or the backseat with "Baby G", who last I knew wouldn't even look at me. Anne chose the back seat, so that was cool since I didn't want to scare "that cute little girl". Also, Steph was wearing shorts and she has a great pair of legs and...sorry, I digress...anyway...
It turns out that my fear of frightening "that cute little girl" was unfounded on this day! That was so cool! "Baby G" was in a great mood and actually took to me for the whole day! I was pleasantly surprised. She is such a cutie and reminds me of my youngest daughter with all of her energy and loving spirit. I spent a good part of that day goofing off with her and holding her on my shoulders and carrying her. She was well behaved and just fun to hang with.
When we got to the stadium, the line was HUGE! I couldn't believe how many people had turned out so early for this show. We got there about 15 minutes before they were scheduled to open the doors. I think they ran about 15 minutes late doing that. I stopped by the merch trailer out front while Anne, Steph, and "Baby G" got a place in line. I grabbed a T-shirt and later bought a program for Def Leppard to sign since I didn't think to bring my CD covers. I was informed when I joined them in line that Anne had a short "talking to" about the camera she brought. Anne was pretty adamant about taking that camera in since it is an expensive one and it would be risky leaving it in the car. Anne even went so far as to say she'd just sit outside if they gave her any hassle about it. That wasn't a good thing to hear, but I understood. Steph also had an opportunity to check out the 5 buses that were in the parking lot. She swore she saw outlines of Sav and Joe on one of the buses. It did look that way as we passed by.
Finally, they started letting us in the stadium and the line moved fairly quick once the doors opened. The line by that time had stretched WAY beyond where we were. When we got to the gates, Steph and "Baby G" went in just fine, but Anne had trouble and even had to talk to the head security guy. Now, Anne is pretty mild tempered and due to this, she was FURIOUS! I can't emphasize that enough because I had never seen her this ticked off before. She was ready to go sit in the car and wait out the show. As she started off toward the car, I went through, but caught her before she got too far away. Steph and I told her that she could put the camera in the trunk of the car and we would help carry anything else she needed inside. There was no way we were going to let her miss this concert. She agreed and I asked the security guy while she was gone if he would let her cut in line to get back in. He was kind enough to do so when she came back.
Steph had met with the security guy at the Peoria, IL, show and found out what the rider said for that show about cameras. Now, I'm sure on the Bryan Adams part of Def Leppard's tour the rider is probably very different, but at least in Peoria the cameras weren't supposed to be a big deal. I made the security guy aware of this and we both agreed that things were probably different for this part of the tour since it's a co-headlining situation. Thankfully, the guy understood and was polite to Anne upon returning to the line.
When we got inside, Anne and I caught up to Steph and her daughter. They had a decent spot close to the stage on Phil's side. It you go to the Def Leppard Forum, you will see posts by several of the kind people we were surrounded by. While waiting for the show to start, "Baby G" and I went for some lemonade and funnel cake. When we returned to the spot in front, we offered to share the lemonade and funnel cake, but found ourselves eating it pretty much alone. "Baby G" was so funny grabbing chunks off to eat. We did this with only a minor spill on her shirt, but it was above a picture and not on it, so we were still good.
Randy Coleman did a decent job of opening the show. It was just him, his guitar, and another guitar player who harmonized with him on a few things. They seemed genuinely happy to be there and probably have a similar feel to Bryan Adams on record, but live kind or a mellow acoustic sound. Not bad, but I was paying more attention to "Baby G" so that her mom spend time with the friends she was making around us. Steph was having a good time visiting and she met several people that she has probably had contact with online since.
Bryan Adams came out and really got the crowd going. He played all the hits and a couple of tunes from the new CD Room Service. After Summer Of 69 he had to explain that there is no 19 before the 69, of course. He did a couple of my favorites, Can't Stop This Thing We Started and The Kids Wanna Rock. His band was tight and they all dressed alike in blue jeans and black T-shirts. They knew their stuff and the guitar player played some aggresive solos throughout. At one point, Bryan pulled a girl up to sing. I tried to get the girl behind me some attention so she could get up there, but Bryan looked elsewhere for assistance. The girl he pulled up did a good job and she and her dad got some goodies out of it. Bryan had fun with the crowd and seemed pleasantly surprised at the turnout. This was my first time seeing him live and I will be going again if I have the chance.
When Def Leppard came out, I felt another rush of adrenaline that was welcome after standing out there sweating profusely from holding and carrying "Baby G". I think I worked up more of a lather than anyone around us, except for maybe Steph since she was doing some of the holding and carrying, too. There was such a nice breeze and it probably helped keep me on my feet as long as I was. Lep came out playing Action, which I think is a great opener. It's fast pasted and really sets the tone for the show. This was followed by Let's Get Rocked. They then launched in to several of their hits from Hysteria to Photograph to Armageddon It and more. They even did two more covers in No Matter What and Rock On, which I can't wait to hear on the upcoming CD. They had some video images running on several songs and a great light show.
