Music Review
Aerosmith rocks motherland Boston with 'hometown lovefest'
By Joan Anderman, Globe Staff
Boston Globe | September 15, 2007
MANSFIELD - No matter how hard a Boston rock critic tries to get through an Aerosmith concert review without using the words "hometown lovefest," the effort is futile. Our local rock heroes returned to the roost last night and fell into the motherland's ecstatic embrace. And while the crowd's affection preceded the performance, Aerosmith earned every shriek during an electrifying two-hour set.
The stage was sleek and uncluttered, a clean palette for Steven Tyler's star power. He was a little hoarse, but completely on. Tyler strutted the catwalk, a model rock god, scarves flowing from his hat and his neck and his mike stand, gripping fans by the wrists, dipping his fingers into a woman's drink and rubbing it behind his ear. And that was just the first song, "Love in an Elevator."
Nearly four decades after forming, Aerosmith is still funneling heavy, swaggering blues through a lean, mean rock machine with energy that defies the passing of years and a catalog that bridges the band's deep musical roots and mainstream hits. They played plenty of both, blues jams and blockbusters, but it was the band's signature tunes that supplied the night's transcendent moments.
"Walk This Way" has one of the most excellent guitar riffs in rock, and Boston is part owner. "Dream On" is Aerosmith's epic, and Aerosmith is ours. Maybe it's provincial, but that sense of iconography-by-association turned a great concert into a galvanizing experience.
The band has only gotten tighter, playing with the sort of synchronicity available only to those who beat the odds and survive long enough to reap time's rewards. Brad Whitford's guitar solos were phenomenally clean and searing, while Joe Perry did the dirty work.
Bassist Tom Hamilton's occasional forays into the flow of the fan were his version of a star turn, but his bottom end was perpetually turned on, as were Joey Kramer's clockwork rhythms.
Tyler spewed enough charisma to make up for his bandmates sedate ways - nearly falling into the crowd over and over again as he reached for open hands and the occasional lips, thrusting and shimmying in every corner of the stage, sharing the microphone with countless fans, and kissing Perry's mother - a hometown lovefest, indeed.
Boston staple James Montgomery was an ideal warm-up act, opening with a set of blustery, hard-rocking blues that represented Aerosmith's roots.
Guitarist Joe Perry and lead singer Steven Tyler of Aerosmith. (ROBERT E. KLEIN FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE)
[Edited by Ten Thousand Motels]
16th September 2007 08:02 AM
mrhipfl
They rocked extremely hard when I saw them. They held on to their roots quite a bit tighter than the Stones, it seems.
16th September 2007 09:48 AM
lotsajizz
They played Great Woods, some 25 miles south of Boston. Great Woods is a lot closer to Providence than to Boston.
16th September 2007 01:12 PM
fireontheplatter
that was a good review.
i have seen these guys 4-5 times, but not as of late.
for me it is a toss up between them and sknyrd as americas best rock and roll band.
16th September 2007 01:24 PM
BONOISLOVE
I'm so excited, I'm typing this with Celine Dion!
I Don't Want to Miss a Thing
16th September 2007 02:05 PM
lotsajizz
they are HOT right now! have been for the last three-four years....
16th September 2007 02:50 PM
Dan
this was the setlist
01. Love In An Elevator
02. Same Old Song and Dance
03. Cryin'
04. S.O.S. (Too Bad)
05. Pink
06. What It Takes
07. Last Child
08. Baby Please Don't Go
09. Hangman Jury/Movin' Out
10. Walkin' The Dog
11. Dream On
12. Rats In The Cellar
13. Livin' On The Edge
14. Stop Messin' Around (w/James Montgomery)
15. Sweet Emotion
16. Draw The Line
Encore:
17. Walk This Way
16th September 2007 02:53 PM
pdog
Predictable setlist top heavy with the hits!
16th September 2007 02:53 PM
lotsajizz
even the power ballads work well live lately for them
16th September 2007 02:58 PM
pdog
quote:lotsajizz wrote:
even the power ballads work well live lately for them
Is that a comment on the fans or the bands playing? If the fans are like Stones die hards, they'll settle for anything, the one difference being Aerosmith is much healthier and plays tight... A.A. has worked well in this band...
16th September 2007 03:20 PM
Honky Tonk Man
I've just ordered their Ultimate Hits CD. I have always quite liked a few of their hits, especialy the ones with Alicia Silverstone in the videos!
btw, is Baby Please Don't Go the same as the version Them had a hit with?
16th September 2007 03:33 PM
ultimaterocker
that setlist kicks ass.......anyone who has a chance to see them now should....because unlike the stones...they are playing better now then ever.
16th September 2007 03:40 PM
fireontheplatter
quote:Honky Tonk Man wrote:
I've just ordered their Ultimate Hits CD. I have always quite liked a few of their hits, especialy the ones with Alicia Silverstone in the videos!
btw, is Baby Please Don't Go the same as the version Them had a hit with?
you should purchase a cd of their's called 'honkin on bobo'
its a killer and has an awesome version of, baby please don't go, on it.
this cd, i think, was done about 3-4 years ago.
16th September 2007 05:19 PM
mrhipfl
this reminds me of '72 rambler
from the DVD
16th September 2007 06:02 PM
ultimaterocker
quote:pdog wrote:
Predictable setlist top heavy with the hits!
