Def Leppard/Journey concert roadtrip: part one

This one is going to be long, so consider yourself warned. I'm posting two parts. Part one is the concert and part two, sometime this week, is the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

This past week I took a concert road trip with my sister to see my favorite band. Anyone who reads my blog or knows me, likely knows that's Def Leppard. They were playing in Cleveland at the Quicken Loans Arena with Journey. I live in CT and she's in NY, but since she's always wanted to see the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, we decided to see them in Cleveland and make it a mini-vacation.

I drove to NY last Sunday (a four hour drive) and spent the night at her house. We left early Monday morning around 7:00 am in order to get to Cleveland (a five hour drive) check into the hotel and make it over to the arena by 4:30 pm.  When we got to the hotel we were able to check in right away, which was nice because it gave us a couple hours to relax, unpack and change clothes--we had to look nice to meet the boys from Def Leppard!

We stayed at the Renaissance, which is across from Public Square. It's an old hotel, so the rooms were a bit smaller than we're used to.  We had to hunt down the in-room coffee maker, which was on a shelf in the nightstand, and there wasn't room to keep our suitcases out, but overall it was good and the bed was comfy (very important for me!). The service staff were very friendly. My one gripe was that there was only one restaurant in the hotel, which served lunch and dinner only. Kind of a pain when you want some breakfast and don't want to go far. We had to walk out into the mall, which is attached, and head to Dunkin Donuts. I actually liked the mall being there, as it connected several buildings and a casino. You can basically go for several blocks and not have to go outside at all. Actually, we were able to walk from our hotel to the arena without having to go outside in the 90+ degree heat. (And that was especially nice, walking back at 11:00 pm at night after the concert.)

I mentioned having to be at the arena by 4:30 pm. That's because we decided to go all out for this show and buy the front row meet & greet package for Def Leppard. (We had a pretty rough year last year and decided we needed to indulge ourselves a bit.) Check-in time was 4:30 pm and We got to the arena around 4:00 pm.  The check-in tables for Journey and Def Leppard were side by side, and there were many more people for Def Leppard. (Although, Journey wasn't doing a meet and greet so that's probably why.) While waiting in line we discovered we'd forgotten several items that we always bring, probably because I switched purses and we relaxed a little too much beforehand (oh, those pesky Lifetime movies!):  Sharpie markers, just in case we met any band members other than at the meet and greet; my ear plugs, since I'm old and can't take the volume level anymore; and a mirror and lipstick, so we look picture perfect to meet the boys.

We got checked in, got our goody bags and wrist bands, and then went through security. The goody bag was a canvas travel bag with the Def Leppard logo, and inside was a nice set of luggage tags and a travel wallet, along with Def Leppard postcards. We also got a signed poster.

We then waited around until 5:00 pm, when the hostess brought us into the arena for our group photo on stage. It wasn't with the band, just the group of concert-goers. It was pretty cool, though, to be up on stage in front of Rick Allen's drum kit with "Def Leppard" on the screens in back of us. We chatted with the security guys, who were very friendly. (This is always a good thing--butter them up so they don't harass you for taking pictures, or maybe they'll be nice and give you the guitar pick that landed on the floor in front of them.)

We then headed back to meet the guys. For some reason I thought it would be a longer walk when we got out of the seating area, but it was quite close. Seemed like just a few steps, really. While waiting in line they drew the raffle--the prize being the privilege of standing on the side of the stage for the first two songs. Unfortunately we didn't win; however, we preferred to see the beginning of the show from the front anyway, so we weren't upset. Then it was time to meet the guys!! While we waited, Stuart, Vivian's dog, made an appearance. He was trotting around while the band's assistant waited.  I was hoping to pet him, but she didn't let him go too far. It was a treat to see him, though.  Kind of makes you realize that even though the band are rock stars, they're human just like the rest of us. (If anyone wants to follow Stuart on Instagram, he has his own page:  Rockstarstu.) As we got closer to the front of the line, my sister was quite nervous and made me go first, even though we were meeting them together. When we peeked around the corner, it was a little surprising to see just how close they all were to the line for the meet and greet--they were only about three feet away! First up was Sav, then Vivian, Joe, and then Rick. Unfortunately Phil wasn't there because he had to fly home a couple days earlier to deal with a family emergency. I was disappointed--he's my favorite--but I understood. I've met him a couple times before, anyway. I honestly would have been way more upset if Sav wasn't there, as he is my sister's favorite and she would have been devastated to not meet him after waiting 35 years for the opportunity! We each shook hands with them and introduced ourselves. I said my name and then, "Nice to meet you" and that's about it. Oh, and I told them TWICE that she and I are sisters; I'm not very smooth socially. My sister asked for and got a big hug from Sav. We posed for the pictures and then it was over. I don't think it took three minutes from intro to exit, but that's the way organized meet and greets go. Autographs and extended conversation aren't allowed since they typically have about 100 people to push through in a certain amount of time so the band can get ready and get on stage in time.  I knew that going in, though, since I did the meet and greet in Las Vegas in 2013. I still felt it was worth it. They're my favorite band, after all, and I've been listening since I was nine years old. When it was over we went to our seats in the FRONT ROW, right in front of Vivian's spot. For whatever reason, security was having an issue putting on everyone's wristbands so it took a few extra minutes to get there.

