Rock! Rock! (Til You Drop)

I am officially in my thirties. I hovered at twenty-nine for close to a year, waiting out the calendar to mark a new milestone, a new threshold.

As of 24 August 2007, I had seen Def Leppard 29 times. It took until 1 August of 2008 to bridge the gap to a new set of ten. And August 2nd secured my foothold in the climb to forty.

Often referred to as "my gateway drug," the American video for "Pour Some Sugar on Me" introduced me to the bombast and glamor of rock and roll in the 1980s. While waiting for the video to come on MTV every afternoon, I would sit through Poison. And Warrant. And Motley Crue. Then I caught a tease for Leppard on Headbanger's Ball, a three-hour rock/metal extravaganza that played all these bands, plus the likes of Iron Maiden, Great White, and Megadeth every Saturday night. Looking back with more in-depth knowledge of the music and artists, perhaps some of these bands didn't belong back-to-back. But thankfully, the programmers were more concerned about the visual aspects than the audio and as long as they saw long hair and guitars, it was played.

Despite being bombarded with an overabundance of bands that fit the format I worshipped, I never forgot my first. I loved Def Leppard, as did my best friend. Janel called me in the summer of 1993 to let me know she'd purchased tickets to their show at the Sub Base in Groton, CT. Her parents drove us down there, and let us loose. At 15 years old, I was knowledgeable enough to know what to expect, but naive enough to not know how to handle it. I worked us up to around sixth row (it was general admission), and befriended a short British man in our vicinity. During "Rocket," he went behind me, bend over, and hoisted me on his shoulders. I was screaming the lyrics to Joe Elliott, a mere twenty feet away. Or so it seemed...that was half a lifetime ago.

While that was an amazing experience at my first Lep show, I've been paying for it ever since. My younger brother, the only person on the planet that is a bigger fan than I am, did not get to go to the show that night, and has reminded me of it at least once a month for the last fifteen years. Though I roll my eyes every time he brings it up, it provides an excuse to see the band "just one more time," over and over again.

He and I caught the band in 1996 on the slang tour, during a hurricane. Literally, come Hell or high water, we were going to get to Def Leppard. We saw them twice in 2000 when they were promoting Euphoria. This was the last time we could be viewed as fans; come 2002, we hit the fanatic level.

When the Leps released X (or Ten, depending which band member you ask), I was working two jobs and living with my parents. I had nothing but disposable income and vacation time. And I still had Janel. She called, saying Def Leppard was doing a show and in-store signing in Fayetteville, North Carolina (where she had settled after college). The bro and I piled in the car, and let our parents chauffeur us twelve hours south. After being corralled for six hours in the August sun on a blacktop parking lot, we were able to run to the front of the stage for the set and waited another two hours to get our albums signed.

Fresh off that high, I purchased tickets to shows in Reading, PA and Boston. I took my mother West, where we were eighth row, and the next night, my brother and I were front row to the East. Before the end of the year, I flew out to California for shows in Sacramento and San Francisco. My unemployed best friend in St. Louis accepted my offer to tag along, and I introduced her to my growing fixation.

While at my radio station in early 2003, I was on the Def Leppard website and noticed a date in their hometown of Sheffield, England. On a lark, I checked out flights on British Airways. They were incredibly inexpensive, so I called my mother, who had always wanted to go to England, and asked if she wanted to make the pilgrimage to the place where it all began. Not only did we get to see the guys in Hallam FM Arena in their stomping grounds, but Phil and Joe stayed in the same hotel as us. Granted, I was far too chicken to approach them, but the Marriott will always be the enchanted place where members of my favorite band magically appear.

Back on the left side of the Atlantic, they were gearing up for a full-fledged tour of the States in March. I secured front-row tickets for Cleveland, and took my brother. I got my first guitar pick from Vivian, and Joe sang to me. [This was not the last time this happened, but I get confused: we sang the second verse of "Slang" one evening, and "Make Love Like a Man" another. I fail to recall which happened when, and to that end, I curse the brain cells I've killed with alcohol]. From there, we were in the front row in Philly, and then my mother, brother and I boarded the Metro-North train for New York, where Def Leppard were doing three nights (sold out!) at the Beacon Theater. I took my mom to the front row the first night (bro was a few back), he hung at the stage with me the second night (she had to sit a few back then) and the third night, we were front row, center. We also had our buddy Stan with us, who was wise enough to document the night with a FunSaver (Ring of Fire! Stage Fright! Joe making obscene hand gestures, telling me to "Shake it up" during Sugar!).

