With punctuality and a grand stage setting, Mötley Crüe and Def Leppard brought a night of hits and nostalgia from the golden age of the 1980s to São Paulo last Tuesday, the 7th, as part of their joint tour, The World Tour .
Despite belonging to different movements and styles in rock, the first being an icon of glam excess, while the second became world-renowned for arena hard rock and powerful ballads, both bands brought the best (and worst) of 80s rock to Allianz Parque.
Held on a regular Tuesday, the show had a reduced stadium space configuration to accommodate a smaller audience than desired for shows of this scale, but the alteration solved the problem well: traversed almost entirely by a platform, the premium standing area was comfortably close to the stage, also benefiting the view from other sections.
It's true that it took a while for the audience to arrive, probably due to the challenges of getting around during rush hour in a city like São Paulo. Therefore, when Edu Falaschi took the stage a little later than scheduled, at 6:15 pm, the stands were far from the full capacity they would reach later in the evening.
In the short set, the Brazilian vocalist gave a good summary of his own career, from Vera Cruz (2021) to Angra like "Bleeding Heart" and "Nova Era" at the end of the performance, acknowledging that his style is different from the bands that would soon be on stage. With the full band and technical precision, Falaschi managed to capture the attention of the fans present.
With a diverse age range in the audience, from teenagers to older rockers, it was easy to make Mötley Crüe seem like the main attraction of the night, judging by the number of band t-shirts and faces painted in the best Nikki Sixx near the stage. Promptly at 7:30 PM, with the stadium practically full, the fictional news report about the band's show in São Paulo aired. Amidst the screams of the crowd, Crüe took the stage for a sequence of hits, all sung energetically by the fans, a fact that disguised the distant and reverb-heavy mix of Vince Neil , the least accessible of all the members, despite the obligatory "thank yous" and shouts.
With “Saints of Los Angeles” and “The Dirt (Est. 1981)” as the most recent tracks on the setlist, the band's catchy choruses proved more than capable of filling the stadium atmosphere, even allowing for more intimate moments: Sixx had a moment alone on stage, in which he crouched down and hid his face in his knee as if on the verge of tears, and then called a young fan over for a selfie on stage. “If we’ve been here for over 40 years, it’s because of you,” he said.
Tommy Lee 's turn to receive the audience's affection, who raised a chorus of "Tommy, Tommy!" for the drummer, who then invited the fans to sing "Home Sweet Home," performed acoustically on the stage's catwalk in one of the most beautiful moments of the entire show, with such an intense chorus from the fans that Neil didn't even bother singing several verses.
Despite evoking all the contagious power of glam in an intense and fan-connected performance, Mötley Crüe also brings the worst of the 1980s by insisting on the blatant sexism of the lyrics in the way they represent women live. The backup singers, Hannah Sutton and Ariana Rosado , are displayed as mere decorative objects, with numerous lingerie and costume changes, often appearing on stage only for sensual pole dancing or tied up in chains.
For the most part, both artists are completely ignored by the band, who also make a point of erecting two enormous sexualized robots at the end of the set, as if in a grand temple where misogyny seems insurmountable. Despite this, the set ended on a high note with “Kickstart My Heart”.
Shortly after, also with exemplary punctuality, Def Leppard took the stage for another excellent performance in Brazil. Even with a less noisy audience, the band's classics were sung along to, especially the choruses, with Joe Elliot in great form and not shying away from the higher notes of the songs.
The British band delivers a more structured performance than the American band Crüe, featuring drum and guitar solos, excellent chemistry between the five members, and beautiful projections on the screens, taking the show's lighting to the next level by creating entire galaxies within Allianz Parque, framing the perfect atmosphere for the group's powerful ballads: "When Love and Hate Collide" was breathtaking in its acoustic version, and "Bringin' On the Heartbreak" remains a spectacle in itself.
Possessing some of the most recognizable backing vocals in hard rock, Def Leppard demonstrated an even greater ease in dominating the stadium. Even "Take What You Want" and "Kick," tracks from their most recent album, Diamond Star Halos , possess great energy and perfectly complement the set of anthems, which closed the night with an unbeatable sequence of "Hysteria," "Pour Some Sugar on Me," "Rock of Ages," and the classic "Photograph," perfect for dancing.
From Leppard's side, only the best of 80s rock was present – and showed how the new songs have enough punch and energy to find a place in the hearts of fans from different generations. Receiving the final applause from the audience and thanking them for the night, Joe Elliot made the welcome promise to return to the country for more shows. "Don't forget us and we won't forget you," he asked. With such a contagious and energetic show, that certainly won't be a difficult task to fulfill.
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