Ok, I just saw them like 3 or 4 weeks ago here in Orlando. The show was suppose to be 3 months earlier, but an hour before show time the whole fucken concert was cancelled because Elliot's voice was toasted. Everyone was pissed. Heard the previous show in Ft Lauderdale was horrible cuz his voice was gone. He actually had the guy from Tesla finish out the night it was so bad. Should have called it then, not an hour before showtime. Man people were pissed. Driving in from out of town, hotel rooms booked, limos, all that shit.
Anyways, the makeup date was set and sadly, Stix was no longer on the bill. In their place, REO Stationwagon. Not really the biggest fan of 'I can't fight this feelin anymore', I somewhat reluctantly went to the show. To my total surprise, REO was the best band of the night. That singers voice was dead on, bass and drummer were friggin rockin hard as hell and tight, and the Les Paul wielding guitarist was friggin fantastic! Do not show up just to see Def Lep. You will appreciate REO's energy and musicianship, even if they aren't your bag. 'Keep on Rollin' was absolutely friggin fantastic. No oiled up, shirtless, cheese there at all. Just a bunch of guys really playin at the top of their game. Not a single problem with the singers high notes either. Awesome performance.
Tesla actually opened and they were very good as well. Both guitar guys shredding away with those harmony leads in Modern Cowboy(Closer) and others. Singer for Tesla was good, not great. Struggled on a few tunes but all in all, pretty good.
Ok, now for Def Lep. I am almost positive that Phil oils up before going on stage. Thought it was just that the dude sweats a lot, but when the spotlight hit him on the opening chord, he was more oiled than a Canadian tourist on South Beach. He also had more camera time on the Jumbotron then anyone else. Way more. I thought they band and Joe Elliot sounded pretty good. Elliott was hitting the higher notes but they were coming out very soft and lower volume than the rest of his singing. He actually sounded pretty good. They had a bit of a snafu on the opening of 'love bites', when Rick Allens delayed drums somehow got out of sinc with the rhythm of the song, and both Elliott and Collin turned around and gave him the,'dude, get in together' face. I don't think it was his fault, not sure if he has any control of the delays on his kit. Someone probably got chewed out on that one after the show. Very elaborate LED screens behind the stage and behind each guitarist. Sometimes the screens behind Vivian and Phil would be a 'picture' of their stacks, EVH for Phil and ENGL for Vivian. I thought those were real amps until I noticed that when Phil Collen stood next to one on the Jumbotron, the bottom cab was taller than he was!
All in all it was a good show, but I'm in agreement with many who have chimed in here; Phil needs to put a shirt on and ease back on the oil. Bass player could loose the Michael Jackson glove too.
