God is also an Aerosmith fan.

Steve Tyler is one thoroughly disreputable looking old man.

*pauses for Wikipedia*

Okay, at 59, he’s not actually all that old, but good god damn every inch and mile of those fifty nine years is writ large upon that ugly mug of his. On the other hand, I don’t get what it is about rock stars, but man, there just really is something about ’em. I wouldn’t think myself particularly susceptible to the whole brain-short-circuitry thing, but nope, pretty much. It’s good to be a rock star. :)

It didn’t start out all that auspiciously, with being unable to get a cab to the venue for when the doors opened, and the threatening rain–which never did appear; in fact, it cleared up enough to make me think God is an Aerosmith fan, too–and then the guy who was walking ahead of us who suddenly lurched to the side of the path, spewing vomit as he went. However, despite getting there later than we wanted, we mooshed our way relatively close to the stage:

people behind us:

people in front of us:

Where we then stood without particular enthusiasm through the opening act, which was some guy named Chris…something. Ted’ll remember, probably. He was good enough, actually, but I didn’t know any of his music, so eh, not that interesting. People around us seemed to enjoy it,though.

Not Especially Interesting Opening Act:

However, after the Not Especiallly Interesting Opening Act, they put some old music videos on the big screens. The first song they played was The Who’s “My Generation”, which garnered a little interest, but the second was Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, and the entire crowd joined in. And then the roadies noticed the entire crowd had joined in, and somebody setting up the keyboard started mock-playing it, and the guy with the guitars started…well, air-guitaring, for lack of a better phrase, and there was resounding laughter and cheering and singing. I wish I’d remembered the new little digital camera had a video setting. I’d have recorded a couple minutes of it. :) It was seriously cool. :) Apparently what was needed to warm up that audience was just a little classic rock. :)

Honestly, everybody pretty much just went batshit when Aerosmith came on and stayed that way for the next ninety minutes. For all the miles on ’em, those guys can goddamned well rock the house. That was by far the most *rock* of the concerts we’ve gone to (I’ll get back to you on Sunday as to how The Who measure up), even if they’re all getting old. Actually, Joe Perry looks pretty mellow and baby-faced next to Steve Tyler, but the bass player and backup guitarist just plain look old. Age, however, does not prevent them from bringing the house down, and it sure didn’t stop Tyler from leaping all over the stage for over an hour like a mad thing. Nor did it stop him from pausing in poses like this:

which really shouldn’t manage to turn out sexy on a 60 year old guy, but damn. It’s that rock star thing. I don’t get it. Ted, cheerfully, said, “They’re like brightly plumed birds. Guitars are plummage.”

Anyway, they opened with “Love In An Elevator” and that turned out to be one of about, oh, four songs they did that I actually knew (Ted knew far more of them, but we all know I’m a pop culture philistine). I woulda liked to have heard “Dude Looks Like A Lady”, because it’s a funny song, and “Jainy’s Got A Gun”, because that’s a very evocative song for me (it reminds me of working in the darkroom in high school. It actually brings back the smell of the chemicals to me. Really weird.), but they did do “Don’t Want To Miss A Thing”, which I had been hoping for and anticipating for, oh, two weeks, and have had it stuck in my head much of that time. So now I’m all dippy-happy at actually having seen Steve Tyler perform that song live.

Actually, not much to really comment on, I guess. It was a good show, and I have no idea how people sing like that day after day, year after year, without destroying their voices. So I’ll leave you with that, and a bunch more pictures of thoroughly disreputable old men. :)