NOTE: All photos are copyright of Howard Shiau Photography 2025
The 80s were the heyday of the hard hitting hair bands, shredding the stage but with smiles on their faces. They played to sold out stadiums of eager young’s fans and partied like there was no tomorrow. Not privy to backstage antics, I don’t know if they’re still partying and the hair is definitely not what they used to be but this quartet of incredible acts came together for “The Stadium Tour” and have been performing in front of capacity crowds across the country.
With four headliners, the parking opened at 9am and regular Bills fans took the opportunity to tailgate, practicing for when the season starts. Many were dressed the part with hair done up or augmented with a wig, ripped jeans and very short shorts abound!
With doors opening at 3:30pm, the opening band, LA based Classless Act, took the stage while the sun was still high in the sky. You’d think that, with such an esteemed big four in the lineup, the opening band would be a throwaway. You’d be wrong. Wow, did Classless Act put on an incredible show! Frontman Derek Day was 500% energy the whole set probably taking care of his 15,000 steps within the first five minutes! With a voice reminiscent of Scorpions lead singer Klaus Meine, Day practically screamed at the crowd to pay attention! If you go see the “Stadium Tour”, make sure you don’t miss this band!
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Joan Jett, as part of the Runaways, was already well known before the other bands on this ticket and before any member of Classless Act was even born!! She was pretty incredible, sounded great and played hits I forgot she had. A legend still rocking out there!
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C.C. DeVille started the Poison set with a nice little riff but when Bret Michaels came running on stage, that’s when the crowd went nuts. Michaels was in fine form, his voice strong and he was running around like a man half his age. You have to love it when the band knows how to play to their audience…and to the photographers! After taking a crowd selfie at the end of the set, Michaels gave a lucky fan a Buffalo Bills jersey with “Michaels” on the back. Way to go, Bret!
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Smoke started pouring out from all corners of the stadium prior to Motley Crue taking the stage. The band, accompanied by several scarily clad dancers, seemed to come straight out of their 80s prime. Vince Neil sounded a bit harsh at times but the crowd didn’t care one bit. They cheered and sang and bounced with the sign of the horns raised up high. At one point, Tommy Lee called for all the women to show their “titties” and let the aliens know where we were…and it’s incredible how many complied! Yes, hair band rock never went away!!
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Def Leppard closed this particular show of the tour and they came out blazing! Joe Elliott sounded great, as did the rest of the band. I would swear these guys haven’t aged at all!!! Ok, maybe a little. I love those old hits but my highlight was probably “This Guitar” and “Two Steps Behind”, when the whole band came out to the end of the stage ramp, bringing them closer to their adoring fans. Also, “Switch 625” really showcased their incredible musicality, with Phil Collen absolutely shredding and Rick Allen still playing drums better than most with just one arm! They really showed why they were such an awesome stadium act. Closing out the show with “Hysteria”, “Pour Some Sugar on Me”, “Rock of Ages” and “Photograph” was just icing on the cake. Who has four better songs to finish a concert?
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