Head out to the Rio Grande Valley for the kick off date of the Def Leppard summer tour. The concert is being held in an area just outside McAllen called Hidalgo... Basically when translated it means "you have entered hell at the US/Mexico border". Not a particularly pleasant part of the State to be in especially as the poor folks down there are still dealing with scattered power loss and bad flooding of some parts. All courtesy of Hurricane Dolly. Saying that though the arena where the show's being held is alright and there's plenty of space backstage and in the dressing rooms.

None of the band are there when I arrive so I pop out to the stage area and see everyone who are setting up the show... Get a very warm welcome from everyone and catch up. Look for a couple of places to shoot the guys later on.

The guys arrive at 3:30 looking well rested and are all smiles and energy. Spend some time chatting with Rick about various things and get some shots of him for a British Drum Magazine that's going to run a feature on him. Sound check goes really well and they do a practice run of "Go". Of course Joe hams it up a little for the benefit of my camera during all of this. Sometimes he seems real serious and then unexpectedly just drops funny shite in right in your lap.



Head back to the dressing room with the guys to sit and show them some of the photos I took of them on the UK tour... To say they were pleased with them is a little understated. Of course I was even more pleased and relieved at their positive reactions to what I had shot. Right now the pics are under wraps but you'll be seeing them soon enough. I'm especially pleased with the way my new camera, the Canon EOS 1Ds MK III performed while on tour, tough, ergonomic and easy to use.



Later on Rick has a meet and greet with about a dozen injured soldiers that are just back from Iraq. The particular soldiers are burns victims who have been injured in the line of duty and are a great bunch of guys. Rick guides them around backstage and shows them all the going ons and how things work behind the scenes etc. I get them all to line up and do some shots of them all with Rick. For some of the guys this is their first ever concert and they are a little in awe. I thank the guys for their service to us and I think it catches them off guard a little that I said that... I personally find it incredibly sad and selfish that more people don't stop and thank a military member for their service. No matter what your politics, they're out there doing the job so we can be at home making our own free choices.

To see more and make donations to Rick's Raven Drum Foundation or the Wounded Warrior Project then please click the links:

http://www.RavenDrumFoundation.org

http://www.WoundedWarriorProject.org



Grabbed the guys for a few minutes backstage just before they were due onstage and did a quick shoot of the band together. Great thing is that they need very little in the way of direction. They've all been doing this for so long that it's second nature. They played well tonight to another sold out show and the energy levels were certainly up as the guys tore it up once again. Load up some gear after the show and meet some really cool fans waiting at the backstage fence. Hang out for a while after the show with the guys who want me to go back to the hotel and party for a while but I wuss out after an hour or so and head back up to home on a nice three hour drive.... Luvverly!!