Blues Implosion - Joe Perry at Harpers
The Boston Phoenix, MA
May 12, 2005
There was a time about a decade ago when you could get turned away from Harpers Ferry for wearing a shirt sans collar. Although a sign right inside the door still reads, "No tank tops/No club colors/Neat & clean appearance," the dress code has relaxed a bit since then. All the same, it wasn’t easy getting into the club two Mondays ago for Joe Perry’s semi-secret, sold-out gig to celebrate the release of his homonymous solo disc. Lately, Harpers has been mixing up its roots-rock and jam-band bookings with some neighborhood rock — Converge, of all people, were there a few weeks back — but Perry’s the biggest name to grace the room in some time. How’d Harpers get the booking? "Because this is the best rock room in the city," said the club’s owner, Edward Connelly, a retired teacher. It may not be the best, but it was more than adequate for the occasion: the room has a kicking PA, even if Perry and his entourage had to use a bus parked out back as their dressing room.
The last time Perry put together his own band, it was 1980, bad hair was in, Charlie Farren was the singer, and the then-exiled Aerosmith guitarist let the music do the talking. This time around, Perry is handling vocals himself and, well, let’s just say Steven Tyler isn’t worried about losing his job in Aerosmith. Whenever Perry grabbed his guitar, though, the band sounded great. And Tyler did join the Perry foursome on harmonica for a nice bluesy jam. Despite rumors that the rest of Aerosmith were waiting backstage — and a Peter Wolf spotting — that was the night’s only cameo. Indeed, Perry didn’t play a single ’smith tune or even the Project’s only real hit, "Let the Music Do the Talking."
May 12, 2005
There was a time about a decade ago when you could get turned away from Harpers Ferry for wearing a shirt sans collar. Although a sign right inside the door still reads, "No tank tops/No club colors/Neat & clean appearance," the dress code has relaxed a bit since then. All the same, it wasn’t easy getting into the club two Mondays ago for Joe Perry’s semi-secret, sold-out gig to celebrate the release of his homonymous solo disc. Lately, Harpers has been mixing up its roots-rock and jam-band bookings with some neighborhood rock — Converge, of all people, were there a few weeks back — but Perry’s the biggest name to grace the room in some time. How’d Harpers get the booking? "Because this is the best rock room in the city," said the club’s owner, Edward Connelly, a retired teacher. It may not be the best, but it was more than adequate for the occasion: the room has a kicking PA, even if Perry and his entourage had to use a bus parked out back as their dressing room.
The last time Perry put together his own band, it was 1980, bad hair was in, Charlie Farren was the singer, and the then-exiled Aerosmith guitarist let the music do the talking. This time around, Perry is handling vocals himself and, well, let’s just say Steven Tyler isn’t worried about losing his job in Aerosmith. Whenever Perry grabbed his guitar, though, the band sounded great. And Tyler did join the Perry foursome on harmonica for a nice bluesy jam. Despite rumors that the rest of Aerosmith were waiting backstage — and a Peter Wolf spotting — that was the night’s only cameo. Indeed, Perry didn’t play a single ’smith tune or even the Project’s only real hit, "Let the Music Do the Talking."
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