Aerosmith coming to Charlottetown? This Carver guy must be dreaming
The Guardian, Charlottetown, P.E.I., Canada
July 23, 2007
Ahh, but they did, and promoter David Carver deserves the credit, writes Guardian reviewer Doug Gallant
When word first began to circulate that concert promoter David Carver planned to bring Aerosmith to Charlottetown, I’m sure there were those who shook their heads in disbelief and said it just wasn’t possible.
Charlottetown, after all, isn’t exactly one of the first cities that comes to mind when major rock acts contemplate their tour plans.
But Saturday night, any delusion that this city could not play host to a major rock show was shattered.
For there, on the oval at the Charlottetown Driving Park Entertainment Centre, in all their iconic glory, stood what may arguably be the finest pure rock act ever to come out of America.
Certainly the most enduring one.
By the time they hit the stage at 9 p.m., or shortly thereafter, the weather was less than perfect, the ground was reduced in places to a near quagmire and people had endured long line-ups for virtually everything.
Then came Love In An Elevator.
When that first song cracked the overcast sky, nothing else mattered.
There, before the biggest crowd ever assembled for a one-day show in P.E.I., was Aerosmith, classic lineup in tact, with Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Tom Hamilton, Brad Whitford and Joey Kramer.
For many, it was as if the planets had finally fallen into line.
Aerosmith was here.
You were there.
Everything was cool.
“I’ve waited my whole life to see these guys,’’ one fan standing near me uttered when Love In An Elevator swept across the crowd. “If this was the only song I heard them play, I could die happy now.’’
Another serious Aerosmith fan — not overly enthusiastic about some of the day’s earlier acts — was a little more direct and a little less genteel in his comments.
“Now it’s a @#$#@# rock show.’’
And what a rock show it was.
During the course of their nearly two-hour set, unceasingly dynamic frontman Steven Tyler and company cranked out one big number after another, endearing themselves to fans with as-good-as-it-gets versions of Aerosmith classics like Cryin’, Eat The Rich, Dream On, Jaded, Sweet Emotion and SOS Too Bad.
They pulled material from throughout their career and although there were most certainly songs people went hoping to hear that didn’t make the set list I doubt very many fans went away disappointed. How could you be?
Long regarded as one of the best live acts on the circuit, they consistently bring their A-game to the stage.
And it was there Saturday night, from the opening notes of Love In An Elevator to the closing notes of their encore, Walk This Way.
The ever flamboyant Tyler was all over the stage, walking the walk, talking the talk, never failing to deliver the goods. His energy and enthusiasm seemed boundless.
Guitarists Joe Perry and Brad Whitford laid down enough solos to keep even the most riff-obsessed fan in seventh heaven.
And in terms of laying down a solid foundation for their bandmates, bass player Tom Hamilton and drummer Joey Kramer never left anyone short.
Fans up close were treated to almost one-on-one contact at points, while those further back had to settle for what they could catch on the big screen behind the band. Unfortunately, there were no side screens so those who were off-centre missed some of that action.
But you had no problem hearing.
The sound was good and volume was not an issue.
Aerosmith, in a scant two hours, created memories that will last some local fans for a very long time.
If you weren’t a die-hard fan when they started, you likely were when they finished.
The crowd loved Aerosmith and they, in turn, seemed genuinely impressed by the crowd.
Tyler put it this way.
“They tell me there’s like 35,000 people out there tonight. What the *@#$@ going on?”
One had to feel at least a little sorry for Cheap Trick, the final opening act of the day. Knowing the bulk of that huge crowd in front of you is there for the next act has to be somewhat distracting. But if it was you never knew it Saturday night.
Guitarist and lead vocalist Robin Zander, bass player Tom Petersson, lead guitarist Rick Nielsen and drummer Bun E. Carlos, took the stage and took charge of the crowd in very short order, generating some genuine excitement.
They were energized, they were dynamic, they were into it.
And those for whom the addition of Cheap Trick to the bill was a big to-do likely weren’t disappointed.
But for many in the crowd, once you got past big singles like I Want You To Want Me, Surrender, Dream Police, The Flame and the theme song for That 70s Show, there was a lot of looking to your neighbour to tell you whether this song or that song had been a big one for the band because you didn’t remember it.
Whether the crowd knew it or didn’t know it became irrelevant after awhile though because they appreciated the fact Cheap Trick came to play, they played hard and they had something to offer.
Around almost as long as Aerosmith — Cheap Trick was formed in 1975 — they’ve got a lot of material to draw from and pumped as much into their set as possible.
They played like headliners and showed a lot of class.
Aerosmith and Cheap Trick were the only bands on my dance card Saturday, but I did catch the tail end of a great set by Canadian favourites 54-40 who always give full measure.
They were also responsible, indirectly, for one of the day’s best chuckles.
I overhead a guy not far away lament the fact he’d waited their whole set to hear Red, Red Wine and they didn’t do it.
“That’s because it’s not their song,” his buddy exclaimed. “This is 54-40, Red Red Wine is UB 40 you stunned (deleted expletive).”
In the wake of Saturday’s concert there will, of course, be the endless stream of negative feedback from naysayers about what didn’t work, or what didn’t happen that should have happened, but in the end I applaud Carver for his efforts.
