*takes a deep breath*
I FINALLY GOT TO SEE THEM LIVE!! *screams internally*
Okay, let's just make this a review of the whole concert while I'm at it.
My dad and I left the house at 5-ish and traffic was all right... until the Howard Franklin bridge where it slowed to nearly a crawl... We managed to make it to the Amp at 6:50, which was almost perfect timing. That man's handicap sticker comes in handy sometimes! So, we walked in and just as we made it to the stairs to go and find our seats, Tesla began to play.
Now, I almost passed out on the spot. Jeff Keith had been suffering from a cold for a little while and the band had to bow out of several recent dates from the tour. Plus, I was worried it would storm like it did last year. But, nope. Tesla performed and it was glorious! The guys said they would make it up to the Tampa fans last year and they did. Jeff didn't even sound like he had much of a cold. The band was absolutely amazing live. We got to our seats just as "Rock Me to the Top" ended and they had started to play "Edison's Medicine", a song I had always wanted to hear live. I sang along to every song they played. Jeff and Dave had their moment on the stage together, Brian got up on Troy's drum riser a few times, Jeff introduced Frank as one of his oldest friends and it was so sweet and the guys just sounded perfect... They played "Signs" at one point and my dad and I sang along together, which was a first. Their set was too short, though... But they were so amazing that it doesn't even matter to me.
REO Speedwagon came on next. My dad sang along to everything. They were a lot of fun. Kevin Cronin was just a bundle of energy up there. But in all my pictures, he came out as a white silhouette because of the lights...
And then came Def Leppard. By that point, nearly every seat at the Amp was taken plus there was most likely no room left out on the lawn. It was a sold-out show (almost). And this was also the most enthusiastic audience I have ever been a part of, at least for Def Leppard's performance. The guys were amazing! It was so wonderful to see Vivian Campbell up on the stage, too. There was a lot of love for Rick Allen, though, especially from the audience. Joe Elliot took turns introducing everyone, one by one. When Rick did his drum solo, the audience went nuts afterward. He looked so humbled, though. People carried on for a minute at least and he eventually looked at his watch jokingly. And then Joe said, right before "Rock of Ages" started that the band had been through a lot of s**t over the years and no one epitomized that more than Rick and another round of the audience going nuts ensued. I also had a bet with myself that Phil Collen would come out on stage shirtless. He did.
Overall, it was a magical night!
 SamWeiki · Tue Aug 16, 2016 @ 06:16am · 0 Comments |