About two-thirds of the way through, or wherever Rocket was placed in the set, my left foot had finally had enough and was about to crumble underneath me. My neck was sore. My back was sore. My knee, which I found out has a torn lateral meniscus, was sore. Most of all, though, was that nagging left foot. I told Steph that I needed to go sit down so she took care of "Baby G" the rest of the show. I went and sat on the infield wall next to the gate that goes into the stands. It felt so good to be off my feet. The show continued to sound great and I still had a great time seeing everything on through to the finale, Pour Some Sugar On Me. Def Leppard sounded tight and put on an awesome show for the crowd. They had great energy and everyone in that place was into the show.
Afterwards, I caught up with the gang and just paid attention to what Steph had in mind. She just has a knack for meeting Def Leppard and other rockers so I quietly just followed along to see what would happen. As with everyone else, we thought we were on the right side of the stadium to see when they would make a break for those buses in the parking lot. We didn't see that happen and wondered if something else could be happening backstage for the band. As we waited, Steph took her daughter to get a T-shirt inside the field. I found it kind of cute that "Baby G" had told me she really liked the pink shirt, but she ended up picking out one just like mine, only smaller. I'm not sure if Steph had something to do with that or if her daughter just wanted one like mine. I'd like to think the latter since we had so much fun being kids, but that's just my ego talking. :)
Steph came walking out quickly and said to keep our mouths shut and just follow her. I knew she must have found out something. She said that she met the head of security and he told her that the band was on the other side in their buses. The ones in the parking lot were apparently the crew buses. We walked around the back side of the stadium, which is a nice walk since it's right next to the Mississippi. It was beautiful out and not too hot. We were 4 of the maybe 15 people that were back there waiting for the band. We could see Rick Allen meeting people under the stands and saw him wrapping things up.
Vivian Campbell was the first to come out to meet us. He was very polite and kind and tried starting some conversation with "Baby G", who shied away. We all got pictures with him and I asked questions about the direction of the next original CD they may do. Vivian indicated that the covers CD helped refocus them on shorter pop/glam songs since that is their collective influence, so I'm anxious to hear it. I did tell him that I liked Slang, but he isn't a fan of the songwriting on it. He said they spent too much time messing around and didn't get focused on making great songs. Viv said that he was most disappointed in the choruses on it and was glad that the covers CD had as much impact as it did on the band. He said they really seem to need a good producer like Mutt Lange to keep them focused on the songs. I was impressed that he shared this much.
Rick Allen came out shortly after and I was able to get a picture and autograph from him as well. I told him that I was impressed with how tight the band sounds with everyone knowing their part and getting the timing right on everything. He's the timekeeper and the rest of the band takes their cues from him. He sure keeps them on the beat. I've seen a lot of bands and Def Leppard are really the tightest of the bunch (closely followed by Firehouse). Rick was very kind and seemed a bit quiet for someone nicknamed The Thunder God. It was great meeting him and I know my oldest daughter will wish she did, too.
Phil Collen came out for a bit and I was able to get his autograph, too. He spent his time making sure everyone was well taken care of and was impressed with "Baby G", too. She was shy again, but Phil got a picture with her.
Joe Elliot was the last to come out and he genuinely seemed to be enjoying himself. I've heard stories that he can be very short with people, but this was my first impression and it was great. He signed my program and took just a couple of pictures for people. He turned to go, but Malvin Mortimer stopped him to get a photo with "Baby G". Joe kneeled down and took the picture and even signed her shirt for her. Malvin was great for doing this and took a picture with "Baby G", too.
The ride back was uneventful, but we did get to see the pictures upon returning to Iowa City. You can see some of what Steph took on her blog. A couple of those pics with her daughter are just priceless.
It turns out that upon our arrival there that Steph's fish died. She didn't know how her daughter would take this so I, in my utter crassness and smart alec-ness, said "why not just get one just like it" so she'd never know? Well, as soon as Anne walked back into the room, Steph asked if someone would go to Wal-Mart with her to get a fish. Now, this would have been no big deal had it been the middle of the day, but this was getting on the wee hours of the morning! I was just being a smartass and, well, Anne may not let me live that one down. Anne looked at me like it was up to me. I was just along for the ride so I told her it was up to her and I was in no hurry if she wasn't. She decided, I'm sure against her better judgment, to go with Steph to Wally World. Me, I slipped off my shoes and tried crashing on the couch. They later arrived with a fish and the rest of the drive home I kept Anne awake with my snoring. I think.
Go check out the Def Leppard forum for the Davenport show and you will get to see who stood near us and others that were at the show. Also, go check out Anne's and Steph's blogs for their review of this day and some pictures.
I was totally impressed on my first meeting of 4 of the 5 Lep guys. Very kind and took the time to sign for everyone before heading out.
I would love to see this tour again and it would have been great if Des Moines could have gotten this tour, too. They mentioned the possibility of extending things with Bryan Adams and they will be doing some more touring in the fall and winter, it seems. Go see this show. It's great music and a great atmosphere in these ballparks.
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