Aerosmith would not have happened here without him.
July 23, 2007
Ahh, but they did, and promoter David Carver deserves the credit, writes Guardian reviewer Doug Gallant
When word first began to circulate that concert promoter David Carver planned to bring Aerosmith to Charlottetown, I’m sure there were those who shook their heads in disbelief and said it just wasn’t possible.
Charlottetown, after all, isn’t exactly one of the first cities that comes to mind when major rock acts contemplate their tour plans.
But Saturday night, any delusion that this city could not play host to a major rock show was shattered.
For there, on the oval at the Charlottetown Driving Park Entertainment Centre, in all their iconic glory, stood what may arguably be the finest pure rock act ever to come out of America.
Certainly the most enduring one.
By the time they hit the stage at 9 p.m., or shortly thereafter, the weather was less than perfect, the ground was reduced in places to a near quagmire and people had endured long line-ups for virtually everything.
Then came Love In An Elevator.
When that first song cracked the overcast sky, nothing else mattered.
There, before the biggest crowd ever assembled for a one-day show in P.E.I., was Aerosmith, classic lineup in tact, with Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Tom Hamilton, Brad Whitford and Joey Kramer.
For many, it was as if the planets had finally fallen into line.
Aerosmith was here.
You were there.
Everything was cool.
“I’ve waited my whole life to see these guys,’’ one fan standing near me uttered when Love In An Elevator swept across the crowd. “If this was the only song I heard them play, I could die happy now.’’
Another serious Aerosmith fan — not overly enthusiastic about some of the day’s earlier acts — was a little more direct and a little less genteel in his comments.
“Now it’s a @#$#@# rock show.’’
And what a rock show it was.
During the course of their nearly two-hour set, unceasingly dynamic frontman Steven Tyler and company cranked out one big number after another, endearing themselves to fans with as-good-as-it-gets versions of Aerosmith classics like Cryin’, Eat The Rich, Dream On, Jaded, Sweet Emotion and SOS Too Bad.
They pulled material from throughout their career and although there were most certainly songs people went hoping to hear that didn’t make the set list I doubt very many fans went away disappointed. How could you be?
Long regarded as one of the best live acts on the circuit, they consistently bring their A-game to the stage.
And it was there Saturday night, from the opening notes of Love In An Elevator to the closing notes of their encore, Walk This Way.
The ever flamboyant Tyler was all over the stage, walking the walk, talking the talk, never failing to deliver the goods. His energy and enthusiasm seemed boundless.
Guitarists Joe Perry and Brad Whitford laid down enough solos to keep even the most riff-obsessed fan in seventh heaven.
And in terms of laying down a solid foundation for their bandmates, bass player Tom Hamilton and drummer Joey Kramer never left anyone short.
Fans up close were treated to almost one-on-one contact at points, while those further back had to settle for what they could catch on the big screen behind the band. Unfortunately, there were no side screens so those who were off-centre missed some of that action.
But you had no problem hearing.
The sound was good and volume was not an issue.
Aerosmith, in a scant two hours, created memories that will last some local fans for a very long time.
If you weren’t a die-hard fan when they started, you likely were when they finished.
The crowd loved Aerosmith and they, in turn, seemed genuinely impressed by the crowd.
Tyler put it this way.
“They tell me there’s like 35,000 people out there tonight. What the *@#$@ going on?”
One had to feel at least a little sorry for Cheap Trick, the final opening act of the day. Knowing the bulk of that huge crowd in front of you is there for the next act has to be somewhat distracting. But if it was you never knew it Saturday night.
Guitarist and lead vocalist Robin Zander, bass player Tom Petersson, lead guitarist Rick Nielsen and drummer Bun E. Carlos, took the stage and took charge of the crowd in very short order, generating some genuine excitement.
They were energized, they were dynamic, they were into it.
And those for whom the addition of Cheap Trick to the bill was a big to-do likely weren’t disappointed.
But for many in the crowd, once you got past big singles like I Want You To Want Me, Surrender, Dream Police, The Flame and the theme song for That 70s Show, there was a lot of looking to your neighbour to tell you whether this song or that song had been a big one for the band because you didn’t remember it.
Whether the crowd knew it or didn’t know it became irrelevant after awhile though because they appreciated the fact Cheap Trick came to play, they played hard and they had something to offer.
Around almost as long as Aerosmith — Cheap Trick was formed in 1975 — they’ve got a lot of material to draw from and pumped as much into their set as possible.
They played like headliners and showed a lot of class.
Aerosmith and Cheap Trick were the only bands on my dance card Saturday, but I did catch the tail end of a great set by Canadian favourites 54-40 who always give full measure.
They were also responsible, indirectly, for one of the day’s best chuckles.
I overhead a guy not far away lament the fact he’d waited their whole set to hear Red, Red Wine and they didn’t do it.
“That’s because it’s not their song,” his buddy exclaimed. “This is 54-40, Red Red Wine is UB 40 you stunned (deleted expletive).”
In the wake of Saturday’s concert there will, of course, be the endless stream of negative feedback from naysayers about what didn’t work, or what didn’t happen that should have happened, but in the end I applaud Carver for his efforts.
Aerosmith would not have happened here without him.
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