The Joe Perry Project recently surprised the rock and roll world by announcing a fistful of dates with two in Brazil and three on the east coast. Glide caught up with Joe Perry’s most recent configuration of the band at Boston’s Leader Bank Pavillion on July 22.
The band featured Buck Johnson on keyboards (Aerosmith, Doobie Brothers, Hollywood Vampires), Jason Sutter on drums (Cher, New York Dolls, Chris Cornell), Chris Wyse on bass guitar (Hollywood Vampires, The Cult and Ozzy Osbourne) and the incomparable Gary Cherone (Extreme, Van Halen and Hurtsmile) on vocals. Of course, Perry showcased his talent on both guitar and vocals throughout the set which featured music from Perry’s solo material, Aerosmith, and a few cover tunes.
Perry and Cherone combined their decades of rock and roll experience and put on a clinic for the ravenous Boston crowd. As the acting ‘Master of the House’, Perry, who oozed cool with his tailored pants, leather jacket, and oversized hat riffed away on his guitars as Cherone sang and danced non-stop across the stage. Johnson, Sutter and Wyse kept the backline charging full-steam ahead without missing a beat during the all-too-short twelve-song set. Perry’s prowess on the guitar was on full display during the set’s opener “Let the Music Do the Talking”. His tasteful use of slide was killer. Perry’s fretwork also shined during “Toys”, “Chip Away”, “Aye, Aye, Aye” and “Walk This Way” – though I’m sure he missed jammin’ through the latter with Brad Whitford.
Gary Cherone proved once again as to why Perry has reached out to have him front his band over the past several years. He can do it all. Cherone’s vocal range is most impressive, and he was clearly in heaven singing classics with one of the guitarists from one of his favorite bands. Cherone seemingly didn’t need any time to warm up his pipes. He got the night off to the right foot by nailing “Let the Music Do the Talking” and “Toys in the Attic”. He never faltered as he crushed the rest of the set. Other highlights from Cherone included his performances of “Chip Away the Stone” and “Quake”. His innate ability to manage his role within the band along with connecting with the audience didn’t go unnoticed either.
It was a fun night for all parties involved. For fans of Joe Perry, it was a great opportunity to see him play in a more intimate setting. Cherone will be going back on tour with Extreme next month. Perry will return to his Aerosmith commitments in September as well. The two bands will be reconnecting soon as Extreme will be opening for Aerosmith’s 50th Anniversary show in Boston at Fenway Park in September. Clearly, Perry and Cherone can’t stay idle, so it’ll be interesting to see what comes next from both artists and their respective bands.
