Concert Review - Def Leppard at Rogers Arena April 18, 2015

My review/tale of the Def Leppard concert in Vancouver, BC on Saturday April 18, 2015.

I got to the arena a little bit after six o’clock. I wanted to get there early because I wanted to wander a bit in search of the band’s buses and take some pictures outside before going into the building. The last time the band was here in 2007 I went to the show with some friends and we’d wandered around in search of buses then as well. However, this time it was a bit different. First of all, the girls hadn’t come up this time. I was on my own, which I didn’t mind. Second of all, I had a better camera this time. And lastly, the area where the buses were parked seven and a half years ago is now under a serious amount of construction, so when I saw that, I turned around and kept looking. I knew they had to be there somewhere. So I walked back around to the front of the arena. As I was walking, I noticed about four different radio stations with tents up and music blasting. One of them had the good sense to be playing Def Leppard. As I passed by that tent, I noticed it was “Hello America” which I thought was pretty awesome. :)

Across Pat Quinn Way from the arena was a pay parking lot, and there were five silver buses parked along the back row. I hit pay dirt! I wandered over and took a few pictures from outside the fence as I was not sure if I should go in there at that time. I also noticed down the block on the other side of the street several big rigs that I presumed were the band’s as well so I took some shots of those too. As I came back around from that, I noticed a few guys standing talking to the security guard on duty in front of the buses. One of which happened to be Dave Wolff, Vivian’s guitar tech. He was easy to spot with his long dark hair hanging down his back in a braid! LOL However, I wasn’t fast enough to get around the corner in time to speak to him but I watched him jaywalk across the street and he and his cohorts disappeared into the arena. (This morning I left Vivian a note on his Facebook page about that, which reads as follows: “Hey Viv! Great show last night in Vancouver! But um...you need to talk to that monkey of yours about jaywalking. LOL The majority of people in this town cannot drive worth a damn...and if Wolfie got hit... you'd have a helluva time training a new pet monkey. Come to think of it, is he even housebroken yet? LOL Seriously, it was awesome seeing you guys last night! Can't wait till you come back! <3” After that I wandered a bit more and finished off the bottle of Gatorade I’d brought with me and then headed inside.

I found my seat easily enough and I was a LOT closer than last time. Down lower but further over as I was about even with the floor level sound rig. The opening act was a band out of Saskatoon, SK called One Bad Son. I have not heard of them until last night, but I will say this: the lead singer, Shane Volk, has a great voice and knows how to work a crowd. He has a great sense of humor and made a couple of jokes, one of which being when he said they were from Saskatoon and several Saskatchewan natives made a racket in response. He said wherever you go you always find ‘prairie kids’ (natives of Saskatchewan and Alberta), even Germany. (lol) Shane also mentioned that Def Leppard gave up their soundcheck so One Bad Son could get one in. And here I thought that all bands on a bill would have done a soundcheck. Shows me. ;)

After One Bad Son’s set was over there was a break while the sets were swapped, during which I beat a hasty retreat for the bathroom. I spotted Wolfie on stage a couple of times but couldn’t get a clear photo of him. Ugh! The PA played a bunch of classic rock tunes while the crews worked…I think Joe might’ve been tinkering with the stereo because I heard Stones, Bowie and Zeppelin. LOL Then ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’ by the Who played and I knew the band would be hitting the stage soon. I remember thinking that Lesley (Mortimer-Wallace, Malvin’s daughter and the band’s wardrobe mistress) was probably hustling them towards the stage. If not her, then her dad. Then a curtain with the band’s logo came down and the crowd went nuts. After a musical intro, the curtain dropped entirely and the band came out. A review written by the local entertainment paper Georgia Strait said that the crowd got to their feet with the opening of ‘Rock Rock (Til You Drop)’ and stayed there – and considering the viewpoint I had I can definitely agree with that. The place looked pretty much packed but I have to say until shortly before DL hit the stage there were a lot of empty seats.

