Venue was awesome!!! Never been to a stadium this large and sound was amazing!!!! Now being that George Strait is and has truly been a favorite of mine since he started in the 80’s and I’ve followed his music and work since. A true legend!!! He is the consummate gentleman and is extremely in tune with his fans!!! I’m 60 yo and waiting to take in this bucket list event meant so much!!! He is still as good musically as ever and dang he’s nice to look at!!!!

2nd time seeing Metallica and the 1st time since the black album came out. Was really one of the best shows I've ever been too. Being in a sold out football stadium seeing one of the greatest bands to ever do it was a whole new experience. I can't wait to see them again. PanterA also killed it. R.I.P. Dime and Vinnie

I really enjoyed this concert. It was filled with great performances and lots of heart! I live in Avery County, NC, and the Elk River that Eric Church mentions fishing, runs through my backyard. We were fortunate to make it through Helene, but I know people who lost everything. Some barely escaped with their lives, and some didn’t. It’s been shocking and heartbreaking to see all of this unfold in our home town. I’m so happy that the proceeds were generously donated to those in our great state of North Carolina who need it most. It was truly a moving and beautiful thing to see.

The concert was absolutely phenomenal! Chris Stapleton is an amazing performer. We drove 12 hours for a long weekend in Charlotte to see Chris Stapleton and George Strait, and we were thoroughly impressed. The venue at Bank of America Stadium is a perfect setting to see an outdoor concert. The openness, cleanliness, and friendliness in a major city like Charlotte just made it that much more special. He's a very talented performer, and it shows in his stage presence. Country music is not my preferred choice, but I would 11/10 go see him perform again anywhere

One of the best shows - They sang so many great songs and did some cover songs. Loved Caroline Jones singing with them. Also, love his 2 new songs “ Tie Up” and “ Pirates and Parrots “. Both are so well written. I’m a parrot head and love Buffett - so this was a great tribute. I’d love to see them again!

I was surprised to see Mitch Rossell's opening act for Garth Brooks. It was a man, a guitar, and some songs that you could understand the words to and recognize as country music. Good melodies and good lyrics without falling into the cookie cutter nonsense. I abandoned country music radio years ago, but I'd become a faithful listener again if there were more unique artists like Mitch Rossell on the radio.

Outstanding show! The energy in the stadium was unbelievable. Garth never disappoints, a pure entertainer. Bands snd artists will play to cities for cheap “pops” but Garth seemed genuinely blown away by the energy of the crowd, even saying that if he tours again in the future he promises to start the tour in Charlotte. He again confirmed this on his social media channel a couple of days later. Very proud of my city! Charlotte brought it on back-to-back nights and Garth ate it up. Top 5 concerts I’ve ever attended, and I’ve attended many.

FANtastic! AWEsome! No one puts on a show like GARTH BROOKS!!!! I am a rock show person but truly no one holds a candle to Garth! The sound was the best I've ever experienced, and I go to hundreds of shows! T-shirt prices are $25 and up. Super great deal compared to other acts charging $40 or more! I rate it a 10/10!!!!

If I could give Garth’s Saturday night concert in Charlotte 100⭐️s, I would. The energy of the stadium was phenomenal. Having Trisha Yearwood sing 3 songs, 2 with him (to include Shallow), and one of her hits (She’s in love with the boy) was another highlight of the show. You could tell at the end of the concert that Garth did not want to leave the stage. He truly has a passion for performing and makes his fans feel special and that concert they’re at is the BEST one ever!

