No band on the bill, though, rocked harder—or made more use of the massive thrust stage inside SoFi Stadium—than Def Leppard. After a dramatic on-screen countdown, the British hair metal band emerged from plumes of smoke to a Pyromania introduction that fed into “Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)”. Lead singer Joe Elliott started exploring the space during “Rocket”, with bassist Rick Savage following suit on “Foolin’”.
By the time the second half of the set came around, the entire band had set up on the thrust—even Rick Allen, who traded in his drum kit for a maraca on “This Guitar”. That track came on the heels of a shortened acoustic version of “Two Steps Behind”, which led into a stadium-wide singing of “Happy Birthday to You” for guitarist Vivian Campbell.
Besides those moments and “Just Like 73” (sans Tom Morello), Def Leppard pulled their setlist almost entirely from Pyromania and Hysteria. From “Armageddon”, “Animal”, and “Love Bites” early on to closing the main set with “Rock of Ages” and “Photograph”, to an encore of “Hysteria” and “Pour Some Sugar on Me”, the band made sure that their tens of thousands of fans in the building went home happy.