The setlist:

• Rock Rock (Til You Drop)
• Animal
• High ‘n’ Dry
• Foolin’
• Promises
• Paper Sun
• Love Bites
• Armageddon It
• Rock On
• Two Steps Behind (Joe solo)
• Rocket
• Bringin’ On The Heartbreak
• Switch 625
• Hysteria
• Pour Some Sugar On Me
• Rock of Ages
• Photograph

I got several pictures per song, despite the people in front of me being taller and moving around a lot. With the exceptions of ‘Two Steps Behind’, which I caught part of on video, and ‘Let’s Get Rocked’, also caught on video.

I sang along to every song, and they all sounded great. The songs as well as the band themselves. They all looked great too. When Joe introduced Viv at the beginning of ‘Armageddon It’ the words he used to describe him were “happy and healthy”. We know from Viv’s posts on Facebook that he is indeed healthy, and he damn sure looked happy last night, as did they all. Joe also made mention of the fact that it had been ‘a while’ since they had been here last. In fact they were scheduled to play at the Pacific Coliseum a few years ago and had to cancel due to Phil being sick. He also assured us that it won’t be that long again, and I think we can believe him as their new album is due out this fall. And considering some comments that Vivian has made recently, this new album should be incredible.

After the encore, the crowd began to disperse. I tried to get a few shots of the crew taking the stage apart, but they didn’t turn out. So I made my way out of the building and began to wait for the band to come out to the buses. I kind of figured there’d be a bit of a wait because of folks involved in meet and greets. So I took some night shots of the buses and surrounding area to kill time. After about an hour or so I saw Malvin near the doors. A bit later he actually came outside. By this time I was not the only one hanging around and waiting, and the handful of us gathered around the door to gate 16. Malvin took the opportunity to have a cigarette and chatted with us a bit. He also gave us instructions for when Sav came out – I didn’t catch the whole thing because a Skytrain went by while he was talking – but the gist was Sav somehow got injured prior to the concert and that he may just head straight for the van that was waiting. Mal also asked us not to mention the injury. But some time later when Sav did come out I could tell it was something to do with his foot or leg because he was limping. Joe actually came out first, though. And sometime between the end of the show and coming outside, Joe had cut one of the fingers on his right hand. He didn’t explain how though. When Joe and Sav got into the van I did tell them both that the show was great and thanked them. Next out were Phil and Helen. Helen stepped aside while waiting for Phil who was with some of the other fans, and I took the opportunity to say hi to her. She actually chatted with me for a minute, commenting on how cold it was, and she asked me if I enjoyed the show. Of course I told her I had!  Then she and Phil hopped in the van which took them to the waiting buses. Next out was the Thundergod himself, Rick Allen. He took the time to get pictures or autographs with everyone, including me (he signed a copy of my ticket). I owe Malvin for that, because he looked right at me and said something (I can’t remember what now LOL!) but it ensured that Rick got to me as well. I thanked him for the autograph, of course! I couldn’t wait around for Vivian, though, because by this time it was 12:30 AM and I had to catch the last Skytrain in order to get home. Even though I got no personal pictures and only one autograph, all in all it was fine, because it was much closer than I’ve ever gotten to any of them before. I mean really, it isn’t every day three of a girl’s favorite musicians walk within three feet of her! I had an awesome time, and can’t wait till they come back in support of the new album.

How Would Nikki Shoot This?

Okay…I think I’m on a roll here. LOL

Nikki Sixx, in addition to being a founding member of Motley Crue, musician, songwriter, recovering addict, record company president, clothing designer and parent, is also a photographer. Let me rephrase that: An AMAZING photographer. He has photos on his MySpace profile, his Facebook profile and he throws links to pix up on Twitter too. He is my friend on all three networks and I am a huge admirer of his work – music and photos.

Now…some of his photographic subject matter might not be everyone’s cup of tea. A lot of it is very dark and, depending on your point of view, disturbing. But if you get Nikki and where he’s coming from…and as a fan of his for the last twenty-three years, I’ve read and watched interviews of his, read both of his published books, listened to his radio show…so yes, I get his mindset. Simply put, he sees beauty where others do not.

