Location: Prague / O2 Arena / Czech Republic
Concert date: May 23, 2015
Attendance: 15,000
Ticket price: €149.00 (two-day package with a `fan pit` ticket)
The long-awaited Friday finally arrived, and with it our planned trip to Prague. Of course, this time our top priority wasn’t seeing the gorgeous Prague sights, it was the Def Leppard concert.
Heavy night rain saw us off from Slovenia as we set out at eleven in the evening on a bus organized by Koncerti.net, heading through Austria toward the Czech Republic. The overnight ride wore us out, but most people couldn’t really sleep anyway. The excitement and anticipation didn’t help, since most of the passengers on this trip had never seen the band live before.
Early in the morning we pulled into Prague and checked out the old town center and the famous Charles Bridge. And of course we had to stop at the Hard Rock Cafe in Prague. After checking into the hotel, we headed for the O2 Arena. At that point the Prague organizers hadn’t opened the venue yet, and the first fans of this British band were already gathering at the doors. We waited outside for a good hour, and at half past six in the evening the security guys finally took pity on us and let us into the arena. The check that followed would make even security at American airports jealous – we were gone over with multiple metal detectors, and every single handbag went through an X-ray machine. Once all the beeping gadgets finally let us through, it was a mad dash for the best spot in the hall.
Then more waiting, during which we got to admire the tech crew working their hearts out trying to fix the broken sections of the side big screens. The repair didn’t work out, so they simply blacked out some of the bulbs, in places even with black tape. Watching the techs at work made the time fly, and at eight the first band finally walked out on stage – Czech hard rockers Citron. Citron are considered legends of Czech rock. They’ve been playing since 1976 and have released 14 albums over their rich musical career. Even though we didn’t understand the language well, we enjoyed a really solid show with hard guitar riffs and clean vocals. Citron clearly play a lot back home, because every member had that stage mileage, and they weren’t the least bit intimidated by a crowd of almost 10,000 heads below them. You could also tell that Citron have quite a big fanbase, who followed their set with enthusiasm. After half an hour they wrapped up their part of the night, followed by a lightning-fast cleanup and stage setup. Since we didn’t want to lose our good spot near the stage, we skipped the wonderful taste of Czech beer and stayed in the hall, where we weren’t allowed to bring any drinks. And at nine, when the members of Def Leppard took the stage to a backing track of a (way too) long version of The Who’s Won’t Get Fooled Again, we had all completely forgotten about that tasty Czech beer.
They kicked off with a bang, with Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop). The smaller, badly working big screens that had stood on stage during Citron’s set were cleared away by the techs during the break, and the stage lit up with all kinds of LED lights across the whole backdrop. The colorful backdrops behind the band were truly gorgeous and kept changing thematically throughout the show. The techs sorted out the sound right after the first song, so even in the front rows by the stage we got to enjoy a beautiful symphony of sound. By the start of Animal the sound in the hall was already bordering on perfection, and the crowd had warmed up to a nicely »participatory« temperature. Singer Joe Elliott felt it too, and his initial nerves and tension started to melt away, so he moved closer to the crowd mid-song, completely relaxed, and got everyone to join in. The rest of the band followed his lead. The guys made their way through a setlist of hits without any major hiccups, while the crowd got more and more fired up, belting out the choruses along with the backing vocalists. Def Leppard are heavily layered with vocals from every member in the studio, and that signature part of their sound doesn’t let them down live, either. We were all listening with extra tension to see whether Joe would be able to hit the high notes in his songs. Footage from recent shows had shown the singer in a pretty sad light on that front. This time, though, Joe and his voice delivered – it really felt like Joe had decided to give the Prague crowd everything he had. The crowd knew how to appreciate it, so the smiles on stage and the relaxed vibe grew by the minute. Even bassist Rick Savage, whose Botox-filled face is serious most of the time, occasionally stretched into a grin at the sight of the thrilled crowd. Guitarists Phil Collen and the recovered Vivian Campbell often came right to the front, just in front of the photo pit, to show off their guitar antics, and Vivian really couldn’t hide his joy at being back on stage after beating cancer. Not even a serious illness could beat his guitar skills, because those string-benders’ hands definitely didn’t shake.
The first high point of the show came during the acoustic performance of Two Steps Behind, where Joe Elliott showed he can strum basic chords on an acoustic guitar too. The willing crowd, already eating out of Joe’s hand by then, helped the singer with the choruses so the rest of the band could get a good rest. The next high point came with Hysteria. During this song the whole backdrop behind the stage filled up with photos from the band’s early years, when Def Leppard’s guitar riffs were graced by Steve Clark, a member who is irreplaceable and always missed by most fans. His pictures filled most of the backdrop through the entire song, and I can say that the whole arena had tears in their eyes while singing along, remembering the painful loss of a huge talent.
They closed the main part of the show just as punchily as they opened it – with Let’s Get Rocked and Pour Some Sugar On Me. The crowd’s loud roar summoned the band back to the stage, and they played Rock Of Ages and Photograph. At the end of the show, the one-armed wonder boy Rick Allen also came out to take a bow and say goodbye, after spending most of the night hidden behind his cymbals. To the sounds of Kings Of The World, the members of Def Leppard slowly said their goodbyes and left the stage.
The unforgettable Def Leppard experience was topped off by a relaxed hangout on the bus ride home, where we kept belting out the hits we’d heard at the show with hoarse throats. A wonderful weekend of tasty beer, great company, and the magic of a concert by British legends who show, even on stage, that they’re not just a bunch of people united by a love of music, but a real family that sticks together through thick and thin. That’s the added value that makes Def Leppard even bigger than they already are musically. So Def Leppard aren’t just appealing to listen to, their show is a real experience of togetherness, which they pass on to the crowd too. Unforgettable.
Setlist
1. Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)
2. Animal
3. Let It Go
4. Foolin’
5. Promises
6. Paper Sun
7. Love Bites
8. Armageddon It
9. Rock On (orig. David Essex)
10. Two Steps Behind (acoustic version)
11. Rocket
12. Bringin’ On The Heartbreak
13. Switch 625
14. Hysteria
15. Let’s Get Rocked
16. Pour Some Sugar On Me
—encore—
17. Rock Of Ages
18. Photograph
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