We then had some time to kill until showtime so we walked around to try and find Def Leppard's new beer. We wanted to have the can as a souvenir (see below). We found it, but unfortunately the vendor didn't tell us that we can't have the empty can until after they poured the beer. We didn't think to ask, as it didn't occur to us that we wouldn't be able to keep it. The venue's policy is that everything is poured and no cans or bottles, even opened/uncapped, are allowed in the venue at all. Since neither of us drink beer, that was $10.00 a piece down the drain. I later saw online that some people were able to keep the can, but I wasn't about to walk around all night trying to find the right vendor. We checked a few, but was it.


We went back to our seats and watched the countdown. As usual, I spent the time making sure my camera was ready to go.  I always bring my Pansonic Lumix point-and-shoot camera. It's been good to me over the years; however, this time I found that my cell phone actually took better pictures, so I ditched the camera about three minutes into the show in favor of my phone. It was hard letting go since I'm a freak about taking great concert pictures, but I did it.

Finally, it was showtime!  Def Leppard was on first, as they are rotating the opening and closing with Journey. The intro started with the beginning of Excitable.  I was hoping to see the same intro on the video screen as the previous shows, which was kind of a montage of their albums along with sang snippets from each album; however, it just showed the city name and then rose up above the stage when the show started.  From then on, the show was a big blur. The set opened with Rocket and they cranked out the usual hits, one after the other. Sav did his usual bass solo that leads into Rock On, which was followed by the acoustic version of Two Steps Behind. Then came my favorite part, one of their new songs:  Man Enough. Lots of people don't like this song, but it has quickly become a favorite of mine and, man, does it rock live!  And I love the screen graphics for this one, which I posted below. The show ended with Photograph.

Here are a few of the pictures I took. I took 400+! I have to admit that they came out pretty decent for a cell phone camera, but I'm thinking I might look for a new camera next year. It seems like no matter what I use, it just can't handle the light shining off of Joe's blond hair, so Joe is a bit overexposed in a lot of pictures this time around. (Note:  You're welcome to download these pictures for your own personal viewing, but please don't post them on Facebook or other social media, you blog, other websites, etc.)

"Rocket! Yeah!"

I think this is my favorite out of all the pictures. Sav is looking pretty good!

This is one of the best out of the pics I took of Joe.

 These were the graphics during Man Enough.

 Vivian Campbell

 The Thunder God himself, always smiling. He was pretty tough to get a picture of this time.

The guys sounded great, as usual, and had lots of energy. I mentioned that Phil wasn't at the show. Steve Brown of Trixter took his place. Just about everyone had positive things to say about him, and so do I:  he was a great fill-in for Phil, had lots of energy, seemed to be having fun, and was respectful. And the guys treated him like he was a part of the band, which was nice to see. There was one person who said that no matter how good he was, he'd never be a Lepp. Well, he's not trying to be a Lepp. He's a friend of that band and is filling in for a few shows (Phil is now back on tour). I'm guessing that person would rather have seen the shows cancelled...

Next up was Journey. I have to admit, once Def Leppard was done, I didn't have a whole lot of enthusiasm to see Journey. I like their music and I like seeing them...when they're the opener. It just seemed really odd for them to be the closer, and it continued to feel odd even after the show was over. Def Leppard's music is different, as is their overall energy level and feel, and it seemed like a big energy dip when Journey came on. The first few songs were a little slow. Not in the beat, but in getting the crowd going. It picked up soon, though, and they put on a good show. At the end of Don't Stop Believing they shot off confetti and streamers.  It was cool, but I definitely felt bad for the people that had to clean all that up. Arnel, the lead singer, has a fantastic voice and has so much energy. He sounds similar to Steve Perry. Even though the guy has been with Journey for 11 years, people were still saying (online) that "he's no Steve Perry." Well, no, he's not. No one is Steve Perry except Steve Perry. Arnel was the guy they chose to replace Steve 11 years ago and they've continued to perform. Would people rather Journey called it quits?? Arnel was very interactive with the crowd, too, especially the kids. One had a sign that said it was his first concert, so Arnel pulled him up on stage. I think the kid was in shock. LOL.  My only real complaint about Journey was the solos. The drum solo, while absolutely amazing, was LONG. Neal Schon's guitar solo was agonizingly long, too. He always plays The Star Spangled Banner, but it seems more like the Star Mangled Banner when he's done with it.  I know, artists have their own take on things, but I just wish it sounded more like the actual song and wasn't quite so long.

Arnel Pineda. This guy has a ton of energy!

Neal Schon

Steve Smith's drum solo. Amazing!

Jonathon Cain

The end of Don't Stop Believing. So much confetti...

Still more confetti coming down.

And then it was all over. Time to go back to the hotel. It was so nice being able to walk inside and not have to venture outside in the dark late at night. Nothing was open in the mall, so we went over to the casino and hit up the food court. I got a breakfast burrito, which was delicious. I saved half for the following day. I didn't win any money, but I only lost $20.00, so that's not bad at all. We got back to the room around 2:00 am and then I flipped through my concert pictures until I decided around 3:00 am it was time to go to sleep. I tried to sleep, but it wasn't easy with the ringing in my ears! I tried to buy ear plugs at the venue, but they didn't have them. I asked Security, but they weren't allowed to hand them out. Oh well. My hearing got back to normal by Tuesday night.

Part two will be posted later in the week. Thanks for reading!