From there, I went to shows in Charlotte, St. Louis, Boston, Rhode Island, Maine and Connecticut. Never more than three rows back, I caught more guitar picks, smiles and acknowledgements. To close out their American tour (and ours), the boys played Las Vegas. I had just moved to Nashville, so I met my mother and brother (still in CT) out there for 20 hours of Leppard-intensive fun.

Unfortunately for my crazed enthusiasm, but fortunately for my bank account, they waited two years to head back on the road. While my brother followed me to Nashville, my mom was still in Connecticut, so we flew up there to see them with Tesla at a casino in the Constitution State, and my mom and I drove to Maine the next night to sit front and center. Trying out a new touring idea, the band played minor-league ballparks with Bryan Adams later that summer, so I drove to Dayton, Ohio with a friend that loved Leppard but loved Bryan Adams. They also did a one-off night in Memphis, where I finally put my radio connections to use and met Joe and Sav.

Another package deal in 2006 - this time, Def Leppard was out with Journey. It pained me to see only one show that tour [Nashville], but given my lack of monetary security at the time, it was a blessing that it was basically a greatest hits/covers album promotional tour. And scamming backstage to meet Joe, Phil, and Viv certainly softened the blow.

In 2007, I had come into my own in rock radio in Music City, and was able to utilize a friendly relationship with members of Tesla to get into a festival in Minnesota that boasted both bands on the bill. While my brother and I were able to watch Tesla from the side of the stage, Leppard was more strict in their passes. Only those with Leppard clearance could enjoy the show from that angle, and we did not have the credentials. However, as we sat on a stone wall backstage, waiting to say good-bye to some of the Tesla guys, Frank Hannon came out, grabbed us, and plunked us on the side of the stage to watch the Lep set. I had been front row more times than I can count (though, after this blog, I bet I can tally it), but seeing the band from the wings surrounded by the five members of Tesla was beyond amazing. While I imagine that will be difficult to ever surpass, my mother shelled out for high-end tickets later that summer in Tampa, which (after a torrential downpour that soaked us to the bones) put us a few rows back and up against the thrust. It may have not been on stage, but it was still fantastic.

Twenty nine shows in total, as of August 2007...and I turned thirty the following month. For some reason, I was dead-set that I must see at least as many Def Leppard shows to correspond with my chronological age. I had to see 30 shows while I was still thirty, and I gave myself one to grow on.

Def Leppard released Songs from the Sparkle Lounge this year, and are on the road for a tour that I anticipate will mirror the itinerary for X. Two nights ago, they played the Sommett Center in Nashville, and while I had floor seats, I opted to sit in a box. It had been a very, very long time since I had enjoyed the experience of their show as a whole; being as close as I had been on most occasions, I had a tendency to fixate on the band members that were in front of me, missing the screen images and lighting effects. In this removed location, I was able to enjoy the body of work, musically and production-wise, that the band had created. I'd also met Sav and Viv earlier, so my photo-op was secure.

Last night, my mother, brother and I left Nashville to see our band in Birmingham. We were supposed to be "taken care of" by the venue, but we were very low on the list of priorities. As a fanatic who has braved hurricanes, plane flights, handsy Englishmen and monsoon conditions, I wasn't about to let someone else's disorganization get in between my family and Def Leppard. As it happens, I'd been down there the week before for the Poison/Sebastian Bach show and got flirty with one of the higher-ups at the site. I shot off a text, and secured passes. The guys were onstage, and with one of my friends, we did some fast talking and found ourselves down front yet again. Where I belong.

I turn 31 in a month. That leaves me thirteen months to make sure I've got the 32nd show under my belt to keep the balance. And with any luck, I'll rack up a few extra for good measure.