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We arrived late, so only caught Blackstone Cherry's final bars, they sounded good so it's a shame we missed 'em.
Whitesnake were up next (clearly NOT co-headliners, as they had less use of the stage and little use of the big screen behind the stage) and they played quite a lot from the new album. THey were on stage for about an hour and a half I think - played stuff like "Fool For Your Loving" and "Here I Go Again" (which was amazing) obviously, but also "Best Years", "Lay Down Your Love", after Cov had introduced it by going on about some birds "magnificent chests" in the front row. He was quite witty and entertaining throughout, and his voice was great. He's sounding a bit Brian Johnson nowadays but not quite as raspy. Highlight of their set, for me, was the acoustic "Aint Gonna Cry No More", played by Doug alone, with Cov singing. Great version.
Doug played his Les Paul goldtop pretty much the entire show, Reb played a couple of Suhr's. Doug was clearly the star, along with Cov, as he was coming centre stage constantly, while Reb was pretty much stuck to the sidelines all night. Which was a real shame, as I actually MUCH preferred Reb's playing. Doug's solos were pretty much all the same - flick in the neck pickup, widdle for a while, end solo with a bit of melody from the original recorded version. It got old quick for me, but hey, the guy looks like a fucking rock star with the hair, Les Paul and big grin, so maybe that's why he's the star. Reb's solos on the other hand, were less muddy and technically more interesting. He did a fair bit of tapping, but never missed a note, and really stole the show for me. He also looks exactly like Deicide mainman Steve Asheim.
Unfortunately I went to the bar during some slow song and the guitarists did some soloing which I fucking missed. Doh!
Speaking of drummers, there was an interminable drum solo, probably the most boring drum solo I've ever heard in my life, which is saying something since nearly ALL of them have been incredibly boring. Why the hell do they do that shit?!
They finished with a storming "Still of the Night", which really got the crowd going.
Me and my mates all agreed they'd been worth the ticket price alone.
Leppard kicked off with "Rocket" and "Cmon Cmon", which both went down well. They seemed to be steering away from the older stuff this tour - last time they were in Glasgow they did loads from High N Dry and played a pretty heavy set. This time it was based a lot more around Hysteria, with "Animal", "Hysteria", "Armageddon It" and "Pour Some Sugar". "Lets Get Rocked" and "Make Love Like a Man" from Adrenalize went down really well, everyone singing all the words. They got the acoustics out for "Two Steps Behind" (I think) and then an incredible version of "Bringin' On The Heartbreak" which they started with the acoustics, Joe playing on his own for a few seconds while the other guys went back and got the electrics for the song's finale. Brilliant.
The new album only had three songs played from it: the aforementioned "Cmon Cmon", "Nine Lives" and a cracking version of "Bad Actress". They had the crowd in the palm of their hands throughout the whole show, apart from when they went back to that abortion of an album, Yeah! and played "Rock On". It killed the atmosphere stone dead - most people had no idea what the hell it was, and it's so slow and fucking boring it was just a mystery why they played it.
But they got back on track with the old classics like "Photograph", "Rock of Ages".
Viv played sparkly Les Pauls most of the night, and pulled out an Explorer for one song, can't remember which one it was. Phil played his PC1's all night, although the sustainer was notable by it's absence, not sure why, but he never seemed to use it at all. Both guys played great all night, with Viv in particular getting around the stage and acting the rock star, which was entertaining. Sav was the same. Rick never missed a beat. The big screen behind the stage was put to good use, showing videos and stuff which a lot of people (like my wife) really enjoy. There was one good moment when Viv went up to the top of the ramp, fist in the air, and the same image from some video appeared right behind him on the big screen. I don't know if he did it on purpose, but it looked fucking great.
Joe's voice was fine - he never really tried for any high notes, but I never noticed his voice cracking or anything. He barely spoke between songs, although he mentioned they were filming the show for a DVD so maybe I'll be on it.
Overall, Leppard put on a great show - also about an hour and a half. They steered clear of the heavier old songs, probably because of the filming, and also because this was a bigger venue than last time so knew there'd be more than just the diehards there this time.
Both bands were excellent, both sets of musicians performing to perfection, both frontmen charismatic and entertaining and everyone went home well pleased.
A great night. Funnily enough, the three guys there all thought Leppard were better, but my wife - who actually doesn't like Whitesnake very much other than "Here I Go Again" and actually told me to "turn that shit off" when I was playing Good To Be Bad said she thought Whitesnake were better.
I thought it was because she fancied Doug Aldrich but no, she said she found ole Cov' really entertaining. Either way, both bands were great value for money.
