The Stadium Tour Rocks T-Mobile Park

The highly anticipated and twice rescheduled Stadium Tour co-headlined by Def Leppard and Motley Crue finally made a mid-week stop at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, WA.

This is Def Leppard’s first tour in three years – supporting their May 2022 release Diamond Star Halos – and Motley Crue’s first tour in seven years after their final world tour.

First announced in 2019, the tour was to take place during the summer of 2020. The tour had been rescheduled for the summer of 2021. Unfortunately, with the pandemic still lingering, the tour was again delayed, this time until 2022.

With the early start time, there was a surprisingly huge turn out and the streets surrounding the stadium were filled with fans eager to get their rock, and with a solid line up, everyone was in for an awesome evening of rock and roll.

Getting the show started were up and comers Classless Act who hail from Los Angeles, CA. The group got things started with a great, albeit short, set that won over a lot of new fans who may have never heard of the band previous to this evening. Though the crowd hadn’t quite made it to their seats, the band played as if they were headlining and performing to a sold out crowd of their own. Expect big things from this band!

Next were Joan Jett & The Blackhearts. Though the band were a little late getting to the stage, Joan Jett came out to a thunderous ovation. With the summer heat and late afternoon sun bearing down, Joan Jett & the Black Hearts performed for a little over an hour, with a set consisting of a handful of originals – “Victim of Circumstance”, “Fake Friends”, “I Hate Myself for Loving You”, “Bad Reputation” – as well as a good number of covers – “Cherry Bomb”, “Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)”, and “I Love Rock N Roll”.

Next were Poison – the epitome of 80’s hair metal. Though they weren’t wearing the makeup, hair spray and spandex that they were infamously known for, especially after the release of their debut album Look what the Car Dragged In, the band which is made up of Brett Michaels (vocals), CC Devill (guitar), Bobby Dall (bass) and Rikki Rockit (drums) came out swinging for the fences, and they had more energy than bands half their age!

Kicking off the set with the title track of their debut album, Poison ripped through a blistering set that had everyone in attendance singing along, the band performed some of their most easily recognizable tracks such as “Ride the Wind”, “Fallen Angel”, “Unskinny Bop”, “Nothin’ But a Good Time” as well as a a cover of “Your Mama Don’t Dance”. Devill paid tribute to the late great Eddie Van Halen by including a part of Van Halen’s “Eruption” during Devill’s guitar solo mid set. Let’s hope Poison makes a headlining run in the near future.

Rock n Roll’s bad boys Motley Crue – Vince Neil (vocals), Mick Mars (guitar), Nikki Sixx (bass) and Tommy Lee (drums) – who had last toured in 2015 during their “farewell” tour (even having singed a Cessation from Touring agreement), decided it was time to dust off the cobwebs and get back to performing live. One of the driving factors was the success of their bio-pic “The Dirt” based on the bestselling autobiography of the same name, which saw the band garner a new generation of fans who may have not had a chance to see the Crue.

The Crue performed a strong fifteen song, ninety-minute set that mostly focused on their releases Too Fast for Love, Shout at the Devil, Girls Girls Girls, and Dr. Feelgood. With an elaborate stage set, lots of props and a ton of fog – which got so thick it was hard to see the band – the Crue put on a very good performance.

The unsung hero and one of rock’s most underrated guitar players, Mars, put on a solid performance and he definitely carried the weight of the band on his shoulders. Sixx, ever the charismatic entertainer, definitely played it up for the crowd. Lee, perched up high on his drum riser, played with intensity and enthusiasm; Neil, though he has had his share of ups and downs regarding his past performances, pulled off a decent performance.

The band performed many of the songs they are known for such as “Wild Side”, “Don’t Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)”, “Live Wire”, “Looks that Kill”, “Same Ol’ Situation (S.O.S)”, they also performed a medley of covers “Rock and Roll, Part 2 / Smokin’ in the Boys Room / White Punks of Dope / Helter Skelter / Anarchy in the U.K”. The band finished their set with “Kick Start My Heart” which left the audience wanting more.

Def Leppard – Joe Elliott (vocals), Phil Collen (guitar), Rick Allen (drums), Rick Savage (bass) and Vivian Campbell (guitar) – closed out the evening’s event, and by judging the excitement and anticipation growing amongst the crowd, one had the sense that the band was to put on a solid performance.

Will only LED panels illuminating the stage, the band’s logo brightly lit front and center, Def Leppard jumped into “Take What You Want” off of Diamond Star Halos” Elliott made his way up the cat walk to entertain those up front while Collin and Savage also roamed freely around the stage and then front and center to interact with the crowd.

The band pulled one from way back in their catalog, “Let It Go” and this really got the Seattle crowd head banding and singing the chorus so loud, that Elliott could barely be heard!

Along with newer music, the band’s set consisted of material off of Hysteria, High ‘n’ Dry, and Pyromania. The band jumped straight into “Animal”, “Foolin”, “Armageddon It”, “Kick” and “Love Bites”.

Def Leppard didn’t rely heavily on props or theatrics – they let the music do the talking. They performed songs that are well known and are definitely fan favorites. “Two Steps Behind”, “Rocket”, “Bringing on the Heartbreak” and a rousing performance of “Switch 625” which also included a drum solo by Allen.

It had been a long evening but the crowd wasn’t showing any sign that they were losing their energy or excitement, they sang along and rocked out to “Pour Some Sugar On Me”, “Rock of Ages” and the ever popular “Photograph”.

This show was definitely worth the wait and lived up the hype and showed that great music will always live on.

Def Leppard Setlist

Take What You Want
Let It Go
Animal
Foolin’
Armageddon It
Kick
Love Bites
Promises
This Guitar
Two Steps Behind
Rocket
Bringin’ On The Heartache
Switch 625
Hysteria
Pour Some Sugar On Me
Rock of Ages
Photograph

Motley Crue Setlist
Wild Side
Shout at the Devil
Too Fast For Love
Don’t Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)
Saints of Los Angeles
Live Wire
Looks That Kill
The Dirt (Est. 1981)
Rock & Roll Part 2 / Smokin’ in the Boys Room / White Punks on Dope / Helter Skelter / Anarchy in the U.K
Home Sweet Home
T.N.T. (Terror ‘n Tinseltown)
Dr. Feelgood
Same Ol’ Situation (S.O.S)
Girls, Girls, Girls
Primal Screen
Kickstart My Heart