Aerosmith
wsg Slash
Let Rock Rule Tour
September 9th,
2014
Aerosmith is
one of the great rock & roll bands of all time, despite their ups and
downs, missteps, in-fighting and ego-fed narcissism. They started out in Boston
gigging in a deep grip local scene infused with an abundance of talented bands
that included blues rockers like J. Geils and techno bubblegum upstarts like
the Cars, as well as old fashioned skull hump from the Remains. Their first gig
as Aerosmith was on November 6th 1970 and I recall that they were in
the same league as other mid-level bands like Reo Speedwagon and Styx. They
seemed to rotate in a circuit of mid-sized to large campuses across Michigan
during the early to mid-seventies. I was not very impressed with Steven Tyler,
a Mick Jagger wannabe who seemed to crave more face time than any of the other
band members. But Aerosmith never gave up, never looked back and they never made
it look easy. As the years passed-by, those pesky Aerosmith nay-bobs kept
cranking out the hits. The even developed a social consciousness i.e. Living on
the Edge. It turned out that Tyler could actually sing, he had an incredible
range and he didn’t intone like the keyless Jagger. They were forming their own
identity like a blacksmith forging iron with his anvil and hammer. They could
have been flaming narcissists or occult worshipers feeding from the trough of
rock & roll or they could have etched out a brotherhood of man vibe like
homemade peace & love maestros. But the truth is they had more ego than
Crosby Still & Nash fighting over Joni. They were angry cruel and hated
harder and better than the Kinks assaulting each other over fish and chips.
They broke up several times and went their separate ways – Perry formed another
band; Tyler found religion on American Idol. Despite all this and more, Aerosmith has
ascended to the very top of rock & roll superstardom. They are part of the
recognized aristocracy of rock and roll just a few notches below the
untouchables – the triad of The Beatles, Stones and Dylan.
DTE was
totally packed for this eagerly anticipated concert that combined Slash and his
Guns & Roses repertoire along with the greatest active rock band in the Age
of Aquarius. We parked our car way up and over the hill toward the outskirts of
Independence Township or so it seemed. Seating is listed at 15,274 though I
believe they squeezed in a few gimmes along the way.
Slash opened
the show without telling me. I was up in the cadenza where food is prepared
fast and furious, damn the shallow hearth and lack of flames; I wanted my $8 hot
dog anyway. Slash was already on stage shot-gunning his powerful strokes like
an A-bomb seeking target. It is sheer nuclear powered rock & roll with a
little bit of modern day Popsicle harmonies. Myles Kennedy is a great vocalist
with an astonishing range, he hit the high notes like Axl when his briefs are
too tight and the elastic snaps him like a snake bite. He also sings with
warmth and nuance, the perfect companion when Slash stays in the pocket and
lets the music breathe. Slash along with Myles Kennedy & the Conspirators were
on top of their game. He opened with You’re a Lie, a bitter pill, that segued
into Nightrain, the first of several Guns & Roses songs on the song list.
The show finished with a flourish of crowd pleasers including Back From Cali,
Anastasia, Mr. Brownstone and the glorious triad of Sweet Child O’ Mine,
Slither and Paradise City. The crowd was up on their feet to give Slash and his
crew a well-deserved standing ovation. Pop Music on steroids!
Aerosmith
has proved their mettle as long time rock & roll warriors. Jagger and
Richards have written better songs than Tyler and Perry but Aerosmith are
catching up. They are the last vestiges of the great and grand era of R-O-C-K.
Tonight was the proof. Hit after hit swirled in a hurricane of manic energy.
Damn, I love Steven Tyler and Aerosmith for resurrecting rock from its last
dying embers to stand tall and loud. They leave us gasping for more as we feel
the rush of sound, sex and fury in an orgasmic shock and awe. They opened with
the Train Kept a Rolling; the guitar intro was fashioned by our very own Dick
Wagner when it was recorded in the studio. They rolled out Love in an Elevator
(powerful with great harmonies), Eat the Rich and Cryin’ before they hit stride
with Living on the Edge (a paean to social consciousness) and Jaded. The nadir
of the show involved the insertion of the dreaded drum solo. Joey Kramer is a
fine drummer but the drum solo is a dinosaur from the dark ages wherein rock
and roll drummers tried to do Buddy Rich when Ringo was still teaching them
timing and restraint. It turned into a ham fisted affair yet the audience
maintained the ruse and crowed their approval. Slash stepped back onstage for
Mama Kin, a boom-boom start and stop rocker of the first degree. Tyler led the
crowd through hypnotic Jungian dance and prance that was one of the finest
musical moments of the show. The Beatles/Lennon masterpiece Come Together was
up to interpretation and this cover did not do the original any justice. It
wasn’t Tyler’s in the first place and the interpretation suffered from too much
noise and not enough space. The show ended with a holy triad of Aerosmith
chestnuts including the astonishing Walk This Way, Dream On (with Tyler
noodling a brief snippet on the piano of You Really Got a Hold on Me) and the
incredible Sweet Emotion. All told,
Aerosmith performed for over an hour and 35 minutes. Tyler was everything he
shouldn’t be; high energy ran from one end of the stage to the other; pranced up
and down the catwalk that protrudes out into the middle of the crowd. He mugged
and teased them, his ornate sexuality bristled with heat and multi-colored
tattoos. This night ultimately belonged to Joe Perry, the quiet Beatle. He is a gifted guitar slinger and a fine
singer. He did a 12-bar blues entitled Stop Messin’ Around. It was fantastic,
all the way back to his roots and then some.
It was his birthday. We all sang with the band, “Happy Birthday Joe.”
CODA: There
are times when I believe that the entire Live Nation concert industry is a
gargantuan monster. The outdoor PA’s explode with furious sounds that bury
nuance, melody and harmony. It actually, physically hurts. It is a sonic myth that loud is better. It
seems that concert goers are ok with being sardined in these mammoth tin can
venues. It does great harm to real music. Fight the Power!
Tonight’s
showcase was streamed live by Yahoo.com
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