Music defines generations. Yes, I realize that I’m not breaking any huge news with that statement but those are the first three words that popped into my head as I sat at the Schottenstein Center on the campus of OSU on a cool October night in Columbus Ohio.
Night Ranger, Foreigner and Def Leppard all joined forces on that night to transport us all back to OUR golden age of metal – that’s right the 80’s – and remind us of just how good it all used to be. A near capacity crowd shuffled in on what Night Ranger front man Jack Blades exclaimed was a “school night” to revisit a non stop barrage of hits from our past. Night Ranger kicked off the festivities and I’m not going to lie to you – I had kind of forgotten how many hits this band was responsible for. ‘Four In The Morning’, ‘You Can Still Rock In America’, ‘Sentimental Street, ‘Don’t Tell Me You Love me’ and of course the biggie – ‘Sister Christian’. They even threw in a Damn Yankee’s song for good measure and performed ‘High Enough’. It was all great fun and sounded top notch. Lead singer Jack Blades still has the vocal chops, as does drummer Kelly Keagy who takes the lead on several numbers. Long time guitarist Brad Gillis can still riff with the best of them. A solid, polished set that seemed over before it started but certainly had all around me singing along.
Next up was Foreigner. Now back in the day all I knew of Foreigner was that Lou Gramm was the singer and Mick Jones was the guitarist. Well, Mick Jones is still the guitarist but Lou has long since moved on. Kelly Hansen handles the vocal chores now for the band, and he does a damn fine job. Stalking the stage and hitting all the right notes, this dude carries the banner very well for the band. Again – as with Night Ranger – a non-stop barrage of songs you can sing along with. The clear standout (at least for me) was an excellent version of ‘Urgent’ that featured some amazing saxophone work that really got the audiences attention. Of course we were treated to ‘Feels Like The First Time’, Jukebox Hero’, ‘Waiting For A Girl Like You’, ‘Cold As Ice’ – well, you get the idea. This is well-rehearsed band that knows what the fans want and offer it up ten fold. I would have to say this was probably the tightest set of the night and whoever was responsible for their sound mix deserves a raise because these dudes F’n rocked it out! Makes me proud to say I learned how to rock in the 80’s!
Headliner time and that means Def Leppard is in the wings. Some early set sound issues had the band on its heels at the outset. Not sure what the issue was but the sound was muddled and I hate to say it but at one point – I wasn’t even sure what song they were playing. It lasted about three songs and I wasn’t sure if anyone else was even noticing but my partner in crime leaned in at one point and said “something doesn’t sound right” so I know it wasn’t just me. And then – just like that, it was all better. Not sure what switch they flipped but I’m sure freaking glad that they did. Once that little hurdle was overcome there was no stopping the band. Hit after hit, and they just got tighter and louder and more awesome with each song. The highpoint of the set was undoubtedly the last two songs. ‘Foolin’ off the ‘Pyromania’ album that rolled directly into ‘Photograph’ from the same album, two classics that literally shook the arena and all who were along for the ride.
When all was said and done, everyone left witnessing a trilogy of one-time headliners that when combined made for an unforgettable evening of classic rock greatness. The 80’s are alive and well and while we all may be a little older we can still rock with t he best of them.
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Review by Dave Dreher, RockRevolt Contributor
