Let’s take a little walk down memory lane for a moment. It’s the mid-1970’s and The Midnight Special is the staple of my adolescent Friday nights. A band of greasy Boston bad boys overtake the screen and proceed to blow me away with an old Yardbirds song. Dressed in tight satin pants and hair too long to see their faces, this was mind-blowing – even for a kid who had already discovered rock & roll. Next thing I know, I’m the proud owner of Get Your Wings. The fascination with Aerosmith had begun and it has never wavered. Not through the Toxic Twins stumble through addiction, not through Joe Perry’s departure, not through Jimmy Crespo’s entrance and exit, not through Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, not through weird mustaches and iffy albums (I happen to like Honkin’ On Bobo), not even through American Idol.
On this piping hot evening just outside of Houston, two of the America’s enduring rock bands out there today are tearing it up on a night to remember. Sweating like a mofo, Steven Tyler is kicking and slithering on the stage like a dog in heat, screaming over Perry’s crunching guitar lines, no relief in sight, and the whole show is like raging hormones bursting at the seams. Kicking off with “Back In The Saddle,” Aerosmith are on a happy rampage, friskily teasing the crowd with typical Aerosmith antics. Tyler is flirting with the women, scatting all over himself as he struts the stage as only Steven Tyler can do. Just think of all the bands this one band has influenced and no one still comes close to the original. Except perhaps Guns N Roses. They touched the flame like a brilliant rebellious moth and came out on the other side high-noting and whipping audiences into a frenzy all through the late eighties into the nineties.
Therefore taking Slash and his Conspirators out on the Let Rock Rule tour this summer was a match made in hard rock heaven. A perfect concoction, this double-bill screamed for you to buy a ticket. “We guarantee a good rock show,” guitarist Brad Whitford told me a few months ago. “We love to play and we go all out to give it our best.” Having Slash on the roster with them was just icing on the cake: “He’s just an amazing guitar player and I guess it just gives the rock credibility. It should be a good guitar night for sure with Slash out there.”
Slash and his cohorts in rhythm get better every time I see them. From the first time they came together following the release of Slash’s solo album, people have commented that this band should record an album. They did and with Apocalyptic Love scored several hits with “You’re A Lie,” “Anastasia,” and “Standing In The Sun,” songs which have become staples of their energetic set, not dragging it down in any way, shape or form, nor disappointing fans by playing these newer songs instead of more GNR classics. Slash has continued to evolve himself, making music that is never boring, old or outdated. A lot of that has to do with vocalist Myles Kennedy, who splits his time between Slash and Alter Bridge. Kennedy brings powerful lyrics into the mix that swim seamlessly into Slash’s chords and riffs. With Bass player Todd Kerns, who is multi-talented on guitar and vocals and probably anything else you dropped into his hands, drummer Brent Fitz and guitar player Frankie Sidoris, Slash has the confidence to just be Slash. Kerns and Sidoris have enough hair flying and static energy that your eyes don’t know who to focus on. And Fitz just pummels away, smiling like a Cheshire cat who knows he has not only the best seat in the house but the best job in town.
Playing their new song “World On Fire” from the upcoming album of the same name only proves my statement about the continued growth of a band put together to promote a solo album that featured many different artists, including Kennedy. Kudos have to go out to the kid, Sidoris, who has become a confident guitar playing presence, fighting for his space on a stage where Slash puts his head down and barrels ahead and Kerns’ lovable pied piper let’s rock enthusiasm. Coming to the lip of the stage to play several solos, Sidoris’ maturity and individuality are immeasurable. Another highlight is Slash switching to a double-neck for the intro to “Anastasia” and then proceeding to rollercoaster through his solos on his beloved Gibsons. With Slash and his Conspirators, talk of reuniting with Axl needs to be dropped and dropped now. You don’t want Slash anywhere but here, with these musicians, continuing to shatter his musical boundaries.
His rock & roll godfathers in Aerosmith have certainly taught him well but they also have not rolled over to play dead at his feet just yet. There is still a lot of locomotion left in these guys and they hit the tracks with a triple roar of “Back In The Saddle,” “Love In An Elevator” and “Eat The Rich.” Filling their set with hits and fan favorites leaves little room for deep cuts and other fan wish-list tracks but there are only so many songs you can fit into a setlist. “I’m always pushing to bring back some of the older stuff that I don’t think comes out of the closet enough,” Whitford mentioned to me in our interview. “I’d like to play more stuff off of the album Rocks and the album Toys In The Attic and even some of the stuff from the late 1980’s, off the Pump album. We always talk about that and we always kind of go head-to-head cause everybody’s got their own ideas about what the audience wants to hear. And of course I think we’re the least qualified people to do that.” (laughs)
Having last witnessed the band on their 2012 tour, they have pulled all songs from their last album Music From Another Dimension and added back in tunes like “Cryin,” “Pink” (along with it’s hilariously strange video playing on the screen behind them), “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing,” “Toys In The Attic,” and the excellent “Kings & Queens” featuring a top notch Whitford guitar solo. Perry’s spotlight time was on the old Peter Green-penned Fleetwood Mac tune “Stop Messin’ Round,” a huge showcase for Perry’s love of the feral blues and he shines every time he plays it, concluding with the guitar behind his head, Hendrix-style.
Following an insanely wild “Dude Looks Like A Lady” and “Walk This Way,” the roar of the crowd was deafening for them to come back and play some more. Sitting at his white piano that had been quickly pushed to the forefront, Tyler eased into his “Home Tonight” tease leading into a heart-stopping “Dream On.” With a minimal drum solo from Joey Kramer (maybe due in part to some heart issues a few weeks ago) and a bass pleaser from Hamilton, whose bass streamed a scene from the old 1933 King Kong, they eased into “Sweet Emotion,” Tyler all face painted in DayGlo colors, and leaving us wanting more following Perry’s serial killer pummeling of his guitar into the speakers, removing his red vest to whip the tortured beast and finally ripping at the strings before turning out a burning solo. It just doesn’t get much better than this. If the youngsters want to call these guys dinosaurs, then we’re still living in the times when they walk the Earth loud and proud.
Following the concert, Tyler announced that they were “jumping in with both feet” to take the ALS ice bucket challenge. “We’re going to dump the ice.” With the entire band walking to stand beside him, Tyler told the crowd that “all the lights are going to be on and everyone is going to be seen … except you that is on probation,” pointing out into the crowd. Perry also informed everyone that “every ticket you guys bought, a part of that is going to the ALS Foundation too.” And with the ice water flowing, it was a great way to end an even greater night.
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