Aerosmith / Lenny Kravitz Review 1/23/06

Kelly

New member
Opening the evening, Lenny Kravitz made a fine showing. His 75-minute set featured a dozen songs, tight, solid musicianship, and a semi-subdued Kravitz. Normally bouncy and burning off energy he was rather quiet. Standouts included the opener, "Where Are We Runnin'?", "Mr. Cab Driver", "Can't Get You Off My Mind", "American Woman", and "Fly Away". His only misstep (no pun intended) was allowing the aforementioned "Let Love Rule" to turn into an overbearing, preachy sermon. I do believe Lenny is looking for a guitar tech after this show as they had a few moments with his guitar changes that didn’t work too well for Lenny, and they won’t prove to work out for the ex guitar tech either.

Movable video screens sat atop the lighting rigs , and when the lights dimmed, a five-minute film appeared of the band playing in various stages of their career, with mash-ups of their hits as musical accompaniment. At the end of the film, the band stood on stage, poised and ready, and Joey Kramer pounded the all-too-familiar rhythm that opens "Walk This Way". And it begins.

For the better part of two hours, the sold-out crowd was led down the pathway of Aerosmith's career, stopping at some major hits ("Jaded", "Sweet Emotion", "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing", "Dream On", "Janie's Got a Gun"), some popular album cuts ("Same Old Song and Dance", "The Other Side", "Rag Doll", the entire version of "The Train Kept a Rollin'", "Back in the Saddle"), and a few songs for diehards as well ("Seasons of Wither", "Lord of the Thighs", "Baby, Please Don't Go", "Draw the Line").

Each song was performed to an Aerosmith fans glee and joy. Tyler's vocals and screams are still powerful and raw. Perry is still one of the best guitarists in rock (though his one lead vocal, "Shakin' My Cage", from his most recent solo album, is still pretty bad). Brad Whitford is still one of the most underrated guitarists in rock , Tom Hamilton still does the heavy end well on bass, and Kramer's drumming still ROCKS. Perry and Tyler used the whole stage and kept all of us attentive as to what was next. Lots of Fun!!!

Aerosmith can pretty much write its own ticket here on out. If Aerosmith can keep up this much energy, they'll manage an honest rock-and-roll live show for at least another six or eight years. Best to see them sooner than later, though -- you never know how many reluctant people you'll need to convince. All in All a good night around for everyone..
Next up Coldplay / Fiona Apple . and Thank You
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