It's hard to say which band "won" in a contest of heavy metal
prowess, but the headliners performed with a spirit and drive not seen
in years.
Aerosmith dug back into the catalog to open its 90-minute concert
with Rats In The Cellar and Same Old Song And Dance before
sampling its current Permanent Vacation album.
The band performed a number of tunes from that year-old disc, notably
Rag Doll , a rocking gem that recalls the band's Toys In The
Attic period.
Singer Steve Tyler, who paused from his near-constant movement only
long enough to sip from a bottle of Perrier, sounded particularly strong
on the ballad Angel. He was equally impressive, however, on a
screamer like Back In The Saddle.
As expected, guitarist Joe Perry's fiery technique was awesome, but
drummer Joey Kramer surprised fans by stepping away from his kit and
playing a flashy electronic solo that allowed him to band his sticks on
the stage, himself and even the palms of his hands.
Aerosmith wound down its set with strong versions of Walk The Dog,
Dream On, Walk This Way and Sweet Emotion, but was
called back to the stage to encore with Dude (Looks Like A Lady)
.
Guns N' Roses - two of its members, singer Axl Rose and guitarist
Izzy Stradlin, hail from Indiana - opened the evening with a 45-minute
set that served to whet one's appetite for seeing them perform as
headliners.
It's hard to imagine that the crowd could have been screaming as loud
as the band was playing, but fans worked hard to display the intense
level of devotion the group inspires. This was not lost on Rose, who
termed the audience "the most responsive we've ever played to."
Guns N' Roses earned the applause for both its exciting performance
and its knack for storytelling. Rose amused fans with details on his
20-odd arrests in this state, all of which he alleged were on false
charges.
Seven or eight years ago, he noted, he was nabbed while trying to
enter MSA to see and AC/DC concert. "I haven't been back since then," he
said, "but it's always been my dream to open an Aerosmith concert right
here at home. This is the most important gig in our career."
