When Joe Perry’s camp announced his new solo album, Switzerland Manifesto, there were multiple reactions from his and Aerosmith’s fans. Naturally, there was excitement over new music from the east-coast guitar god and then, of course, questions swirled about Aerosmith’s status – adding to continued speculation and concern that Aerosmith may have finally agreed to call it quits. Luckily, for all parties included, Manifesto absolutely rocks as a solid rock and roll LP which features collaborations by long-time friends Robin Zander (Cheap Trick), David Johanson (New York Dolls), and Terry “Superlungs” Reid. And, on another positive note, much to the joy of the Aerosmith’s following, the band has continued to announce concert dates prefacing a highly-rumored potential 50th anniversary tour.
In an effort to celebrate and promote the new album, Perry decided to hit the road with a handful of dates on both the west and the east coast. The tour “Joe Perry & Friends”, showcases the talents of Gary Cherone (Extreme), Charlie Farren (Joe Perry Project and Farrenheit), British legend Terry Reid, Brad Whitford (Aerosmith), Dizzy Reed (keyboards with Guns n’ Roses and the Dead Daisies), David Hull (bassist with Joe Cocker, Arthur Lee and Aerosmith), Jason Sutter (drummer with Smash Mouth and Marilyn Manson) and in Boston – a very special guest.
After the house music lights finally cut out, a hypnotic-tribal instrumental poured out of the PA system and swirled above the sea of fans that packed the sold-out House of Blues on April 18th. Perry and Co. then descended upon the House of Blues’ stage, receiving a round of glorious applause. The band then proceeded to perform a raucous set that included new material from Manifesto, tasty covers and choice cuts from Perry’s back catalog for over two solid hours, filling the hall with sweet emotion.
Cherone and Perry rightfully grabbed the spotlight and ripped the set open with a blistering “Let the Music Do the Talkin’” – a track originally written for the Joe Perry Project and which was later thrust toward the MTV generation with its version by Aerosmith in the late eighties. Both Perry and Cherone were in their element from the get-go. Perry demonstrated his prowess with his signature slide-work throughout the barnburner. Cherone nailed it. He is quite familiar with the song, as he and his side-project, Hurtsmile, have covered it live as well. Another staple followed. “Train Kept a Rollin’”, a cover that Aerosmith made their own during their live sets. “Train” continued to add fuel to the fire before digging deep for the rockin’ “Pandora’s Box”. The crowd ate it up as they sang along to every word.
Perry took on lead vocals, on top of delivering more devilish slide-work during “Shakin’ My Cage”, which caused a stir on the dance floor, as a plethora of hips started swinging side-to-side for the next several minutes. Perry took a short breather to talk briefly about his new album and to introduce one of its tracks, “Aye, Aye, Aye”. Cherone took center stage once again for this groovy number and demonstrated his knack as being one of rock’s most-charismatic frontmen. Brad Whitford then got the nod and walked to the lip of the stage and noodled a short solo before plucking the opening notes to “Last Child”. The crowd went berserk. The rest of the band kicked in as he laid into his signature riff. Cherone was clearly living the dream being bookended on stage by Whitford and Perry. Perry kept the funky groove alive as Whitford peeled out another smoldering solo. Fun was had by all during this classic performance.
After wrapping up “Child”, Cherone humbly fell back out of the spotlight as Perry introduced one of his friends, Terry Reid. Reid, who has been credited as being responsible for Led Zeppelin as we know it, by turning down the gig and suggesting Robert Plant instead, has had a notable and extensive music career himself. He playfully chatted up the crowd while Perry smiled and laughed lovingly to his left. Reid and the band then tore through a trio of rock and roll classics. He put on a clinic of how to engage the audience during “Sick & Tired”, “I’ll Do Happiness” and “Won’t Let You Go”. With his bright white pants, colorful shirt and endearing smile, Reid found yet another audience to impress. He must have been a fun act to follow, as Cherone took on another deep cut. His take on “Adam’s Apple” added a thick layer of swagger before Perry trudged through “Combination”. Perry then graciously introduced the next song as “a special request from Gary” and followed with, “I can’t (sing it), so he’s gonna sing it for us now.” Cherone ribbed, “I love being Joe’s background singer.” The classic ballad worked well as a segue into Perry bringing out another friend to share the stage.
Charlie Farren, who was a former band-mate in the Joe Perry Project, turned on his engines for a pair from their album, I’ve Got the Rock and Rolls Again. “East Coast, West Coast” and the album’s title track were performed with gusto as Farren was on fire, respectfully compared to his opening warm-up solo performance. Farren and Perry gelled as if they had traveled back in time and the rest of the band didn’t miss a beat on the bluesy jams.
Cherone returned to take the mic for earth-moving “Quake”. His voice had hit an all-new level at this point in the show and he was locked-in and loaded. Perry took on, the party classic “Night Time” before passing the baton back to Cherone for the funky, “Rockin’ Train” – which was right up his alley. At almost two hours into the performance, a few guests had regretfully started to make their way towards the exits. And, if they made it out, they missed an epic performance of “Toys in the Attic” that wrapped up the initial set. Cherone and Perry played-well off of each other as Whitford, Hull and Sutter kept the groove breathing hot and heavy. Reed’s tickling of the ivories stood out in the mix, giving “Toys” another brilliant facet to enjoy before the band retreated backstage for several minutes before the emotional encore.
As instruments were swapped on the sides of the stage, the crowd clearly wanted more as they beckoned for the band to return. Perry sauntered back out to his mic and thanked the audience once again for coming out to the show. He then announced, while a roadie strapped on his talk-box, “We’ve got one more surprise for you.” And continued by introducing his “blood-brother from New Hampshire… Tom Hamilton.” Perry and Hamilton hugged before Hamilton tested his bass and joked, “Is this thing on? Can you hear me now?” He then added, “What a fucking rockin’ band. Holy shit!” Hamilton asked, “Is everybody up here?” before mesmerizing with his iconic intro to “Sweet Emotion”. Cherone returned and masterfully led the band through “Emotion” and another one of Aerosmith’s greatest hits, “Walk This Way”. And with the final note of “Walk This Way”, another historical night was in the books as Joe Perry and Friends left no stone unturned. Hopefully, more tour dates are in the works as it was a most-memorable performance.
