Music Review - Rock This Way
Boston Herald, MA
October 31, 2005
Steven Tyler and Aerosmith kicked off a tour at Mohegan Sun.
(Staff photo by Tim Correira)
The house paid off for Aerosmith fans last night at the Mohegan Sun Arena.
The veteran hard rockers kicked off their “Rockin’ the Joint” tour with a two-night stand at the Connecticut casino and did exactly what the title promised.
Early on in the proceedings, frontman Steven Tyler – decked out in an Aerosmith tour shirt and black-and-white-striped trousers – asked the crowd’s permission to “rock your ass into the middle of next week” and the assembled throng voiced its assent.
At first it seemed as if the quintet, who haven’t played in close to a year, might only be able to muster rocking us into Tuesday morning at best. The night began with a suitably funky “Walk This Way” but gave way to less-than-stellar runs through “Same Old Song and Dance,” “Cryin’ ” and “Living on the Edge” that found Tyler struggling vocally in places and the band missing a few transitions that one would imagine are second nature this far down the line.
The energy level began to rise with a surprisingly impassioned version of the power ballad “Angel” and the always jaunty “Dude Looks Like a Lady” – featuring ace in the hole keyboardist/vocalist Russ Irwin supplying the faux horns and high harmonies and Tyler locating his yeow!
The white-hot breakthrough came during Joe Perry’s turn at the microphone on the dirty guitar blooze of “Shakin’ My Cage” from his recent solo album. Perry, who seemed miffed early in the evening, channeled his attitude into a two-fisted guitar attack, switching axes mid-song and blazing on both. While his punk-edged vocals were hard to hear, his solos – one with a nicely sleazy bottleneck slide – came through loud, clear and surgically perfect as they did throughout the night.
Tyler returned for the rattlesnake sizzle and Tom Hamilton’s bass guitar boil on “Sweet Emotion” and the ferocious gallop of “The Other Side,” which officially brought us to Wednesday night with Joey Kramer’s sure-handed groove. Kramer also put the big beat down for “Janie’s Got a Gun” and underscored Tyler’s easy, breezy wordplay on “Rag Doll” with satisfying muscle.
Considering its elaborate stage set-up, it’s impressive there were no major opening-night technical glitches during the hour-and-45-minute show. Three large video screens ringed the top of the stage just above dozens of hanging LCD strips that twinkled, swirled and doubled the live images. Two ramps at either side of the stage brought the band right to the loge sections and two long gangways jutting out into the auditorium became runways for Tyler, Perry and bassist Tom Hamilton to skip, swagger and strut into reach-out-and-touch territory.
Several oldies help close out the night, including singalong “Dream On,” the raging “No More, No More” and the beloved, beguiling “Seasons of Wither.”
Lenny Kravitz warmed up the crowd slowly as small sections stood with each consecutive song by the retro rocker and his perfectly coiffed ruffians. Opener “Where Are We Runnin’ ” got the diehards, “Always on the Run” brought in the Zep fans, “Lady” captured the Gap demographic, “American Woman” the strippers – and all those who’ve fantasized doing a pole dance – and “Fly Away” snagged just about everybody else. Kravitz, in good voice and guitar form, also made use of the stage doing his trademark flower power walk-through during “Let Love Rule” and winding up with a spirited “Are You Gonna Go My Way?”
October 31, 2005
Steven Tyler and Aerosmith kicked off a tour at Mohegan Sun.
(Staff photo by Tim Correira)
The house paid off for Aerosmith fans last night at the Mohegan Sun Arena.
The veteran hard rockers kicked off their “Rockin’ the Joint” tour with a two-night stand at the Connecticut casino and did exactly what the title promised.
Early on in the proceedings, frontman Steven Tyler – decked out in an Aerosmith tour shirt and black-and-white-striped trousers – asked the crowd’s permission to “rock your ass into the middle of next week” and the assembled throng voiced its assent.
At first it seemed as if the quintet, who haven’t played in close to a year, might only be able to muster rocking us into Tuesday morning at best. The night began with a suitably funky “Walk This Way” but gave way to less-than-stellar runs through “Same Old Song and Dance,” “Cryin’ ” and “Living on the Edge” that found Tyler struggling vocally in places and the band missing a few transitions that one would imagine are second nature this far down the line.
The energy level began to rise with a surprisingly impassioned version of the power ballad “Angel” and the always jaunty “Dude Looks Like a Lady” – featuring ace in the hole keyboardist/vocalist Russ Irwin supplying the faux horns and high harmonies and Tyler locating his yeow!
The white-hot breakthrough came during Joe Perry’s turn at the microphone on the dirty guitar blooze of “Shakin’ My Cage” from his recent solo album. Perry, who seemed miffed early in the evening, channeled his attitude into a two-fisted guitar attack, switching axes mid-song and blazing on both. While his punk-edged vocals were hard to hear, his solos – one with a nicely sleazy bottleneck slide – came through loud, clear and surgically perfect as they did throughout the night.
Tyler returned for the rattlesnake sizzle and Tom Hamilton’s bass guitar boil on “Sweet Emotion” and the ferocious gallop of “The Other Side,” which officially brought us to Wednesday night with Joey Kramer’s sure-handed groove. Kramer also put the big beat down for “Janie’s Got a Gun” and underscored Tyler’s easy, breezy wordplay on “Rag Doll” with satisfying muscle.
Considering its elaborate stage set-up, it’s impressive there were no major opening-night technical glitches during the hour-and-45-minute show. Three large video screens ringed the top of the stage just above dozens of hanging LCD strips that twinkled, swirled and doubled the live images. Two ramps at either side of the stage brought the band right to the loge sections and two long gangways jutting out into the auditorium became runways for Tyler, Perry and bassist Tom Hamilton to skip, swagger and strut into reach-out-and-touch territory.
Several oldies help close out the night, including singalong “Dream On,” the raging “No More, No More” and the beloved, beguiling “Seasons of Wither.”
Lenny Kravitz warmed up the crowd slowly as small sections stood with each consecutive song by the retro rocker and his perfectly coiffed ruffians. Opener “Where Are We Runnin’ ” got the diehards, “Always on the Run” brought in the Zep fans, “Lady” captured the Gap demographic, “American Woman” the strippers – and all those who’ve fantasized doing a pole dance – and “Fly Away” snagged just about everybody else. Kravitz, in good voice and guitar form, also made use of the stage doing his trademark flower power walk-through during “Let Love Rule” and winding up with a spirited “Are You Gonna Go My Way?”
| Permalink | E-mail this post 