Garth Brooks: 7/16/22 “Destination Charlotte, row 2, front stage floor, the event Garth Brooks for the second of two shows at Bank of America stadium. It was my first time seeing my last artist of the 4 super-artists of the Class of ’89 series (the others being Alan Jackson, Clint Black and Travis Tritt). In a way it was a second chance for me as I held a pair of tickets to a canceled performance going back to December of 2019 at the same venue. For this round, Garth in consideration, instead of selling out one full stadium show chose to only sell the lower bowl and floor for a multiple evening engagement so fans were assured a choice view. It also made for a somewhat intimate experience. Once seated, my close-up view revealed the intricacies of the stage. What was advertised as a ‘stage in the round’ was more like a football shape positioned near the end zone, points to the sides each with mini-catwalk extensions. The stage was housed beneath a giant pavilion held by four columns which doubled as light/video bars on all four sides of each, affixed to the columns extending up to the covering were four 30 foot Jumbotrons facing each point of the compass, two speaker-stacks were positioned on each side of each screen (16 in all). Additional speakers were positioned high in the air on crane scaffolding towards the rear of the floor front stage. A quadruple drum kit (Garth designed) was positioned dead center on a three stair 18’ platform, each stair layer illuminated with individual lights round about, the same was true of the catwalks (too many individual lights to count). My view was the lighting rigs on the underside of the pavilion, pretty cool: a full four square of lights plus a circular rig in its center with four ‘V’s (points in towards the circle) extending out to the square which could raise, lower and tilt down. Immediately prior to a stage time of 8:15, crew conducted an audience sound-level check for an upcoming live recording release ‘Killer LIVE’. A TRIPLE g LIVE countdown clock signaled that the time had finally arrived, 3-2-1… ‘Alexa play Garth Brooks Live in Charlotte’ resounded from the massive sound system while the band ‘The G-Men’ (a number of members who have been with him through the 80’s & 90’s) took the stage. We could hear Garth singing ‘All Day Long’ but he was nowhere to be found. The top layer of the drum platform began to separate from the bottom layers like a cake rising into the air on cables with puffs of smoke all around revealing Garth hanging onto the underside of the platform, a grand entrance. Thus began a 2 1/2 hr show consisting of 30 songs. In my opinion the 60 year old singer ranked right up there with rock n roll’s leading frontmen running all angles of the four-square with his headworn mic (mostly in a clock-wise rotation), calling out to his ‘voices’ i.e. the fans, leading sing alongs, and tossing his guitar cross-stage to an awaiting crewman with precision. This being the 4th from the last show on the tour, Garth had it down to a science! ‘O Really?’, said Garth. ‘How’s everybody doing, you doing ok? Sweet! People, it’s Saturday night, I say we turn it up and raise some hell!’ By song six, Garth was drenched with sweat, my wife leaned over to me and said, ‘He looks like he fell into a tub’. There was no doubt about it, Garth was clearly enthralled by the Charlotte crowd, shown by a hearty ‘YEEAAAAH!’ resoundingly projected by Brooks at least a dozen times upon completion of a song. There was ‘The Thunder Rolls’ complete with thunder and lightning simulation that made my chest shake. There were confetti and streamer cannons raining down far into the crowd during ‘Friends In Low Places’. There was a giant disco ball illuminating the entire stadium during ‘The Dance’. Someone on this week’s online ‘StudioG Live’ had said they would love to hear ‘Carolina In My Mind’/James Taylor, and Garth delivered. ‘Tonight we came here to North Carolina to pay tribute to the guy other than God Himself to why I play music, and that’s none other than your own James Taylor!’ A ‘Carolina In My Mind/JT medley ensued including ‘Mockingbird’ with Trisha (an absolute perfect call and respond by the duo). Yes, ‘Queen’ Trisha was there and following Mockingbird she delivered a crowd rousing rendition of ‘She’s In Love With The Boy’ at Garth’s request! Then there were the other covers: a Randy Travis medley, ‘Fishing In The Dark’, ‘Night Moves’, Coe’s ‘You Never Even Called Me By Name’, ‘Rocket Man’, and ‘Piano Man’ (the second encore)! Songs NOT included in the set… What She’s Doing Now, We Shall Be Free, More Than A Memory, Somewhere Other Than The Night, Learning To Live Again, American Honky Tonk Bar Association, It’s Midnight Cinderella, and Longneck Bottle, but with 58 charted singles how does one build a setlist to accommodate everyone? Garth’s concluding words, ‘I’m so in love with you, thank you for the greatest weekend!’ The sound was great! From where I sat, I could understand every word that was sung with clarity which is very uncommon for an open air event. Kudos to Garth who doesn’t follow suit with the greediness associated with merch sales… 6 varieties of official tour shirts were all presented at an affordable $25 each! Garth did have an opener, Mitch Rossell from E. Tennessee delivered a crowd pleasing 4 song set. All this plus the weather held up, a perfect 80° at showtime, earlier storms had passed and the only Thunder that Rolled came from the stage!” by DAve (Concert #677)

