The 1980s contained many great bands that defined my high school years. Chief among them were Journey, Def Leppard and the Steve Miller Band, which first caught my attention in the early ‘70s.
Today, I still really enjoy listening to their classic songs and welcome seeing them live whenever they roll through town. So, even though I’ve seen them before, I couldn’t resist catching all three Rock and Roll Hall of Famers share Petco Park’s stage for their 2024 Summer Stadium Tour.
Let’s start with some fun trivia: collectively, Def Leppard, Journey and the Steve Miller Band have 33 Top 20 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, with 17 of those cracking the Top 10. If you consider all the other songs in their catalogs that people know and love, each band could easily deliver a 90-minute set of nothing but hits and fan favorites.
That’s just about what all those in attendance got — and it was a night filled with celebrations.
Steve Miller Band
The Steve Miller Band kicked off the co-headlining show promptly at 6 p.m. with the melodic “Swingtown.”
The 80-year-old guitarist looked like a sharp-dressed man in all black with dark sunglasses, set off by his silver hair. Despite a strong echo cascading across the ballpark, Miller’s voice was in good form as he worked through the opener’s “Ooo oooohhhh” chorus, followed by “Serenade” and “The Stake,” where his interplay with guitarist Jacob Petersen and bassist Kenny Lee Lewis was a treat to watch.
“Fly Like an Eagle” lifted the crowd’s spirits, especially during keyboardist Joseph Wooten’s mesmerizing solo. Before launching into 1981’s “Abracadabra,” Miller shared a story about how Eminem called him to clear using a sample of the song on “Houdini” off the rapper’s latest album, “The Death of Slim Shady.”
It was both an amusing anecdote and a testament to the enduring power of Miller’s music. It also set the stage for his attempt at rapping some verses while unveiling his magical guitar licks.
The second half of Miller’s 11-song, 65-minute set rolled through hit after hit, including “Rock’n Me,” “Jungle Love” and “Take the Money and Run,” the last prompting an enthusiastic singalong from the crowd.
Often switching out guitars between songs, Miller brought out a glittering blue beauty for “The Joker.” The 1973 album spawning the song celebrated its 50th anniversary this year with an expanded box set.
The band fumbled the start (Miller prodded his drummer with a light-hearted “Anytime, Ron!”), but this wouldn’t be the biggest disappointment of the night. The group decisively wrapped their set — on the last of 17 nights on tour with Def Leppard and Journey — with the Les Paul-dedicated “Jet Airliner.”
Journey
While the opening set had some marginal sound issues and timing hiccups, Journey’s lead
singer of 17 years, Arnel Pineda, appeared completely off his game from the first note. But I’m not sure it’s entirely his fault (more on this later).
Celebrating their 50th anniversary, the Bay Area band opened with the driving “Only the Young.” Straight away, the mix sounded off. On top of the strong reverb, which seemed even more pronounced than during Miller’s set, Pineda’s lead vocals were noticeably out of sync with the band’s backing harmonies.
This persisted on “Be Good to Yourself,” “Stone in Love” (a tinny mess) and “Who’s Crying
Now,” salvaged somewhat by Neal Schon’s extended guitar solo, which he walked out from one end of the thrust stage to the other.
At first, I couldn’t be sure if the acoustics were the result of my location. Seated close to the field behind home plate’s foul ball net – a great place for a game, but not a prime spot for a concert with the stage in deep centerfield. Seeing Pineda fiddle with his earpiece for much of the night and watching others’ post-concert videos filmed from various different sections within the park, seemed to confirm that the sound issues weren’t just hitting my ears.
Claiming the spotlight, keyboardist and rhythm guitarist Jonathan Cain set up “Faithfully” behind his striking red piano, reminding us that he wrote the power ballad in 1982 while dedicating it to our troops.
Surprisingly, Pineda’s voice was better here and on the following “Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’” — after which, Cain played a lovely piano solo leading into “Open Arms.”
Turns out this three-song stretch would be the best sounding part of Journey’s set for me. Pineda hit some monster notes, high and long and the mix was less distorted.
“Wheel in the Sky” started a five-hit run to the final bow. For many, it was one big singalong to songs like “Lights” (featuring drummer Deen Castronovo’s laudable lead vocals) and the tune that Forbes declared “the biggest song of all time”: “Don’t Stop Believin’.” Unfortunately, for this reviewer, it was a welcome end to a uniquely disappointing experience, especially compared to previous Pineda-era performances.
Def Leppard
Following an animated video of Def Leppard’s spaceship hovering over Petco Park (heavy metal flashback, anyone?), the Sheffield boys stormed the stage with “Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)” and “Rocket.”
Frontman Joe Elliott prefaced “Foolin’” by sharing that they were celebrating the 40th
anniversary of 1983’s “Pyromania.” By the end of the night, they played seven of the album’s 10 tracks.
About a half hour into their 18-song set, tucked between “Love Bites” and a bass-heavy “Billy’s Got a Gun,” the band played their new song, “Just Like ‘73,” which held its own against their iconic hits.
Throughout the night, Def Leppard’s dual guitarists Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell showed their otherworldly shredding on songs like “Armageddon It,” “Too Late for Love,” and “Rock of Ages,” during which a camera on the neck of Collen’s guitar gave all a close-up view of his fretwork.
Elliot slowed things down about midway through, walking out to the thrust stage for an acoustic set that included “Two Steps Behind,” “This Guitar” (from 2022’s Diamond Star Halos) and “Bringin’ on the Heartbreak,” which built to an electric crescendo.
The band encouraged singing along but many did not, no doubt because they needed to catch their breath from the relentless sonic assault they just experienced, while preparing themselves for the hit-heavy, four-song climax.
Def Leppard closed their set with the fan-favorite “Photograph,” also from “Pyromania,” and promptly returned — with bassist Rick Savage wearing his gifted Padres jersey — for the power-punch encore of “Hysteria” and “Pour Some Sugar on Me,” propelled by Rick Allen’s thunderous drums.
For fans of ‘80s rock, this triple bill offered plenty of nostalgia and praiseworthy performances. Though sonically disappointing in spots, this didn’t overshadow the undeniable joy of hearing all those classic hits played live one more time.
Donovan Roche, a San Diego-based writer and editor, has covered the music, entertainment and arts scene for more than 30 years. Send your story ideas to droche17@cox.net.