SOS, Rats, Movin Out, Hangman Jury, Walkin the Dog, and Last Child are all deep album cuts.
16th September 2007 06:06 PM
Joey
quote:ultimaterocker wrote:
SOS, Rats, Movin Out, Hangman Jury, Walkin the Dog, and Last Child are all deep album cuts.
Sadly , I will have to ' pass ' on this show .
www.QWESTCENTER.com
16th September 2007 08:21 PM
Dan
quote:pdog wrote:
Is that a comment on the fans or the bands playing? If the fans are like Stones die hards, they'll settle for anything, the one difference being Aerosmith is much healthier and plays tight... A.A. has worked well in this band...
If they are the right ones and better paced, then it's all good. If it's like 1997, they comprise half the set and are all the worst ones then the show will totally suck.
16th September 2007 09:01 PM
aladdinstory
Not a bad setlist, but 17 songs is a little light.
16th September 2007 11:06 PM
IanBillen
They are tiring. Sell-outs. They used to be a tough band. Now they are more for 14 year old girls....and they do not even care.
Their act never changes. Tyler is still acting like he did 25 years ago...
At least Mick dances a little different, dresses a little different, and sings a little different.
Tyler just acts the exact same every single tour.
Like I said they are tiring...
Ian
17th September 2007 12:54 AM
Dan
quote:IanBillen wrote:
They are tiring. Sell-outs. They used to be a tough band. Now they are more for 14 year old girls....and they do not even care.
It's a living. No doubt this is a victory lap.
quote:
Their act never changes. Tyler is still acting like he did 25 years ago...
Nope, 25 years ago he was too stoned to put on a decent act.
quote:
At least Mick dances a little different, dresses a little different, and sings a little different.
Yeah, sure, but about the same since 1989.
quote:
Tyler just acts the exact same every single tour.
How many tours have you seen him? And he is a singer, it's not a movie or a play. The songs might be different but the script is the same. The only singer I have seen act different from tour to tour is Bowie.
quote:
Like I said they are tiring...
Better now than 10 years ago.
17th September 2007 03:04 AM
ultimaterocker
quote:IanBillen wrote:
They are tiring. Sell-outs. They used to be a tough band. Now they are more for 14 year old girls....and they do not even care.
Their act never changes. Tyler is still acting like he did 25 years ago...
At least Mick dances a little different, dresses a little different, and sings a little different.
Tyler just acts the exact same every single tour.
Like I said they are tiring...
Ian
typical response from a die hard Stones fan
17th September 2007 03:07 AM
ultimaterocker
quote:aladdinstory wrote:
Not a bad setlist, but 17 songs is a little light.
they jam some of the songs out.....they are on stage for around 2 hours.
17th September 2007 04:49 AM
pdog
quote:ultimaterocker wrote:
SOS, Rats, Movin Out, Hangman Jury, Walkin the Dog, and Last Child are all deep album cuts.
The term deep cut is the lamest term coined by lame ass classic rock stations...
Can you explain the term to me in a way that it actually makes sense or comes off as cool...?
17th September 2007 05:03 AM
mrhipfl
quote:pdog wrote:
The term deep cut is the lamest term coined by lame ass classic rock stations...
Can you explain the term to me in a way that it actually makes sense or comes off as cool...?
It makes sense because you have to dig kinda deep in their catalog to find the songs. They're not on greatest hit compilations or live albums.
17th September 2007 05:17 AM
lotsajizz
quote:IanBillen wrote:
They are tiring. Sell-outs. They used to be a tough band. Now they are more for 14 year old girls....and they do not even care.
You're dating yourself, not them.
17th September 2007 11:15 AM
Saint Sway
you say what you want about Smitty.
Just dont ever accuse them of not looking like rock stars. They've got the look perfected.
17th September 2007 12:01 PM
Mel Belli
quote:pdog wrote:
The term deep cut is the lamest term coined by lame ass classic rock stations...
Can you explain the term to me in a way that it actually makes sense or comes off as cool...?
Maybe, since singles are once again popular, we should bring back the simpler term "album track."
17th September 2007 12:26 PM
pdog
quote:mrhipfl wrote:
It makes sense because you have to dig kinda deep in their catalog to find the songs. They're not on greatest hit compilations or live albums.
Okay... who the fuck buys an album and doesn't listen to it? I'm sure many do, but IMO, someone who only listens to the hits or certain songs on an album isn't like me... and it's exactly why I hate FM radio... am i supposed to think it's special for a band to play a song they recorded, or a radio station playing a certain song is some rare and special event... Can rock and roll be dumbed down anymore that this? Think about it. This is what is happening to band with legacies and can sell product. Peope wonder why the current state of music seems so dry... It's b/c people settle for stuff like the term deep cut.
17th September 2007 12:31 PM
Saint Sway
people at Stones show have no idea what 'Sway' is, when they play it.
17th September 2007 12:38 PM
ultimaterocker
quote:pdog wrote:
The term deep cut is the lamest term coined by lame ass classic rock stations...
Can you explain the term to me in a way that it actually makes sense or comes off as cool...?
okay.....it would be like the Stones playing Loving Cup or Torn and Frayed.
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