Amazing! Joan Jett , Poison were both awesome. Def Leppard still sounds amazing. But at 852PM , they had to cut their set short and we were told to evacuate the field. I love all the bands but was there for the Crue! After waiting over 2 years for it, my heart sank. They paused the show 90 minutes . It did not look good and some people left thinking it would not happen. At 1038PM , Nikki Sixx texted that the show was a GO! The rain almost ruined it but in the end made it better. The crowd was so fired up by the time they came on. It was worth the wait to see them!! Tommy , making light of the situation with his broken ribs, tossed out actual ribs and beer to the crowd. Yes, it was a party and a celebration . The pandemic just made us all appreciate the concert experience even more. Long live the Crue!

We missed Joan Jett. Arrived too late. But caught most of Poison and all of Motley Crüe and Def Leppard. Poison was okay - Brett Michaels was all energy but I feel his voice isn't what it used to be. But his energy and crowd engagement made up for it. I've never really listened to Motley Crüe but I enjoyed their performance! Possibly a new fan...? And Def Leppard, of course, they were excellent. Voices still 100% spot on.

“With a break from the heat but not from the music (a pleasant 80° post 17 days of 90+ heat), the Stadium Tour finally rolled into Charlotte for a Tuesday show. Finally sums it up well as tickets for the 36 city tour originally went on sale in December of 2019! It was my first time seeing Def Leppard (despite many opportunities) and also Crue so I was super-excited. I had seen Jett in Spring of ’89 and Poison in 2017 when I showed up for Cheap Trick (the first half of a double-bill), and left a believer in Poison! The order of the 7 hour day was Joan Jett then Poison who were billed as ‘special guests’, next were Motley Crue and Def Leppard on the alternation swapping their order out every other show as ‘co-headliners’. Of note there was also an opening band ‘Classless Act’ coming in with perfect timing for their debut album just days earlier. An estimate of the age of the majority of attendees was 50 plus, the atmosphere at our seats pungent and earthy. Joan age 63 came on promptly and without a lot of fan fair. She immediately got the crowd off their feet, ‘Are you ready for a day of rock and roll?’ Dressed all in black, black Gibson in hand with a pink heart on it ‘Girl Is Not A Four Letter Word’, we could all agree on one thing, that ‘ROCK’ is! The drum kit in like fashion was all in black monogramed on the bass drum, ‘JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS’. The fact that Joan had been touring right up to the stadium dates was evident in the fact that she did not miss a single beat throughout the 45 minute set. She sounded identical to me as she had some 33 years earlier. Poison coming off a 4 year hiatus was simply amazing! The energy alone from Bret Michaels working the crowd (dressed in a black Poison shirt with trademark bandanna) was contagious. ‘I don’t care if it snowed, we were coming here to throw a party!’, at 59 he looks great! CC at 60 with long hair, aviator glasses, his red vested top hat and GMP flying V was strong as ever playing a 4 minute solo (far too short to spotlight his talent) that included an excerpt from ‘Eruption’. Rikki Rockett had a super cool green kit with the Poison skull and bones on the bass drum, the bones were images of sticks creatively spelling out his name. A row of light boxes kept everything captivating and bright during the hour long daylight set. Crue was the most visual. Being their first major tour in 7 years the anticipation was mounting as even their stage set was reported being shut up a warehouse for over two years. A sound from the video screens came on like a breaking news report, ‘For the next 2 hours music will be the only form of communication!’ What seemed to be a stage length partition designed to conceal the stage crew during the turn time doubled as a video screen with the words ‘THE FUTURE IS OURS’, rising up and revealing the set. There were four large radio towers or ‘lighting trees’ with spiked tips extending up. There was what looked to be erector set staging all over the stage with which dancing girls could use to climb. Yes there were dancing girls ‘The Nasty Habits’, who also sang and I’m pretty sure they weren’t background tracked. Two huge inflatable futuristic looking mannequins filled up the already crowded stage for ‘Girls Girls Girls’. Neil addressed the crowd, ‘We’re back, we’re back, you thought we were gone and now were f*****g back… let’s go! The focus would not be on Vince Neil’s voice but his frontman-ship. I had heard that he has never really had a strong stage voice so I wasn’t there to hear studio albums reproduced. However had stated that he was going to get himself in shape for the tour (and after recently seeing Bon Jovi), he did a great job! Tommy Lee who had suffered 4 broken ribs a couple weeks prior to opening night played his first entire set! He was also featured on a piano that rose up from beneath the catwalk for ‘Home Sweet Home’. One couldn’t tell that Mick Mars 71 was the oldest performer of the evening, he carried himself with the best of them. There were to be no pyrotechnics on this tour however at the end of Crue’s set, a huge smoke screen from the back of the floor section rose toward the sky like giant pink cotton candy, awful smelling and view obstructing. The band played an hour and a half. Honestly, that stage was a lot to switch out for Def Leppard and it took about 35 minutes, the crew did great. A video screen countdown commenced, 10-9-8… and Leppard followed with a flawless 18 song set. Joe Elliott 62 in the front clearly has stayed in vocal-shape, ‘It’s been a hell of a wait, we want to thank you for waiting for us!’ The bands recent gig at the ‘Whisky A Go Go’ was all it took to get them in top form for this tour which included four tracks from the new album. The set list was heavy on the Hysteria album being its 35th anniversary, a whopping seven songs made the cut. The custom drum kit had the ‘Diamond Star Halos’ eye with the DL pyramid on it operating under clear command and control of Rick Allen sporting his Union Jack headphones. A second drum set rose up out of the catwalk for ‘This Guitar’ the first song in an acoustic set which for me was a highlight of the evening musically. The set lasted about 1 1/2 hours, it may not have had the glam of Crue but musically (in my opinion) it was the best performance of the evening and the order of bands worked well. There was nothing notably missing from either bands set lists (save ‘Too Late For Love’) which made for a great night. Also there was a 25% chance of thunderstorms to which we all stayed ‘High ’N’ Dry’ minus a light shower during ‘Pour Some Sugar’. All I could think of was my old man saying, ‘What, are you made of sugar?’ BOA Stadium staff were great, they moved everyone quickly in and through security with zero nitpicking, kudos. The sound was very good for a stadium show, not too loud not too soft. In summary, this was more than just hair bands or glam bands reliving their glory days, this was the 80’s in Rock N Roll still alive and well in 2022!” by DAve (Concerts #670-673)

