Aerosmith in concert

Last Sunday, I saw Aerosmith live for the first time. It was a terrific show, the band gave a lively performance with great stage effects at the Arco Arena in Sacramento CA. My memory may not be perfect but I believe the set list was:

Toys in the Attic / Walkin' The Dog / Love In An Elevator / Cryin' / What It Takes / Baby Please Don't Go / Stop Messin' Around / Seasons Of Wither / Dream On / Train Kept A Rollin' / Last Child / Sweet Emotion / Draw The Line

Encore: Walk This Way

I became a fan of Aerosmith during their comeback in the late 80's, though I always liked "Sweet Emotion". This was a great concert to go to although the set list was really short for a show they were headlining. Most of this tour has been split as co-headliners with Motley Crue which is why they have been performing a half set. As headliners, it would have been nice to have a fuller set especially since many hits are missing ("Dude Looks Like A Lady", "Janie's Got A Gun", "Living On The Edge" and "Mama Kin" just to name a few). Still, I cut these guys a little slack as they are getting up there in age. Besides, what they did play they performed with gusto.

The opening act was Hinder, that new band with the Aerosmith sounding power ballad called "Lips Of An Angel". Hinder tried hard to rock out but were hampered by mostly undestinguished songwriting. Very little stood out until they played their hit. Still, their energy caught a lot of support from the audience. For me, it pretty much sold me on skipping their CD.

Aerosmith's set began with a personal favorite of mine, "Toys in the Attic". The band blazed through this song as Tyler ran the various ramps of the stage and posed for the video cameras. The second song was a surprise pick, a cover of "Walkin' The Dog" with a great video of drummer Joey Kramer panting in close up. The favorites kept coming as "Love In An Elevator" was played with a great deal of crowd participation, particularly on the "Oh-Yeah!" parts of the verses.

The ballads "Cryin'" and "What it Takes" were played with only a few changes from their previous versions. Tyler mouthed "Your love is sweet f*ckin' misery" during "Cryin'". "What it Takes" was played half a-capella as it is on the "A Little South Of Sanity" live CD. My wife really got into "What it Takes" and sounded great singing it.

A blues cover portion came up with a lively cover of Van Morrison's "Baby Please Don't Go" and a Joe Perry lead vocal on Fleetwood Mac's "Stop Messing Around".

The next set of ballads were particularly stagy. "Seasons Of Wither" featured both fake and digital snow falling during the song and some terrific acoustic guitar from Joe Perry. "Dream On" is not my favorite song, but I got into the dramatic ending which included Tyler turning into a burning man on the video screen.

A barn burning cover of the Yardbirds "Train Kept A Rollin" brought the pace back up. A wonderfully funky "Last Child" followed. "Sweet Emotion" was dragged out to good effect, particularly the 70's styled middle section where Joe Perry stood under a triangular laser light slamming his guitar against a mic stand while throwing glitter in the air. "Draw the Line" started off strong but the band seemed to get lost half way through the song. They pulled it together for the finish as my wife and I left the arena.

I heard the beginning of the encore "Walk This Way" which included a brief bit of the James Bond theme.

This was the last show of Aerosmith's tour. It seemed like they may have shot a video as the camera work and video effects were extrememly professional. Also, Tyler sang to the cameras often and spent a portion of the show singing with his back to the audience. Guitarists Joe Perry and Brad Whitford were both on top of their games. Bassist David Hull did an admirable job of filling in for Cancer striken Tom Hamilton, even including a bit of Led Zep's "Kashmir" into the bass solo. Drummer Joey Kramer was in fine form though he seemed to lose a step with age.

The Arco Arena lived up to its nickname "Echo Arena" but overall the show was a blast.
Just wish it was a longer show.