On the back cover of his current book, This Is Gonna Hurt, there is a quote from his oldest daughter, Storm. She tells the story of a time she was out walking with her dad, and they walked by a bunch of beautiful roses. She commented on that beauty, and he kicked his foot out, knocking one flower’s petals all over the place. She objected…thinking that the flower was now ruined. But Nikki said no, it’s still beautiful.

At first I was of the same mindset as his daughter. Dude are you crazy? Except perhaps for the loss of the intoxicating scent (which I adore) he’s absolutely right. Why? Because it’s all a matter of perspective. How you look at things. Your point of view. (Damn…is it me or is Nikki starting to resemble Obi-Wan Kenobi a bit here? LMAO!)

If you are narrow-minded, then yes, the flower is ruined. But if you keep yourself open to different ways of thinking, new ideas, if you have a “think outside of the box” mentality, you can see that the flower isn’t finished yet. Case in point: I still have the roses from my wedding day nearly eleven years ago. They’re dried out…brittle…if you’re not careful handling them they could break…but I don’t think of them as ruined. They still hold the memory of when a new chapter began in my life.

I was out and about a while back and looking around trying to find something to take a photo of. I can’t remember if I had my Nikon D90 DSLR, or if it was wet and rainy that day and I was relying on the 5 MP camera built into my iPhone. But the thought went through my head: How would Nikki shoot this? I ended up trying to see my world through Sixx-colored lenses, if you will. Because after reading his latest book – including his daughter’s comments – I thought about occasionally trying to change my own viewpoint…at least in relation to my viewfinder. I already know what he’d be shooting if he was here…and I am not brave enough to venture into the alleys of the Downtown East Side of Vancouver alone. Or even with a bodyguard, like he did a few years ago.

For me…that would mean, not shooting what I normally do. I haven’t really found my photographic niche yet. I just shoot what’s pretty, to me anyway. It could be a flower or other plant, one of the many forms of local wildlife, cityscape, landscape, my brightly smiling daughter…I shoot pretty much anything and everything. So now I am going to add “not so pretty” to my photographic agenda…and see where it takes me.

This Is Gonna Hurt...You're Damn Right! But That's OK. It's Supposed To.

This post...no, this entire blog, has been created in response to a single blog post created by James Michael, singer, songwriter, producer, and currently, lead vocalist for the rock band SIXX:AM. SIXX:AM is comprised of James, guitarist/songwriter Dj Ashba and bassist/songwriter Nikki Sixx, who is also bassist, songwriter and founding member of Motley Crue.

(L to R: Dj, James, Nikki)

(Stupid question maybe, but why, lately, whenever I try to type "Crue" it always comes out "Cure" at first?) I bet Nikki would get a kick out of that. Maybe James, Dj, and the rest of the Motley boys too.

So...to the point of this whole thing. The SIXX:AM dudes are very fan-focused. On the band's website they have started blogging. Today's entry was posted by James, and in it, he asks what about a person defines who they are. If everybody looked exactly alike, how then would we be different? Well...I opened up Microsoft Word and began to compose a response. Three and a quarter pages later...I realized I needed somewhere to house my words...I was not going to clog up the band's blog page with over three pages of reply/personal story/why their work means what it does to me. I also have a photography blog (for anyone curious it's here: ) and thought about throwing it up there, but realized that it would not fit...and so here we are.

To answer your question, James, in a nutshell, for me anyways, what defines us is our behavior - specifically how we treat one another. But...here is the longer version, and the reason for this new blog.

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Dear James, Nikki & Dj,

This is in response to James’s blog entry and question regarding what really defines a person. If, as James suggests in his post, everybody looked the same (OMG how BORING that would be, LOL!) what would really make us who we are? What we are on the inside. How we treat ourselves and those around us. That is what I look for in my friends and (before I got married) my romantic relationships.