“With a break from the heat but not from the music (a pleasant 80° post 17 days of 90+ heat), the Stadium Tour finally rolled into Charlotte for a Tuesday show. Finally sums it up well as tickets for the 36 city tour originally went on sale in December of 2019! It was my first time seeing Def Leppard (despite many opportunities) and also Crue so I was super-excited. I had seen Jett in Spring of ’89 and Poison in 2017 when I showed up for Cheap Trick (the first half of a double-bill), and left a believer in Poison! The order of the 7 hour day was Joan Jett then Poison who were billed as ‘special guests’, next were Motley Crue and Def Leppard on the alternation swapping their order out every other show as ‘co-headliners’. Of note there was also an opening band ‘Classless Act’ coming in with perfect timing for their debut album just days earlier. An estimate of the age of the majority of attendees was 50 plus, the atmosphere at our seats pungent and earthy. Joan age 63 came on promptly and without a lot of fan fair. She immediately got the crowd off their feet, ‘Are you ready for a day of rock and roll?’ Dressed all in black, black Gibson in hand with a pink heart on it ‘Girl Is Not A Four Letter Word’, we could all agree on one thing, that ‘ROCK’ is! The drum kit in like fashion was all in black monogramed on the bass drum, ‘JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS’. The fact that Joan had been touring right up to the stadium dates was evident in the fact that she did not miss a single beat throughout the 45 minute set. She sounded identical to me as she had some 33 years earlier. Poison coming off a 4 year hiatus was simply amazing! The energy alone from Bret Michaels working the crowd (dressed in a black Poison shirt with trademark bandanna) was contagious. ‘I don’t care if it snowed, we were coming here to throw a party!’, at 59 he looks great! CC at 60 with long hair, aviator glasses, his red vested top hat and GMP flying V was strong as ever playing a 4 minute solo (far too short to spotlight his talent) that included an excerpt from ‘Eruption’. Rikki Rockett had a super cool green kit with the Poison skull and bones on the bass drum, the bones were images of sticks creatively spelling out his name. A row of light boxes kept everything captivating and bright during the hour long daylight set. Crue was the most visual. Being their first major tour in 7 years the anticipation was mounting as even their stage set was reported being shut up a warehouse for over two years. A sound from the video screens came on like a breaking news report, ‘For the next 2 hours music will be the only form of communication!’ What seemed to be a stage length partition designed to conceal the stage crew during the turn time doubled as a video screen with the words ‘THE FUTURE IS OURS’, rising up and revealing the set. There were four large radio towers or ‘lighting trees’ with spiked tips extending up. There was what looked to be erector set staging all over the stage with which dancing girls could use to climb. Yes there were dancing girls ‘The Nasty Habits’, who also sang and I’m pretty sure they weren’t background tracked. Two huge inflatable futuristic looking mannequins filled up the already crowded stage for ‘Girls Girls Girls’. Neil addressed the crowd, ‘We’re back, we’re back, you thought we were gone and now were f*****g back… let’s go! The focus would not be on Vince Neil’s voice but his frontman-ship. I had heard that he has never really had a strong stage voice so I wasn’t there to hear studio albums reproduced. However had stated that he was going to get himself in shape for the tour (and after recently seeing Bon Jovi), he did a great job! Tommy Lee who had suffered 4 broken ribs a couple weeks prior to opening night played his first entire set! He was also featured on a piano that rose up from beneath the catwalk for ‘Home Sweet Home’. One couldn’t tell that Mick Mars 71 was the oldest performer of the evening, he carried himself with the best of them. There were to be no pyrotechnics on this tour however at the end of Crue’s set, a huge smoke screen from the back of the floor section rose toward the sky like giant pink cotton candy, awful smelling and view obstructing. The band played an hour and a half. Honestly, that stage was a lot to switch out for Def Leppard and it took about 35 minutes, the crew did great. A video screen countdown commenced, 10-9-8… and Leppard followed with a flawless 18 song set. Joe Elliott 62 in the front clearly has stayed in vocal-shape, ‘It’s been a hell of a wait, we want to thank you for waiting for us!’ The bands recent gig at the ‘Whisky A Go Go’ was all it took to get them in top form for this tour which included four tracks from the new album. The set list was heavy on the Hysteria album being its 35th anniversary, a whopping seven songs made the cut. The custom drum kit had the ‘Diamond Star Halos’ eye with the DL pyramid on it operating under clear command and control of Rick Allen sporting his Union Jack headphones. A second drum set rose up out of the catwalk for ‘This Guitar’ the first song in an acoustic set which for me was a highlight of the evening musically. The set lasted about 1 1/2 hours, it may not have had the glam of Crue but musically (in my opinion) it was the best performance of the evening and the order of bands worked well. There was nothing notably missing from either bands set lists (save ‘Too Late For Love’) which made for a great night. Also there was a 25% chance of thunderstorms to which we all stayed ‘High ’N’ Dry’ minus a light shower during ‘Pour Some Sugar’. All I could think of was my old man saying, ‘What, are you made of sugar?’ BOA Stadium staff were great, they moved everyone quickly in and through security with zero nitpicking, kudos. The sound was very good for a stadium show, not too loud not too soft. In summary, this was more than just hair bands or glam bands reliving their glory days, this was the 80’s in Rock N Roll still alive and well in 2022!” by DAve (Concerts #670-673)