More pics here:
Whitesnake were up next (clearly NOT co-headliners, as they had less use of the stage and little use of the big screen behind the stage) and they played quite a lot from the new album. THey were on stage for about an hour and a half I think - played stuff like "Fool For Your Loving" and "Here I Go Again" (which was amazing) obviously, but also "Best Years", "Lay Down Your Love", after Cov had introduced it by going on about some birds "magnificent chests" in the front row. He was quite witty and entertaining throughout, and his voice was great. He's sounding a bit Brian Johnson nowadays but not quite as raspy. Highlight of their set, for me, was the acoustic "Aint Gonna Cry No More", played by Doug alone, with Cov singing. Great version.
Doug played his Les Paul goldtop pretty much the entire show, Reb played a couple of Suhr's. Doug was clearly the star, along with Cov, as he was coming centre stage constantly, while Reb was pretty much stuck to the sidelines all night. Which was a real shame, as I actually MUCH preferred Reb's playing. Doug's solos were pretty much all the same - flick in the neck pickup, widdle for a while, end solo with a bit of melody from the original recorded version. It got old quick for me, but hey, the guy looks like a fucking rock star with the hair, Les Paul and big grin, so maybe that's why he's the star. Reb's solos on the other hand, were less muddy and technically more interesting. He did a fair bit of tapping, but never missed a note, and really stole the show for me. He also looks exactly like Deicide mainman Steve Asheim.
Unfortunately I went to the bar during some slow song and the guitarists did some soloing which I fucking missed. Doh!Speaking of drummers, there was an interminable drum solo, probably the most boring drum solo I've ever heard in my life, which is saying something since nearly ALL of them have been incredibly boring. Why the hell do they do that shit?!
They finished with a storming "Still of the Night", which really got the crowd going.
Me and my mates all agreed they'd been worth the ticket price alone.
Leppard kicked off with "Rocket" and "Cmon Cmon", which both went down well. They seemed to be steering away from the older stuff this tour - last time they were in Glasgow they did loads from High N Dry and played a pretty heavy set. This time it was based a lot more around Hysteria, with "Animal", "Hysteria", "Armageddon It" and "Pour Some Sugar". "Lets Get Rocked" and "Make Love Like a Man" from Adrenalize went down really well, everyone singing all the words. They got the acoustics out for "Two Steps Behind" (I think) and then an incredible version of "Bringin' On The Heartbreak" which they started with the acoustics, Joe playing on his own for a few seconds while the other guys went back and got the electrics for the song's finale. Brilliant.
The new album only had three songs played from it: the aforementioned "Cmon Cmon", "Nine Lives" and a cracking version of "Bad Actress". They had the crowd in the palm of their hands throughout the whole show, apart from when they went back to that abortion of an album, Yeah! and played "Rock On". It killed the atmosphere stone dead - most people had no idea what the hell it was, and it's so slow and fucking boring it was just a mystery why they played it.
But they got back on track with the old classics like "Photograph", "Rock of Ages".
Viv played sparkly Les Pauls most of the night, and pulled out an Explorer for one song, can't remember which one it was. Phil played his PC1's all night, although the sustainer was notable by it's absence, not sure why, but he never seemed to use it at all. Both guys played great all night, with Viv in particular getting around the stage and acting the rock star, which was entertaining. Sav was the same. Rick never missed a beat. The big screen behind the stage was put to good use, showing videos and stuff which a lot of people (like my wife) really enjoy. There was one good moment when Viv went up to the top of the ramp, fist in the air, and the same image from some video appeared right behind him on the big screen. I don't know if he did it on purpose, but it looked fucking great.
Joe's voice was fine - he never really tried for any high notes, but I never noticed his voice cracking or anything. He barely spoke between songs, although he mentioned they were filming the show for a DVD so maybe I'll be on it.
Overall, Leppard put on a great show - also about an hour and a half. They steered clear of the heavier old songs, probably because of the filming, and also because this was a bigger venue than last time so knew there'd be more than just the diehards there this time.
Both bands were excellent, both sets of musicians performing to perfection, both frontmen charismatic and entertaining and everyone went home well pleased.
A great night. Funnily enough, the three guys there all thought Leppard were better, but my wife - who actually doesn't like Whitesnake very much other than "Here I Go Again" and actually told me to "turn that shit off" when I was playing Good To Be Bad said she thought Whitesnake were better.
I thought it was because she fancied Doug Aldrich but no, she said she found ole Cov' really entertaining. Either way, both bands were great value for money.
More pics here:
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