Live Review: Def Leppard, Live, Electric Mary

Electric Mary kick the night off with a velocity of sound that feels like it's trying to shake the innards out of your body. Live follow by pulling out all of the tricks from every rock performer's arsenal: amp-climbing, animalistic screeching, headbanging and violently waving instruments in the air as if about to smash them to pieces (an anti-climax, because they never did). The band gets the audience singing along with a few of their choruses and leave the crowd energised before Def Leppard walk on stage.

A few minutes into the opening song, Let's Go shows you that Def Leppard's live performance encapsulates every aspect of their recordings: the thunderclap of the snare and kick, the signature '80s distorted lead and all of the high level screams (although Joe Elliott sits out a few notes in Rocket). The accompanying stage lights and scattered sparkling Union Jacks sprinkle the show with the nostalgic essence of glam-rock.

The British performers keep a good balance between songs from their new self-titled album and a few of their hits from the '80s. When a shirtless Phil Collen steps to the front of the stage, you realise that the lead guitarist is probably the most ripped 57-year-old on the planet and could probably get a job as a body double in a teen vampire movie. His solos swerve in and out of the snappy beats Rick Allen deals from his drum kit at the back of the stage - the acclaimed one-armed percussionist exhibiting a few exceptional drum solos.

It's not until the second half of the show that the band start ripping through all of their classics: Hysteria, Rock Of Ages, Photograph, Pour Some Sugar On Me and Let's Get Rocked. The electrifying atmosphere lifts the crowd up off their seats as everyone starts fist-pumping. Each band member lives up to the energy of the heavy music and they all work together to feed it back into the audience. At set's close each musician traverses the full width of the stage and catwalk to wave at the crowd and show their appreciation for a good five minutes before they walk off stage.