(photos from Tommy Combs)

Friday night, I was transported back to the 80s to relive my youth with many WJJK listeners at the Def Leppard concert. I’ll tell ya, the guys still have it and didn’t miss a beat! Joe Elliot’s voice was solid as he belted out so many of their classic, “Photograph”, “Animal” and of course “Pour Some Sugar On Me”. The band also played a few new songs, which you can’t blame them, they want to sell albums. It’s so cool how music has a way of distracting us from our daily lives and giving us an escape. I looked around the packed Klipsch Music Center and the crowd was eating it up! Props to the band as well for a cool stage show, that wasn’t over the top, but also wasn’t skimpy or cheesy. Phil Collen of course appeared shirtless, regardless of the unusually cool July evening here in Indiana. Weather couldn’t have been better. Collen was on his game and with guitar wailing, wowed the audience. Be sure and listen to my interview I did with him last week where he talked about how Def Leppard still keeps it fresh, reinventing themselves, while delivering their classics. Drummer Rick Allen even did a couple of drum solos during the show, and how on earth that guy plays as well as he does with just one arm is beyond me! His talent really is unmatched when you put him up against other drummers! Allen clearly feeds off the energy of his fellow band mates and the audience. Easily one of the best shows I’ve seen in years. Often times when older bands keep playing, they lose their desire and the quality suffers…think Motley Crue and Van Halen. But Def Leppard gave their fans their money’s worth at Klipsch, and then some~