Here is the review:
Aerosmith proves they're natural rockers
By Sarah Rodman, Globe Staff
September 27, 2006
MANSFIELD -- The
National Geographic Channel picked a good night to capture Aerosmith in its natural habitat.
Steven Tyler's revived voice. Bassist Tom Hamilton's surprise appearance on "Sweet Emotion." A shiver-inducing "Seasons of Wither" complete with gently falling faux snow. Joe Perry's shockingly extroverted singing. The fact that they didn't play the execrable "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing."
You can take your pick from any of those reasons to explain why the Aerosmith show last night at the Tweeter Center was near perfect.
The hard-rocking hometown boys rarely disappoint but last night's performance ( the first of two, with the second tomorrow) was touched with a little pixie dust. The near-capacity crowd seemed to sense it, giving as good as they got throughout a 90-minute show that the cable network was taping for a piece on Tyler's experimental throat surgery.
It was most assuredly a success. The serpentine frontman -- who for the purposes of the TV show was wired into a contraption that ran from his throat to his snazzy red trousers -- ran a slew of old songs through those new pipes, and his wails and whispers and grunts and growls were robust, especially on the peaks of "Dream On," ``Wither," and "Draw The Line."
Hamilton, who is undergoing treatment for throat cancer, was given a hero's welcome and the band fed off his joy. David Hull ably filled his shoes the rest of the night.
Fans of the band's post-comeback material may have gone home a bit blue, but a smoking treatment of "Baby, Please Don't Go," the way-old-school sass of "S.O.S. (Too Bad)," and Perry's amped-up version of "Dirty Water" felt like more than a fair trade-off for say, "Pink" (but not "Janie's Got a Gun.")
Motley Crue's Vince Neil might want to get the number of Tyler's doctor, as his voice was in a sorry state.
During the course of the veteran Los Angeles metal quartet's disjointed 75-minute performance, Neil's voice went from disappointing to downright pitiable as the singer -- who apologized a third of the way through, saying he was doing the best he could -- struggled to deliver the hit-filled set .
The crowd took over on the first verse of "Home Sweet Home" and the look of gratitude on Neil's face elicited more sympathy than when he lived in "The Surreal Life" house. Unfortunately his croaking on "Same Ol' Situation" and "Girls, Girls, Girls" tempered that compassion.
No amount of hissing serpents, ostentatious pyro, or scantily clad dancing girls in cages could distract. Guitarist Mick Mars may have looked frail -- he suffers from a degenerative rheumatic disease -- but it was his impressive soloing -- truly fierce and liquid -- and drummer Tommy Lee's Tasmanian Devil pounding that rescued the Crue's portion of the "Route of All Evil" tour.
, Amity 3!!!!
