Age of The Nerd
Excitement was brewing ever since The Stadium Tour featuring Motley Crue, Def Leppard, Poison, and Joan Jett & The Blackhearts was first announced. All of these legendary bands together on a bill was definitely a dream come true. However, the dream was short-lived once the pandemic hit and live music was halted for the better part of two years. Now we are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel and we are thrilled that live shows have once again resumed. The dream of attending The Stadium Tour has become a reality and these bands truly brought their A-game to the packed house show at Citizen’s Bank Park in Philadelphia, PA.
The first band to take the stage at an incredibly early 3:40pm was Classless Act and after hearing a few songs from their debut album “Welcome To The Show” we knew that we had to get inside early to check out their set. Despite the fact that many fans were still filing into the venue during their 15-20 minute performance, Classless Act refused to let that deter their energy. They jammed their hearts out and we are definitely certain that this band is poised to do big things in the near future. We actually can’t wait for an opportunity to check them out again with a longer set!
It was a ridiculously hot day in Philly for this show, however it ran like clockwork and Joan Jett & The Blackhearts took the stage at precisely 4:40pm and ripped through their 45-minute set. Their set was chock full of hits and Joan both looked and sounded amazing. We will forever bow down and rock out with the queen of rock n’ roll as she belted out songs such as “Cherry Bomb”, “Victim of Circumstance”, “I Hate Myself For Loving You and the bands amazing covers of “Everyday People” from Sly and the Family Stone and Tommy James and The Shandells hit “Crimson and Clover”. Joan Jett & The Blackhearts of course closed out their set with “I Love Rock n’ Roll” and “Bad Reputation”. The band was well-worth rocking out in the sweltering heart as we loved every moment.
Joan Jett & The Blackhearts Philadelphia Set List
Poison is always one of our absolute favorite bands to see performing live. There is just something that Bret Michaels brings to the stage as a frontman that lights up the stadium and together with bandmates Rikki Rockett, CeCe DeVille, and Bobby Dall it is some rock n’ roll magic. Poison has fun with the crowd and Michaels has them hanging onto each and every word. Michaels mentioned on stage that Philly is a hometown show for them, as he was raised in the Mechanicsburg, PA area.
Citizens Bank Park was packed for Poison’s 6:00pm set time, which was again on the early side, but everyone was eager to hear hits such as set opener “Look What The Cat Dragged In” as well as, fan favorites “Talk Dirty To Me”, “Fallen Angel”, “Unskinny Bop”, “Every Rose Has It’s Thorn” and more. Poison, of course, closed their set with the ever popular “Nothin’ But A Good Time” and that is exactly what we had as we watched Poison tear up the stage. Michaels made full use of the long stage runaway, many times running up and down and high fiving with the crowd.
Poison Philadelphia Set List
There was a little bit of a switch up with the line-up for the evening and Def Leppard was next to head to the stage. Joe Elliot and the rest of Def Leppard began their blistering performance at 7:30pm with “Take What You Want” and they just continued to pump out song after song during their set. Def Leppard appeared bright and energetic and utterly thrilled to be back on stage and doing what they do best!
Def Leppard are supporting their newest album release “Diamond Star Halos” and they did a fantastic job of mixing in several new tracks with their older hits. Guitarist Phil Collen was in overdrive mode as Def Leppard blasted out songs such as “Animal”, “Foolin'” “Love Bites” and “Armageddon It” and it was a truly special moment during their set where all of the band members congregated at the end of the stage ramp to play stripped down acoustic versions of “This Guitar” and “Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad” which just sounded beautiful.
To close out their set Def Leppard went all out with stellar performances of “Hysteria”, “Rock Of Ages” “Pour Some Sugar On Me” and an incredible drum solo from the incredible Rick Allen. They closed out their set with “Photograph” which featured a ton of photos of fans sporting Def Leppard concert gear from this very show. Definitely cool! A photog was snapping fan pics earlier in the afternoon to be used in the photo montage that night! At the closing of their set Elliot told fans that Def Leppard would definitely be returning soon and we can’t wait!
Def Leppard Philadelphia Set List
And now it was finally time for Motley Crue to close out the evening and what a perfect choice. The weather had cooled off just a bit and we were more than ready to take a musical journey with The Crue that spanned their decades of hits. Opening up with “Wild Side” and “Shout At The Devil”, Motley Crue started out great right out of the gate. It has been no secret the singer Vince Neil’s vocals have come into question as the years have gone by and many critics have continually slammed him, however we were more than impressed with his performance here in Philly. We felt that majority of his vocals were spot-on and he can definitely still belt out a good number of those high notes that we know and love. Motley Crue were also dealing with an injury to drummer Tommy Lee, who recently broke several ribs in a accidental fall. Despite his injury Lee still looked great and he came out to play several songs throughout the set, just sadly couldn’t go as crazy as he normally does! Lee and drummer Tommy Clufetos switched back and forth several times throughout the evening, but we definitely felt that Lee was present on the stage for most of the sets pivotal moments, especially when the piano is brought out for one of our favorite Crue tracks “Home Sweet Home”.
Bassist Nikki Sixx was talkative with the crowd as he thanked the fans for staying with the band and coming out to show their support and also shared a few anecdotes along the way telling the crowd that back in 1981 when the band was first starting they didn’t have enough songs to perform a full gig so they started playing some of their favorite songs from other bands they looked up to at the time. This led into a great performance medley of covers which included “Smokin’ In The Boys Room”, “White Punks On Dope”, “Helter Skelter” and “Anarchy In The U.K.”. \
Motley Crue powered through the rest of their set that included “Dr. Feelgood”, “Same Old Situation”, “Girls, Girls, Girls” and our personal favorite “Primal Scream”. The band closed their set with “Kickstart My Heart” with Lee returning to the drum kit and a tease of new music coming from the band in 2023!
Motley Crue Philadelphia Set List
When The Stadium Tour comes to your city, it is definitely well worth the ticket, as it is fully stacked line-up of bands each of who is a headliner in the own right. All of these bands have withstood the test of time and have proven time and time again that that spirit of rock n’ roll is still very much alive and well!
More photos from the show:
Photo credit: Thomas E. Briglia/The Phillies
