Def Leppard, Journey, & Steve Miller Band leave LA in hysterics

Who says you have to take it easy on a Sunday evening? Definitely not Steve Miller Band, Journey, or Def Leppard. Eagerness filled Inglewood Sunday evening as the surrounding streets of the Sofi Stadium began filling with traffic. The variety of people wearing every band’s merch was astonishing… it was beginning to look like an epic night at the Sofi Stadium. Announcements about the event could be heard over the buzz of an excited crowd waiting to enter the venue.

As I walked into the venue, many seats were already filled for the early set times.

Steve Miller Band took the stage around 6pm, greeted by an excited crowd. It was a beautiful thing being able to see the variety of fans, old and new, enjoying the show. Families were singing their hearts out to hit after hit by Steve Miller Band. At one point, they even dedicated their song “Abracadabra” to Eminem (who, if you don’t know, has repurposed the song for his latest album). As they closed out their set, the roar of a warmed up crowd can be heard throughout Sofi Stadium. Steve Miller Band thanked everyone and wished everyone a good night.

Around 7:30pm, it was time for Journey to take the stage. As soon as the house lights turned off, the excited cheers from the crowd were almost deafening. Journey started off their set with an explosion of energy. Now fronted by Arnel Pineda, Journey is very much still at the top of their game. Pineda absolutely blew me away with his talented vocals; I hadn’t heard him sing — let alone perform — before, but he absolutely nailed it. His stage presence immediately felt familiar and the way he interacted with the crowd genuinely impressed me. I haven’t seen that kind of energy before.

Journey closed out their set around 9pm to yet another eruption of applause.

After about 15 minutes, a 15-minute timer could be seen displayed on the stadium screens. As soon as the countdown concluded, the house lights turned off and the monsters of Def Leppard took the stage. They were immediately greeted by thunderous applause and cheers from a very excited crowd. By this point, Sofi Stadium was filled with diehard fans. Whenever frontman Joe Elliot would motion for the crowd to sing, every mouth was open, singing along to every lyric, word for word. Def Leppard is definitely one of those bands that everyone needs to see at least once in their life, considering their major impact on the rock genre. It was definitely a night to remember.

Photography by Guillermo “Memo” Sanchez

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