My Review of Def Leppard and Journey Concert at Fenway Park in Massachusetts

Journey is my favorite band of all time, and last Christmas, my girlfriend Michele surprised me with tickets to see them (along with Def Leppard) at Fenway Park. My favorite band at my favorite ballpark? What more could you ask for?

It was a long eight-month wait, but the big night finally came on August 5. It was great, but not as great as I had hoped. Here's my review of Def Leppard, Journey, and the Steve Miller Band live at Fenway Park.

Steve Miller Band

The Steve Miller Band was the opening act to kick off at 5:30 as many people were still filling in for the show. The band was a last-minute replacement for Heart, when Ann Wilson announced they would be postponing their show after her diagnosis of breast cancer.

Steve Miller is 80 years old, and still has it. Their show was short compared to Journey and Def Leppard's set, but the crowd started to get into it when they got to their biggest hits like "Jungle Love" and "Jet Airliner". It was a nice little appetizer before the main course. Here's the 10-song set list:

• "Space Intro"
• "Serenade"
• "Swingtown"
• "Fly Like an Eagle"
• "Abracadabra"
• "Take the Money and Run"
• "Jungle Love"
• "Rock’n Me"
• "Jet Airliner"
• "The Joker"

Journey

Journey was not the headliner as I expected, but it didn't matter. Neil Schonn is still amazing on guitar, and he has been with the band ever since he formed it in 1973. As much as I love Steve Perry and his amazing vocal range, current lead singer Arnel Pineda has nearly the same range, and is an amazing performer on stage.

The band essentially stuck to what was on their huge-selling Greatest Hits album, but when you go to a Journey concert, those are the songs you want to hear live. Here's the set list:

• "Only the Young"
• "Be Good to Yourself"
• "Stone in Love"
• "Ask the Lonely"
• "Escape"
• "Faithfully"
• "Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’"
• "Open Arms"
• "Line of Fire"
• "Dead or Alive"
• "Wheel in the Sky"
• "Lights"
• "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)"
• "Don’t Stop Believin’"
• "Any Way You Want It"

Def Leppard

I was surprised that Def Leppard stole the show. It was by far the most visually stunning of the three bands. The screen behind the band had animations that went with every song, there were cameras everywhere switching to each of the band members (including drummer Rick Allen), and a camera was mounted on the neck of a guitar played by Phil Collen. At one point, everyone was standing and singing along, and the atmosphere at Fenway was electric.

Lead singer Joe Elliot gave a shout-out to the recently retired band Aerosmith, since they were in their hometown of Boston.

Here's the setlist:

• "Rock Rock (Till You Drop)"
• "Rocket"
• "Foolin’"
• "Armageddon It"
• "Animal"
• "Love Bites"
• "Just Like ’73"
• "Comin’ Under Fire"
• "Too Late For Love"
• "Die Hard the Hunter"
• "Two Steps Behind"
• "This Guitar"
• "Bringin’ on the Heartbreak"
• "Switch 625"
• "Rock of Ages"
• "Photograph"
• "Hysteria"
• "Pour Some Sugar on Me"

My biggest complaint about the show is the sound. I have never been to a concert as loud as this one. It was so loud and over-modulated that it was nearly impossible for me to recognize some of the songs or to understand what the band was saying to the crowd between songs. I had problems with all three bands, but Journey's set was the worst of them. It may just be my hearing going bad. I don't know, but it was rough.

Overall, it was still a great show in a great venue that I wouldn't have missed for the world.