“With a break from the heat but not from the music (a pleasant 80° post 17 days of 90+ heat), the Stadium Tour finally rolled into Charlotte for a Tuesday show. Finally sums it up well as tickets for the 36 city tour originally went on sale in December of 2019! It was my first time seeing Def Leppard (despite many opportunities) and also Crue so I was super-excited. I had seen Jett in Spring of ’89 and Poison in 2017 when I showed up for Cheap Trick (the first half of a double-bill), and left a believer in Poison! The order of the 7 hour day was Joan Jett then Poison who were billed as ‘special guests’, next were Motley Crue and Def Leppard on the alternation swapping their order out every other show as ‘co-headliners’. Of note there was also an opening band ‘Classless Act’ coming in with perfect timing for their debut album just days earlier. An estimate of the age of the majority of attendees was 50 plus, the atmosphere at our seats pungent and earthy. Joan age 63 came on promptly and without a lot of fan fair. She immediately got the crowd off their feet, ‘Are you ready for a day of rock and roll?’ Dressed all in black, black Gibson in hand with a pink heart on it ‘Girl Is Not A Four Letter Word’, we could all agree on one thing, that ‘ROCK’ is! The drum kit in like fashion was all in black monogramed on the bass drum, ‘JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS’. The fact that Joan had been touring right up to the stadium dates was evident in the fact that she did not miss a single beat throughout the 45 minute set. She sounded identical to me as she had some 33 years earlier. Poison coming off a 4 year hiatus was simply amazing! The energy alone from Bret Michaels working the crowd (dressed in a black Poison shirt with trademark bandanna) was contagious. ‘I don’t care if it snowed, we were coming here to throw a party!’, at 59 he looks great! CC at 60 with long hair, aviator glasses, his red vested top hat and GMP flying V was strong as ever playing a 4 minute solo (far too short to spotlight his talent) that included an excerpt from ‘Eruption’. Rikki Rockett had a super cool green kit with the Poison skull and bones on the bass drum, the bones were images of sticks creatively spelling out his name. A row of light boxes kept everything captivating and bright during the hour long daylight set. Crue was the most visual. Being their first major tour in 7 years the anticipation was mounting as even their stage set was reported being shut up a warehouse for over two years. A sound from the video screens came on like a breaking news report, ‘For the next 2 hours music will be the only form of communication!’ What seemed to be a stage length partition designed to conceal the stage crew during the turn time doubled as a video screen with the words ‘THE FUTURE IS OURS’, rising up and revealing the set. There were four large radio towers or ‘lighting trees’ with spiked tips extending up. There was what looked to be erector set staging all over the stage with which dancing girls could use to climb. Yes there were dancing girls ‘The Nasty Habits’, who also sang and I’m pretty sure they weren’t background tracked. Two huge inflatable futuristic looking mannequins filled up the already crowded stage for ‘Girls Girls Girls’. Neil addressed the crowd, ‘We’re back, we’re back, you thought we were gone and now were f*****g back… let’s go! The focus would not be on Vince Neil’s voice but his frontman-ship. I had heard that he has never really had a strong stage voice so I wasn’t there to hear studio albums reproduced. However had stated that he was going to get himself in shape for the tour (and after recently seeing Bon Jovi), he did a great job! Tommy Lee who had suffered 4 broken ribs a couple weeks prior to opening night played his first entire set! He was also featured on a piano that rose up from beneath the catwalk for ‘Home Sweet Home’. One couldn’t tell that Mick Mars 71 was the oldest performer of the evening, he carried himself with the best of them. There were to be no pyrotechnics on this tour however at the end of Crue’s set, a huge smoke screen from the back of the floor section rose toward the sky like giant pink cotton candy, awful smelling and view obstructing. The band played an hour and a half. Honestly, that stage was a lot to switch out for Def Leppard and it took about 35 minutes, the crew did great. A video screen countdown commenced, 10-9-8… and Leppard followed with a flawless 18 song set. Joe Elliott 62 in the front clearly has stayed in vocal-shape, ‘It’s been a hell of a wait, we want to thank you for waiting for us!’ The bands recent gig at the ‘Whisky A Go Go’ was all it took to get them in top form for this tour which included four tracks from the new album. The set list was heavy on the Hysteria album being its 35th anniversary, a whopping seven songs made the cut. The custom drum kit had the ‘Diamond Star Halos’ eye with the DL pyramid on it operating under clear command and control of Rick Allen sporting his Union Jack headphones. A second drum set rose up out of the catwalk for ‘This Guitar’ the first song in an acoustic set which for me was a highlight of the evening musically. The set lasted about 1 1/2 hours, it may not have had the glam of Crue but musically (in my opinion) it was the best performance of the evening and the order of bands worked well. There was nothing notably missing from either bands set lists (save ‘Too Late For Love’) which made for a great night. Also there was a 25% chance of thunderstorms to which we all stayed ‘High ’N’ Dry’ minus a light shower during ‘Pour Some Sugar’. All I could think of was my old man saying, ‘What, are you made of sugar?’ BOA Stadium staff were great, they moved everyone quickly in and through security with zero nitpicking, kudos. The sound was very good for a stadium show, not too loud not too soft. In summary, this was more than just hair bands or glam bands reliving their glory days, this was the 80’s in Rock N Roll still alive and well in 2022!” by DAve (Concerts #670-673)

