Rock Candy

You might want to read up on Matt Smith's blog entries from Colorado, Red Rocks and the Def Leppard/Journey tour. Def Leppard (right, photographed by Matt at Red Rocks) and Journey coming to North Little Rock's on Monday, Oct. 30, according to Def Leppard's publicity arm.

The PR arm says "Due to overwhelming demand for tickets from fans, [the bands] announce a third leg of their tour." What it means is, "We've hit all the major markets and now we're going to try to sell $75 tickets in the medium-sized places." The PR firm did rightfully call it one of the hottest tours of the summer, since there isn't a whole lot out there anyway. Poison and Cinderella anyone?

Matt said Def Leppard rocked and he loved their portion of the show, and Matt's word is gold in our book. I'm looking forward to Def Leppard, not so much Journey, which only managed to do about 1,800 or so at a Riverfest Amphiteatre show in 2002. I mean, it ain't Steve Perry, and for the time being they don't even have the singer whose name rhymes with his predecessor (Steve Augeri, who developed a throat problem a few weeks back). But I do want to rock to "Photograph" and all the other Def Leppard hits.

Tickets are expected to go on sale Sept. 23 through the usual outlets, Ticketmaster or the arena box office.

More good Def Leppard PR via the PR office:

2006 has been a watershed year for Def Leppard who have found themselves back on top with not only an in-demand concert tour, but a critically acclaimed covers album entitled YEAH!, which hit stores on May 23rd. The album, a clever tribute to the band’s musical heroes of the late 60’s and 70’s, was called “Great fun… their collective taste is what raises this album above the spate of recent covers collections” by USA Today, while the San Francisco Chronicle said “CD of the year? No, CD of the century!” The release of the album coincided with a slew of high-profile television performances on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno and Live With Regis & Kelly, as well as receiving accolades on VH1’s first ever Rock Honors award shows.

With more than 65 million albums sold worldwide, Def Leppard – Joe Elliott (vocals), Vivian Campbell (guitar), Phil Collen (guitar), Rick “Sav” Savage (bass) and Rick Allen (drums) – is one of the most continuously exciting and important forces in rock music.  Over the course of their career, the band has produced a series of classic groundbreaking albums that set the sound for generations of music fans and artist, establishing them as Great Britain's premiere arena rock band.  Their spectacular live shows are filled with powerful melodic rock anthems that have become synonymous with their name, and they are an institution in the touring industry as they continue to sell out arenas worldwide.  Def Leppard has also been honored in the U.S. by the RIAA with two prestigious Diamond Awards for their albums HYSTERIA and PYROMANIA.  The Diamond Award recognizes sales of over 10 million, a feat not many bands and only a handful of British artists have been able to achieve (The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Elton John, Eric Clapton).