Because…I was mocked and made fun of in elementary school just because the other kids thought I was ugly. This began in the fourth grade, after I had to switch schools because I lived in another school’s area. Probably partially due to the fact that I arrived after the beginning of the year, and all the kids had made their friendships and formed their little cliques. I suppose, if you look at me through the societal viewfinder, I’m not “ugly”. I am not missing any limbs, physically handicapped in any way…or have anything “wrong” with me that could be termed as unattractive. My husband of almost eleven years calls me beautiful, despite still carrying around stretch marks and a few pounds of flab from carrying his four children. I am by no means model material – and I am not putting myself down when I say that: it’s just simple fact. You have to be a certain height and I’m too damn short. LOL However when I look in the mirror, I do not see what my husband sees. I still remember the laughter and snide remarks from the kids I went to school with: I heard that shit for nearly five years straight. You wanna hear something fucking cruel as hell? One day in junior high I was in the bathroom putting on lipgloss. Clear lipgloss, that was not meant to bring color to my face in any way…just to help keep my lips from getting dry. One of the girls who made it her mission in life to verbally torment me walked in while I was applying the gloss. She looked over at me and said – I can’t remember the exact words – but it was something to the effect of it wasn’t gonna help my looks any. This was when I was twelve! This same girl also mocked my choice of favorite music. One day in class I was doodling on a folder. “I ♥ Poison”. She turned around (yes, I had the everlasting joy of sitting right behind the little witch) and said “Poison don’t love you!” Kinda makes me wish I knew where she was now…so I could show her how many of my favorite musicians and actors I have as friends on Facebook & Twitter…and how you guys regularly respond to us fans. If you guys didn’t give a shit…why would you even have such public pages and accept fans as friends?

The only thing that truly set me apart in school was the fact that I could not participate in sports and physical activities where I might get injured in the head or chest…due to being born six weeks prematurely with a congenital condition called hydrocephalus. Hydro is where you have too much spinal fluid – everyone has some…it’s part of what cushions the brain against injuries – but folks like me with hydrocephalus make too much…so the doctors insert a plastic tube with a pump attachment that drains out the excess. The pump is up in my head and the tubing snakes down to my abdominal area where the excess fluid gets neatly dumped into my kidneys. Although due to the placement of the tubing that is why I could not do other things kids normally do – participate in a lot of sports, ride a bike, roller skate, ride a skateboard… and I don’t know…maybe they thought I was weird because I couldn’t play volleyball. *shrug*

But all those ugly things said to me growing up have stayed with me, lurking in the back of my mind. To this day, if I walk up on a group of people laughing, the first thought that pops into my head is, “Are they laughing at me? Why? What’s wrong with me?” OK…it’s not as pervasive as it used to be, but it does happen still.

Of course, in some respects, I may not have helped matters. In elementary school, I was what was referred to as academically gifted. Not genius caliber, but smart enough to need extra stimulation, so I went to a special class for smarter kids every so often. But being smart, I’d get some work done easier and quicker and then end up bored as hell…and end up a little disruptive. And this was in the 80s! Dear God, I’d hate to be growing up now…because bullying is so much worse nowadays.

So to answer your question, James…our actions define us. And one action is how we treat others. If you treat someone like shit, then that defines you as a complete jerk! (Speaking of being treated like shit…do not fucking get me started on my mother-in-law!) If you are good and kind to others – as best you know how – then you will be seen as a good person yourself. Case in point: Look at Sixx. In his own words, his formative years were not the best in the world, to put it mildly. Then he went on to make things worse by adding drugs & alcohol to the mix. And during that time he did and said things, that probably would have defined him as a complete and utter asshole. But he has now turned his life around – no more drugs, booze, and hopefully very little assholishness. I’m sure he has bad days, just like everyone…but again, thanks to his two books (three if you count the Motley bio) we have his own words showing that he is trying his damnedest to be a nice guy. So much for his rock & roll bad boy reputation. LOL It’s pretty much shattered, dude! But…if it wasn’t…if he was a clean and sober asshole…he still might not have gotten together with you James, and Dj, and written such kick ass and inspiring music in the form of The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack and This Is Gonna Hurt. Hell, everybody has things that they’ve done or said that they are not proud of. I’m sure you two do, too… but in forming SIXX:AM with Nikki, James, you and Dj have helped tons of people in many ways just with your music. I am proud to be a fan of yours…and proud to call you three friends…even if it is only on a couple of social media sites.