“With a break from the heat but not from the music (a pleasant 80° post 17 days of 90+ heat), the Stadium Tour finally rolled into Charlotte for a Tuesday show. Finally sums it up well as tickets for the 36 city tour originally went on sale in December of 2019! It was my first time seeing Def Leppard (despite many opportunities) and also Crue so I was super-excited. I had seen Jett in Spring of ’89 and Poison in 2017 when I showed up for Cheap Trick (the first half of a double-bill), and left a believer in Poison! The order of the 7 hour day was Joan Jett then Poison who were billed as ‘special guests’, next were Motley Crue and Def Leppard on the alternation swapping their order out every other show as ‘co-headliners’. Of note there was also an opening band ‘Classless Act’ coming in with perfect timing for their debut album just days earlier. An estimate of the age of the majority of attendees was 50 plus, the atmosphere at our seats pungent and earthy. Joan age 63 came on promptly and without a lot of fan fair. She immediately got the crowd off their feet, ‘Are you ready for a day of rock and roll?’ Dressed all in black, black Gibson in hand with a pink heart on it ‘Girl Is Not A Four Letter Word’, we could all agree on one thing, that ‘ROCK’ is! The drum kit in like fashion was all in black monogramed on the bass drum, ‘JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS’. The fact that Joan had been touring right up to the stadium dates was evident in the fact that she did not miss a single beat throughout the 45 minute set. She sounded identical to me as she had some 33 years earlier. Poison coming off a 4 year hiatus was simply amazing! The energy alone from Bret Michaels working the crowd (dressed in a black Poison shirt with trademark bandanna) was contagious. ‘I don’t care if it snowed, we were coming here to throw a party!’, at 59 he looks great! CC at 60 with long hair, aviator glasses, his red vested top hat and GMP flying V was strong as ever playing a 4 minute solo (far too short to spotlight his talent) that included an excerpt from ‘Eruption’. Rikki Rockett had a super cool green kit with the Poison skull and bones on the bass drum, the bones were images of sticks creatively spelling out his name. A row of light boxes kept everything captivating and bright during the hour long daylight set. Crue was the most visual. Being their first major tour in 7 years the anticipation was mounting as even their stage set was reported being shut up a warehouse for over two years. A sound from the video screens came on like a breaking news report, ‘For the next 2 hours music will be the only form of communication!’ What seemed to be a stage length partition designed to conceal the stage crew during the turn time doubled as a video screen with the words ‘THE FUTURE IS OURS’, rising up and revealing the set. There were four large radio towers or ‘lighting trees’ with spiked tips extending up. There was what looked to be erector set staging all over the stage with which dancing girls could use to climb. Yes there were dancing girls ‘The Nasty Habits’, who also sang and I’m pretty sure they weren’t background tracked. Two huge inflatable futuristic looking mannequins filled up the already crowded stage for ‘Girls Girls Girls’. Neil addressed the crowd, ‘We’re back, we’re back, you thought we were gone and now were f*****g back… let’s go! The focus would not be on Vince Neil’s voice but his frontman-ship. I had heard that he has never really had a strong stage voice so I wasn’t there to hear studio albums reproduced. However had stated that he was going to get himself in shape for the tour (and after recently seeing Bon Jovi), he did a great job! Tommy Lee who