Mohegan Sun was the venue and if you were lucky enough to have a ticket for either one of these sold out shows, what could be better than that? 

After thirty years in the business, this band still delivers.  Yes, they are older and wiser, but the attraction is still there.  What keeps ‘em coming to these shows?  The allure of these guys begins with the classic Tyler/Perry combination of rock & roll, style and performance with a layer of liquid sex appeal poured on top. 

On opening night for the first leg of this tour, their set list was crammed of Aerosmith singles – opening up with a classic, “Walk this Way - which was an energy induced performance commanding the crowd to its feet, to which they stayed for the remainder of the show.  Led by the demon of screaming himself, Steven Tyler, 57, still has it.  It’s the jene´ se que that Tyler holds, and if you are a fan, you know – the strut across the stage and down the catwalk – the twirl of the scarf-draped microphone & the hand behind the ear thing.   Tyler donned an old standby which must have been pulled out of the wardrobe archives - black and white striped Lycra pants and a cutoff t-shirt.  Tyler began the night by commenting, “I think we’ve been off the road too long”.  Tyler then graciously thanked the Mohegan Sun tribal leaders personally by name, for having them there. 

Joe Perry, slid down the catwalk as flying fingers danced across the strings of his guitar on “Same Old Song and Dance.”  At 55, Perry emanates a style in his performance that can’t be surpassed.  Fans were impressed when Perry stepped onto a chair and did a guitar solo in the swells of the audience.   Joe Perry took center stage and performed a solo of a new song called “Shakin My Cage.”  While Perry’s performance and style as a guitarist is outstanding, the performance of this song was a little lackluster, so please Mr. Perry, stick to what we love, your guitar playin’!

The set list continued with a steadfast stream of their 1980’s singles that put them back on the charts: “Cryin”, “Angel”, “Rag Doll” and “Dude Looks Like a Lady”.  Even for the fans who don’t want to hear “Don’t Want to Miss a Thing”, the deliverance in this song is just as if you’ve heard it for the first time, not to mention, girls love it.  Brad Whitford and Tom Hamilton remained serious and steadfast in their performance.  Hamilton remains to be one of the best bassists in the business and seeing him down the catwalk for a song or two was cool.

Due to some recent health issues, it was rumored that Joey Kramer’s son, Jesse Kramer, may step in for his dad during the tour.  Kramer made it through the first night without a hitch, banging those drums like no one else can.  Jesse Kramer stepped in on the second night and joined the boys for “Shakin the Cage” & few tunes.  Way to go Jesse! 

I did get sticker shock when I saw the ticket prices, which ranged from $97.50 to $150.00.  However, after seeing the reaction of the fans on Sunday night, and with some back for more on Tuesday night, it was unanimous that it was well worth the price and die hards were not disappointed.  Mohegan Sun doesn’t have the greatest sound system in the world, but all the bumps in the road that happened at Sunday night’s show must have  paved the way for a smooth performance on Tuesday.  The graciousness that is shared between Aerosmith and their fans continues to amaze me, from the hats and scarves that are tossed on stage, to Tyler and Perry totally giving back to the audience.   I did hear some moans and groans about Sunday night’s set list, however, on Tuesday night, Aerosmith switched out four songs – “Angel” for “Crazy”, “Walkin’ the Dog” for “Lord of the Thighs”, “Back in the Saddle” for “Seasons of Wither” and “Helter Skelter” for “Draw the Line”. 

Aerosmith wound down and surprised their fans by playing unexpected older hits,  captured on their new live album, “Rockin the Joint”, with “No More, No More” and their encore, “Seasons of Wither”, which was well received. They closed the show with an unexpected bang, their cover of the Beatles, “Helter Skelter”.

While trying to scurry and buy up some souvenirs, I had the pleasure of running into none other than Ms. Mia Tyler.  So, while trying not to gush that I was meeting the rock god’s daughter, I introduced myself, and of course professed my admiration for her being on VH1’s Celebrity Fit Club.  And, if you are a reality show whore as myself and have been wondering if Mia is still keeping fit, let’s just say she looked fabulous!  Not to mention she was very sweet and hoped that I enjoy the show.

 

Aerosmith still has what it takes!
**Special thank you to Danielle Kripps and Michael Gunter**