WALK. THIS. WAY. Aerosmith Concert Wrap-Up and MORE

Concert Review below, but first of all, a word on politics.

To Donald Rumsfeld: I hate to be crass, but: "Nah-nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah, hey heyyy, GOODBYE!"

I realize that Rumsfeld's ousting from the Bush administration may not necessarily mean much, but still, it's nice to see Bush actually thinking like a savvy businessman for once and realizing that the man's job performance and results were subpar, and it was high time for him to get the boot. Rumsfeld is simply, in my view, a hardliner from an older era when ideological wars were fought at any price, be it in dollars or American lives. This isn't a period where a good ol' fashioned war is going to solve our problem with terrorism, and old-boy leaders aren't going to solve today's problems with their outdated worldviews. The last I checked, being tough on terrorism means FIGHTING THE TERRORISTS, and for all of Rumsfeld's talk about being tough when it comes to foreign policy, his war on terror, against the axis of evil, against Iraq, whatever ... has yielded few tangible victories in the aftermath of 9/11, unless you count the fact that for years Rumsfeld had much of America believing that Saddam Hussein and the Iraqis were somehow equivalent to the ones who attacked us on September 11th.

As for yesterday's elections ... congrats to the American people on helping to give the Dems back control of the House and Senate! Lieberman winning in CT was expected, and I guess I'm happy for him, but I still don't like the precedent he set by switching parties post-primaries simply to ensure a victory in the general election. Here in CA, Schwarzenegger got an easy win, and even though I voted Democrat I have to say that the opposition to the Governator made a pretty weak case for themselves, and made it easy for Ah-nuld to steamroll his competition. Nice to see a Dem finally take the governor's chair in MA though ... If anything, the next few years leading up to the 2008 Presidential election will be pretty interesting ones politically ...

But moving on to the real meat of my post ... last night's AEROSMITH CONCERT~!

- This hasn't been the best year for America's Greatest Rock N' Roll Band ... Bassist Tom Hamilton was diagnosed with cancer, and Steven Tyler has been battling various ailments, including throat surgery, as well. Since their 90's comeback - rejuvenated and drug-free, the Bad Boys from Boston have been nigh indestructable, defying age and shifting musical tastes and enjoying a second career as one of the top acts in rock music. But as the Route of All Evil tour with Motley Crue began, the question lingered -- could Tyler still scream his lyricswith his famous raspy yell? Could Perry still own the guitar like old times? Could the band maintain their sound without Hamilton? Had age, youthful craziness, and fatigue finally caught up to Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, and the gang?

Could Aerosmith still go ...?

Well, last night, a few things were immediately clear from the moment that Aerosmith roared onto the stage at the Hollywood Bowl. First, it was clear that a crucial piece of the puzzle was missing -- Tom Hamilton was at home resting, and was not in attendance to contribute on a select few songs as he had been some previous dates of the tour. But, the second thing that soon became clear was this: Aerosmith may have been bruised, but they sure as hell weren't beaten. Maybe the band's various problems of late lit a fire under Tyler and Perry - I don't know - but what I do know is that last night I witnessed two icons of rock n' roll - one of the greatest frontmen of all time in Tyler, and one of the most virtuoso guitar players to ever rock in Perry - perform a blistering set full of so much energy, emotion, and sheer awesomeness that the two were not just musicians, not just rock stars, but primal forces of nature.

Before I get into Aerosmith though, I'll start with the opening act, Motley Crue. Having never seen them live, I wasn't sure what to expect. My verdict is that they were decent. From up close, their stage show was probably pretty impressive - it featured leather-clad strippers, midgets, and oversized Harleys. But the stage was so obscured with smoke and strobe lights that from our vantage point higher up in the Bowl, it was pretty tough to make out what was going on on stage. The set list was a mix of hits and lesser known earlier stuff, but I couldn't help but wish that the Crue be relegated to a shorter stage time so that Aerosmith could have more time to do their thing. The set seemed to drag for much of the middle, until things picked up with the hits like Home Sweet Home, Girls Girls Girls, and the pretty rocking closer - Kickstart My Heart. Part of the problem is prob with the Bowl itself - my idealized vision of a Motley Crue concert is in some dank concert hall that's packed to the brim and surging with craziness. he more sedate fans at the Bowl don't quite bring the insanity that you'd get at a smaller venue or even at a bigger arena that caters less to the casual scenesters. Also, Nikki Sixx and Tommy Lee were pretty random - mixing up their set list with little musical interludes - a guitar solo here, a riff of Jimmy Hendrix's Voodoo Chile there, that were occasionally cool but often just felt like time-wasters. And Tommy Lee kept addressing the crowd as "F&%$'ers" and starting weird chants. So yeah, the Crue was okay ... but they really should have been relegated to Opening Act and not been a co-headliner ... Unlike KISS, who practically stole the show when I saw them co-headline with Aerosmith in CT, the Crue rocked, sure, but were strictly midcard material that prepped the crowd for the main event ...

Because holy crap, like I alluded to up top, Aerosmith was simply on fire. Busting out of the gates with Toys in the Attic, it was nonstop insanity for the next 80 minutes or so. Yep, waaaaay too short of a time for the 'Smith - unlike the Crue's set which felt overly long, Aerosmith's stage-time FLEW by, and I was in total disbelief when they took their curtain calls and called it a night. Surely, there had to be one, two, three more songs before the night was over? But what we did get was pretty much kickass from start to finish, with typically amazing production values the whole way through (great light / video fx that took full advantage of the Bowl's layout, and even a really cool animated short that played during the short intermission). After the opener of Toys, we got a song I had actually never even heard called Walk the Dog ... but then, DAMN, a familiar drumbeat started and my wish was granted -- for the first time I was seeing EAT THE RICH performed live, baby! Feeling particularly appropriate on this Republican-ousting election day, I was totally giddy with excitement as the song that rocked me like no other in my middle-school years began to play - the song that seemed to be the ultimate expression of in-your-face rock n' roll at that time still rocked me like it was 1995. Awesome! From there, the hits continued to flow with reckless abandon: Cryin', Sweet Emotion, Dream On, ... and oh yeah, FINALLY, Love in an Elevator, baby! Livin' it up when I'm gooooiiin' down! There was a fantastic, ear-piercing version of Draw the Line, and a chill-inducing rendition of Seasons of Wither, with Tyler and Perry kneeling in the audience and serenading the front row, as snow fell from the rafters. We got one of the better songs from Honkin' on Bobo - Baby, Please Don't Go, and one Joe Perry song as well as one new song, which wasn't bad - presumably it's the one included on the newest Greatest Hits album. An encore of Walk This Way left me pumped up and ready for more. Man, I would have killed for a live version of Angel, Deuces are Wild, Pink, or What it Takes. But on the other hand, I've gotta say, what we got, while woefully quick, was pretty damn intense.

Watching Tyler and Perry on stage was simply amazing - the two put more emotion into each song than I've yet seen live, and if age is catching up to these two legends, you'd never know it. At the two previous Aerosmith shows I've seen, I definitely had moments where I was aware I was watching a slightly aging rock band ... but not last night, no freakin' way. Tyler was twirling and kicking and prancing on stage like a man possessed, with all of his trademark rockstar showmanship more than intact. Perry was not only a pure machine on guitar, as usual (proving again that he is up their with the all-time greats), but seemed more intense than usual, at one point throwing down his guitar and whipping it with his shirt like a man who was truly one with the gods of Rock. Watching the two of them share the mic and dance around the stage, in total command of every soul-searing song, was truly to be in the presence of rock greatness, of legends still possessed of an inhuman amount of energy and flair - watching these guys go, it might as well have been 1978. