We don’t post tour dates that much here at Idolator because we have much more important things to write about, like Katy Perry riding dildo-shaped stage props and what Patrick Stump is doing right at this very moment. But once in a while, a tour comes along that is so extraordinary that it must be covered. As many of you read on Tuesday, I am a Cheap Trick fan. Any new Cheap Trick tour gets me very excited, so that alone is good news. But how about throwing in a little Def Leppard on top of that? Sounds like mass hysteria (haw haw), right? Well, how’s about a little Poison with your… tricked-out… leopard? That’s right, guyliner pioneers Poison are on the bill as well. Can I say Tour of the Century? Sure, these bands are about as fresh as the Fresh Prince now, but how many hits do they have between them? A bajillion? Heck, Cheap Trick’s most famous record is a live record! I bet I would know every single song performed, unless somebody decided to trot out a new one.

Def Leppard vocalist Joe Eliott’s thoughts on this omnibus tour are refreshingly matter-of-fact and common sensical:

We’re going out with three bands, which limits’ the amount of time we can play to about 90 minutes. When you do your greatest hits and some new material or extra stuff you might throw in, you have got to push and shove and clamp down. No big long speeches from moi. You have to do the AC/DC thing and just bang through everything. I do realize that there are things we are destined play forever and that’s fine by me… Those songs are a big part of the cog. When you see the reaction of the crowd when you start the riff to ‘Photograph,’ there’s nothing like it.

Indeed. Look for double disc versions of Pyromania (yay!), Hysteria (yay!), and Adrenalize (…) to come later this year.

June 23: Camden, N.J.
June 25: Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
June 26: Darien Center, N.Y.
June 28: Scranton, Pa.
June 30: Mansfield, Mass.
July 1: Holmdel, N.J.
July 3: Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
July 4: Toronto, Ontario
July 7: Hartford, Conn.
July 8: Wantagh, N.Y.
July 10: Burgettstown, Penn.
July 11: Virginia Beach, Va.
July 12: Bristow, Va.
July 15: Cincinnati
July 17: Tinley Park, Ill.
July 18: Milwaukee, Wis.
July 20: Maryland Heights, Mo.
July 21: Kansas City, Mo.
July 23: Noblesville, Ind.
July 24: Clarkston, Mich.
Aug. 7: Raleigh, N.C.
Aug. 8: Charlotte, N.C.
Aug. 10: Nashville
Aug. 11: Birmingham, Al.
Aug. 13: West Palm Beach, Fla.
Aug. 14: Tampa, Fla.
Aug. 15: Atlanta
Aug. 18: New Orleans
Aug. 19: Houston
Aug. 21: Dallas
Aug. 22: Tulsa, Ok.
Aug. 24: Englewood, Colo.
Aug. 25: Salt Lake City
Aug. 28: Albuquerque, N.M.
Aug. 29: Phoenix
Aug. 30: Irvine, Calif.
Sept. 2: Mountain View, Calif.
Sept. 3: Sacramento, Calif.
Sept. 5: Las Vegas
Sept. 7: San Bernadino, Calif.

Only one question…with Tinted Windows blowing up, will Bun E. Carlos have time for this?

Def Leppard Unveils Summer Tour With Cheap Trick, Poison [Billboard]