Def Leppard and Journey with Steve Miller Band
The Summer Stadium Tour 2024
Minute Maid Park
August 14, 2024
“Time keeps on slippin’ slippin’ slippin’ into the future…”
Doesn’t it, though? I couldn’t help but think these lyrics could have been relevant (in a negative way) to The Summer Stadium Tour – featuring Def Leppard and Journey with the Steve Miller Band – if the concert was simply pure nostalgic indulgence. But it wasn’t. It was far from it.
Now, I know what you’re thinbillking: Bold claim considering only one act on the bill – Def Leppard – had tracks on their set list written after the Reagan administration. Nostalgia plays a role, yes, but the reason these groups keep having their songs appear and reappear in the media – Space Jam, Everybody Loves Raymond, The Sopranos, Glee, Cobra Kai, etc. – is because there is something timeless and good about them. It’s not indulgent to want to hear them, and as long as these guys can still play, it’s easy to see why people would flock to them. And they can still play, as those in a packed Minute Maid Park last night can attest to.
Up first was Steve Miller, who, based on his spectacles and business casual attire, looked like he went straight from an office to Minute Maid Park, which, to be fair, many concertgoers did to make the 6 p.m. start time. Seriously, you wouldn’t think him out of place if you saw this Space Cowboy refilling his Hydro Flask at your office water cooler. The outfit does, however, fit Miller’s “musician first, celebrity never” attitude, and a musician he is – for sure. In front of the colorfully winged horse from his Book of Dreams album cover, Miller showed off his bluesy rock bona fides with a set that boasted infectious tunes and jam session vibes.
After imploring the crowd to dance with “Swingtown” and charming them with “Serenade,” Miller got his guitar licks in on “The Stake” before playing “Living in the U.S.A.” He dedicated the song to the men and women serving in the armed forces before busting out a harmonica and delivering an absolutely blistering turn on it. A run of classics followed, including “Fly Like an Eagle,” “Rock’n Me,” “Jungle Love,” “Take the Money and Run” and his embarrassingly catchy hit “Abracadabra” from 1982, a song Miller couldn’t help but point out Eminem recently sampled for his track “Houdini.”
“Abracadabra” was one of only three songs on his set list that didn’t come from either Fly Like an Eagle or Book of Dreams, the other two being “Living in the U.S.A.” (from the 1968 album Sailor) and “The Joker,” a song from Miller’s 1973 album of the same name and which served as the set’s penultimate tune. Miller brought out his “special guitar” for “The Joker,” its blue, bedazzled exterior a sight that couldn’t distract the audience from happily singing and swaying along to the 1973 hit. Finally, following an anecdote about his godfather, Les Paul, Miller launched into “Jet Airliner,” much to the crowd’s delight, to close his hour-long set.
Approximately 25 minutes later – just enough time to muse on the fact that the same man is responsible for “Take the Money and Run,” “Fly Like an Eagle” and “Abracadabra” – Journey took the stage.
Led by original member Neal Schon, near-original member Jonathan Cain, and lead singer (since 2007) Arnel Pineda, Journey opened their set with “Only the Young” off the 1985 soundtrack to Vision Quest, and it was immediately clear what a talent Pineda is. By the way, if you’re not familiar with the Filipino singer’s story and how he became Journey’s lead vocalist, do yourself a favor and Google it. Of course, he’s not Steve Perry, but with his powerhouse vocals, the set was anything but some kind of Journey karaoke night.
Not only that, but decked out in all white, you couldn’t help but see Pineda as he traversed the stage – running all around it, back and forth, up and down, and fist bumping and high-fiving fans. He definitely brought the energy. Vocally, he came out of the gate strong, following “Only the Young” with “Be Good to Yourself” and “Stone in Love,” the first of six songs pulled from the band’s 1981 album Escape.
Now, that’s not to say that the rest of the band lacked enthusiasm. In fact, Schon was quite dazzling in multiple guitar solos and surprisingly smiley considering he’s currently being sued by a man he shares the stage with (that would be his near-original bandmate Cain).
The Journey jukebox continued with “Ask the Lonely” and “Escape” before the band started slowing things down, first with “Who’s Crying Now” and then “Faithfully”, which was also dedicated to the armed forces and resulted in the first sighting of cell phone flashlights waving around the park. Some whiplash followed, with the band moving on to the significantly more rocking “Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’,” and whiplash hit again following a solo from Cain that led into the band’s 1981 hit “Open Arms.” The power ballad gave way to an unpleasantly noisy section that included “Line of Fire” and “Dead or Alive.” Luckily, things righted themselves with “Wheel in the Sky,” but it was “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)” that really had the crowd leaping to their feet and staying up for “Don’t Stop Believin’” and “Any Way You Want It.”
Another 30 or so minutes later, and it was time for Def Leppard to close the show, and here’s where y’all need to explain yourself.
Judging by the attire of the fans in attendance, it seemed that Def Leppard was the crowd favorite. It was Def Leppard merch galore in there. And yet, you all seemed just a bit…quiet. One thing that’s not the audience’s fault is that, despite a 15-minute countdown to showtime (called the Pyro Clock), the band’s entrance felt quite abrupt, with Joe Elliott, Rick Savage, Rick Allen, Phil Collen, and Vivian Campbell suddenly just being there and launching into “Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop).” But after the initial “oh, I guess we’re starting” feel wore off, it still seemed the crowd was still a little subdued – and it wasn’t the fault of the music or the musicianship.
Def Leppard is still riding high on the 40th anniversary of their iconic 1983 album Pyromania, and “Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)” turned out to be the first of a total of seven tracks from that slick and shiny Mutt Lange-produced album. We got the balladry (“Foolin’” and “Too Late for Love”), the synth-y and anthemic (“Rock of Ages”), the classic rock-ish (“Comin’ Under Fire” and “Die Hard the Hunter”) and the very pinnacle of pop-rock (“Photograph”).
Then there were the songs from the band’s 1987 album Hysteria, itself iconic, sprinkled throughout the set, including “Rocket,” “Armageddon It,” “Animal,” “Love Bites,” “Hysteria” and “Pour Some Sugar on Me.” Again, all big power chords and memorable hooks – more songs that are just as catchy as ever. Elliott’s recognizable voice is a treat, especially during his brief acoustic solo, and it’s a joy to hear Savage, Collen, and Campbell bring the vocal harmonies in their music to life. Campbell and Collen also put forth a masterclass on the guitar, while Savage’s bass line on “Switch 625” is as infectious as Allen’s drum solo is impressively exhausting.
Speaking of exhausting, the concert was about five hours long. Starting a show at 6 p.m. is obscene, but it’s ultimately a necessary evil as the show proved to be totally worth braving rush hour traffic to see.
Other scraps from the notebook…
Someone told Steve Miller about the Sugar Land Space Cowboys. Someone needs to give the man a Space Cowboys T-shirt, stat.
The award for pandering goes to Journey. Cain in particular for bringing up the Astros’ two championships and then emerging from behind the keys with a jersey on, and also Pineda for changing the “south Detroit” lyric to Houston.
Set List
Steve Miller Band
Swingtown
Serenade
The Stake
Living in the U.S.A.
Fly Like an Eagle
Abracadabra
Rock’n Me
Jungle Love
Take the Money and Run
The Joker
Jet Airliner
Journey
Only the Young
Be Good to Yourself
Stone in Love
Ask the Lonely
Escape
Who’s Crying Now
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
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
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2024.
