Photos and Review by : Jeff Lasich
As summer 2022 it starting to wind down, Pittsburgh was gearing up for one last major party. After years of postponement, The Stadium Tour made a stop for a sold out show at PNC Park on August 12. It was an absolutely perfect day for the show. The weather was beautiful and the fans were in high spirits. Since there were five bands playing, things started off a little earlier than a normal show.
Kicking things off around 4pm were newcomers from LA, Classless Act. Supporting their debut album, Welcome to the Show, the band hit the stage full of youthful energy. Frontman Derek Day jumped, crawled, ran and attacked the stage like he owned it. They are definitely inspired by the legacy of the LA rock scene. Being the openers, they unfortunately only had a 15 minute set and they were gone. I suspect you’ll be hearing more about them in the next year or two.
Next up was the legendary Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. It was awesome being able to watch Joan do her thing, looking cool in her sunglasses and black leather jacket. While it might not have been the most energetic set of the day, the crowd was loving it. The roar during “I Love Rock and Roll was something else! She played what you would expect, I Hate Myself for Loving You” and “Bad Reputation.” There were some covers tossed in including a Sly and the Family Stone cover and her version of “Crimson and Clover.”
Third band of the day was Poison. Brett Michaels was making his return home, as he is from Butler which is just a short drive north of the city. He ran out on the stage twirling a Terrible Towel to the delight of the yinzer crowd. In my opinion, Poison was the best band of the show. Michaels loves what he does and his happiness is infectious. He spent the show bouncing from one part of the stage to another, interacting with the fans the entire time. CC DeVille still can shred a guitar. They closed their set with “Nothing But a Good Time,” which was a reoccurring theme of the night.
For this tour, the headliner switches between Def Leppard and Motley Crue. On this night, Crue was closing out the show. The sun had set by the time Def Leppard started their set. Now that it was dark, it was feeling more like a concert. The five piece from England played a full set, mixing old and new songs. The stage production was fantastic. Great lighting and good choices for the video to accompany the songs, especially during “Photograph.” Singer Joe Elliot sounds as good as ever. Overall the band sounded great and were very tight. It was cool hearing some of the really old songs, as well as their huge late 80s hits like “Animal,” “Rocket” and of course, “Pour Some Sugar on Me.”
Finally it was time for Motley Crue. I was in elementary school when Shout at the Devil came out. For some reason my parents thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea if I got the record. I can remember them touring for that record and begging my dad to take me. He didn’t. That was probably the right choice. Anyway, the second song they played was “Shout at the Devil,” and seeing them play that brought back those memories. What can I say about the Crue? They have been playing for 41 years. 41 years that Nikki Sixx described as “reckless, badass and irresponsible.” They played songs spanning their entire career- from the early days of Too Fast for Love, to more recent songs like The Dirt, there was something for everyone. They tossed in a medley of cover songs they’ve played over the years, including “Helter Skelter” which I knew as a Crue song before a Beatles song (give me a break I was 10 years old.) What would a Motley Crue show be without girls dancing on poles on the stage. They did double duty and provided backup vocals. At one point of the show, a piano rose from below the catwalk for “Home Sweet Home.”
In 1988 this would have been a dream lineup. In 2022, it was still pretty awesome!
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