The veteran band played favorites from throughout their 50-year career to kick off their Peace Out tour on Saturday.
Until the climactic explosion of confetti and streamers, it never really felt like Aerosmith was saying goodbye as the veteran rockers kicked off their Peace Out farewell tour at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday.
There was never a moment during the nearly two-hour show where it felt like the band was getting sentimental over this purported last time around — unless of course you count frontman Steven Tyler’s misty-eyed reminiscence about writing his first song with guitarist Joe Perry while getting high “laying on a waterbed with two chicks.” So if anyone was wondering if approaching the end of their half-century run was maturing the Toxic Twins, there’s your answer. The evening was barely two songs in when Tyler, roaming the platforms of the sprawling, neon-lit stage, discovered the obvious phallic humor to be derived from a waist-high microphone mounted to a railing. At 75, “irrepressible” remains the best catchall to describe the singer. Tyler wasted no time shimmying to the front of the triangular stage, sporting a floor-length silver robe and a black floppy hat, both of which he shed almost immediately. He remained in antic motion throughout the night, swinging his scarf-bedecked mic stand like a baseball bat, curling his body around the stage railings, or climbing on top of his white, fog-shrouded piano during an encore performance of “Dream On.” The four remaining original members of the band rose from beneath the stage to open the 18-song set with, naturally, “Back in the Saddle.” They followed with “Love in an Elevator,” setting the template for a set that alternated songs from their hard-edged ‘70s heyday with poppier megahits from their ‘90s MTV renaissance. The swaggering “Adam’s Apple” sounded bracing after the melodramatic pomp of “Janie’s Got a Gun,” but such is the tightrope walk of Aerosmith’s bifurcated career. There was no question which half the ear-splittingly loud audience at the Wells Fargo preferred. A midshow run of bluesy deep cuts — including the wintry “Seasons of Winter,” a thundering “Rats in the Cellar” stretched out with guitar jams, and a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Stop Messin’ Around” with Perry on lead vocals — seemed to test the crowd’s patience; the energy in the room was restored by the schlocky ballad “I Don’t Want To Miss a Thing.” The set was massive, not only featuring walkways and ramps that allowed the members to wander and get intimate with a large portion of the crowd, but a massive letter “A” flanked by a pair of enormous inflatable wings to conjure the band’s familiar logo at arena scale. Huge inflatable toys descended from the rafters to recreate the cover ofYet Aerosmith’s major strength is their ability to make such a grand-scale performance feel like a raw and raucous club date. Even after however many thousands of performances, the boys from Boston never come off as jaundiced professionals, their chemistry forever loose and sleazy, the cracks and tatters showing in Tyler’s voice only adding to the alluringly rough edges. The show itself had more than its share of those, as the production was still clearly working out some kinks. Despite the surfeit of prompters, Tyler blanked on a verse of “No More No More;” the singer barked directions to the crew at several points; drummer John “John D” Douglas missed a cue on “Rag Doll.” The former drum tech is subbing for original member Joey Kramer, who is taking not-entirely-voluntary “leave of absence” for health reasons. While Perry announced that Aerosmith was enjoying their 40th concert in the city , there wasn’t much about the show tailored to a Philly farewell, save the LOVE-emblazoned bass drum. The Black Crowes did take a moment to reminisce about opening for Aerosmith in the city once before, in 1990 at the Spectrum. Much of their 45-minute set reached back nearly that far, largely culling familiar songs from their first two albums,. Vocalist Chris Robinson showed off his Jagger-esque moves in a purple pinstriped suit, while brother Rich wailed beside him on guitar. Their spirited performance was dampened by a muddy sound mix, which buried Robinson’s vocal aside from the quieter moments of “She Talks To Angels.”
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