had suffered 4 broken ribs a couple weeks prior to opening night played his first entire set! He was also featured on a piano that rose up from beneath the catwalk for ‘Home Sweet Home’. One couldn’t tell that Mick Mars 71 was the oldest performer of the evening, he carried himself with the best of them. There were to be no pyrotechnics on this tour however at the end of Crue’s set, a huge smoke screen from the back of the floor section rose toward the sky like giant pink cotton candy, awful smelling and view obstructing. The band played an hour and a half. Honestly, that stage was a lot to switch out for Def Leppard and it took about 35 minutes, the crew did great. A video screen countdown commenced, 10-9-8… and Leppard followed with a flawless 18 song set. Joe Elliott 62 in the front clearly has stayed in vocal-shape, ‘It’s been a hell of a wait, we want to thank you for waiting for us!’ The bands recent gig at the ‘Whisky A Go Go’ was all it took to get them in top form for this tour which included four tracks from the new album. The set list was heavy on the Hysteria album being its 35th anniversary, a whopping seven songs made the cut. The custom drum kit had the ‘Diamond Star Halos’ eye with the DL pyramid on it operating under clear command and control of Rick Allen sporting his Union Jack headphones. A second drum set rose up out of the catwalk for ‘This Guitar’ the first song in an acoustic set which for me was a highlight of the evening musically. The set lasted about 1 1/2 hours, it may not have had the glam of Crue but musically (in my opinion) it was the best performance of the evening and the order of bands worked well. There was nothing notably missing from either bands set lists (save ‘Too Late For Love’) which made for a great night. Also there was a 25% chance of thunderstorms to which we all stayed ‘High ’N’ Dry’ minus a light shower during ‘Pour Some Sugar’. All I could think of was my old man saying, ‘What, are you made of sugar?’ BOA Stadium staff were great, they moved everyone quickly in and through security with zero nitpicking, kudos. The sound was very good for a stadium show, not too loud not too soft. In summary, this was more than just hair bands or glam bands reliving their glory days, this was the 80’s in Rock N Roll still alive and well in 2022!” by DAve (Concerts #670-673)

Kenny was incredible. Superb voice…tons of energy. All of the usual he brings to one of his shows. My downfall was 2 fold. One- even though you cant expect premium sound in a stadium, the sound was terrible. This started with open act Dan + Shay. The mix was terrible. Second- Kenny’s band. Though realizing this was only the second night of the tour, the band sounded “disjointed” to me. At one point, I actually the band was playing a different song than what Kenny was singing to. In the past, I remember Kenny’s band being super “tight”. They’ve got a long ways to go and will hopefully hit their stride in the coming nights of their tour.

My first time seeing him and it was at Bank of America stadium in Charlotte. Bought the tickets more than 2 years ago but pandemic got in the way. It was worth the wait, worth money and ranked up there with other greats I have seen. If, like me, you are a fan but have never seen him love. Pay the money. He and his band are totally awesome. This was a 20 on scale of 10!

One knew that Ghost Hounds had to be good for The Rolling Stones to have chosen them as opener. They came out with enthusiasm and energy. It wasn’t until Devil Woman until the crowd began to appreciate the performance and they worked it in at a great point in the set list. Hats off to the band for rising to the occasion on the second date of this leg of the tour!