Tyler, Mates Still Have What It Takes To Rock The House
Columbus Dispatch, OH
November 22, 2005
As the music heats up, Steven Tyler of Aerosmith
gets comfortable at Nationwide Arena.
Old-school rock ’n’ roll filled Nationwide Arena as Aerosmith and Lenny Kravitz played hard for 11,500 people on Sunday night.
Although Kravitz was the opener, he and Aerosmith shared headliner status.
During his set, Kravitz explained that Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler had asked him to join this tour. Kravitz, who co-wrote the Aerosmith song Line Up, agreed. His retro rock sound complements "America’s Greatest Rock and Roll Band" (as Aerosmith bills itself).
Kravitz did many things right, singing hits such as Again, Always on the Run, American Woman, Are You Gonna Go My Way, Dig In, Fly Away and Lady. He strummed and sang with power.
More important, his band grooved. Drummer Cindy Blackman was a dynamo, with a beat that rattled rib cages.
"When’s the last time you heard a really good trombone solo?" Kravitz asked as Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews improvised over a James Brown-style guitar vamp. Kravitz said he was paying homage to Cincinnati’s "Ohio funk."
During intermission, the stage rotated to reveal Aerosmith’s equipment already in place. Thirty minutes would pass, however, before Aerosmith began. Meanwhile, a hockey game was being played at the arena’s Ice Haus.
"Tonight, we’re yours," Tyler told the audience after charging through Love in an Elevator and Walk This Way. While he promised to play anything, the night was dominated by older material — Seasons of Wither, Lord of the Thighs, Train Kept a Rollin’ and No More No More, along with a song by guitarist Joe Perry and the blues number Baby Please Don’t Go.
"Where were you in 1975? Doing the wild thing? That’s why we wrote this song," Tyler said of No More No More.
He pranced and preened along a catwalk that circled the arena floor. He allowed women to touch his thigh and high-fived the guys.
Perry joined him frequently, playing an assortment of guitars, sometimes with two strapped around him. Bassist Tom Hamilton and guitarist Brad Whitford took to the catwalk less frequently, and drummer Joey Kramer and keyboardist Russ Irwin were moored to the stage.
Power ballads and more recent hits weren’t neglected: Aerosmith rocked, rolled and scored on I Don’t Want To Miss a Thing, Dream On, Cryin’ and Livin’ on the Edge.
Technically, things weren’t perfect: Kravitz made repeated requests to increase his band’s volume (it played louder than Aerosmith did), and Tyler, like a petulant child, threw his malfunctioning microphone down toward the end of the concert.
Both groups had a tendency to drag things out — such as Kravitz’s wandering around the floor to have audience members sing Let Love Rule ("It means everything to me," he said), and Perry’s one-too-many solos.
Although both acts have given better concerts, Aerosmith and Kravitz still put on a good show.
November 22, 2005
As the music heats up, Steven Tyler of Aerosmith
gets comfortable at Nationwide Arena.
Old-school rock ’n’ roll filled Nationwide Arena as Aerosmith and Lenny Kravitz played hard for 11,500 people on Sunday night.
Although Kravitz was the opener, he and Aerosmith shared headliner status.
During his set, Kravitz explained that Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler had asked him to join this tour. Kravitz, who co-wrote the Aerosmith song Line Up, agreed. His retro rock sound complements "America’s Greatest Rock and Roll Band" (as Aerosmith bills itself).
Kravitz did many things right, singing hits such as Again, Always on the Run, American Woman, Are You Gonna Go My Way, Dig In, Fly Away and Lady. He strummed and sang with power.
More important, his band grooved. Drummer Cindy Blackman was a dynamo, with a beat that rattled rib cages.
"When’s the last time you heard a really good trombone solo?" Kravitz asked as Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews improvised over a James Brown-style guitar vamp. Kravitz said he was paying homage to Cincinnati’s "Ohio funk."
During intermission, the stage rotated to reveal Aerosmith’s equipment already in place. Thirty minutes would pass, however, before Aerosmith began. Meanwhile, a hockey game was being played at the arena’s Ice Haus.
"Tonight, we’re yours," Tyler told the audience after charging through Love in an Elevator and Walk This Way. While he promised to play anything, the night was dominated by older material — Seasons of Wither, Lord of the Thighs, Train Kept a Rollin’ and No More No More, along with a song by guitarist Joe Perry and the blues number Baby Please Don’t Go.
"Where were you in 1975? Doing the wild thing? That’s why we wrote this song," Tyler said of No More No More.
He pranced and preened along a catwalk that circled the arena floor. He allowed women to touch his thigh and high-fived the guys.
Perry joined him frequently, playing an assortment of guitars, sometimes with two strapped around him. Bassist Tom Hamilton and guitarist Brad Whitford took to the catwalk less frequently, and drummer Joey Kramer and keyboardist Russ Irwin were moored to the stage.
Power ballads and more recent hits weren’t neglected: Aerosmith rocked, rolled and scored on I Don’t Want To Miss a Thing, Dream On, Cryin’ and Livin’ on the Edge.
Technically, things weren’t perfect: Kravitz made repeated requests to increase his band’s volume (it played louder than Aerosmith did), and Tyler, like a petulant child, threw his malfunctioning microphone down toward the end of the concert.
Both groups had a tendency to drag things out — such as Kravitz’s wandering around the floor to have audience members sing Let Love Rule ("It means everything to me," he said), and Perry’s one-too-many solos.
Although both acts have given better concerts, Aerosmith and Kravitz still put on a good show.
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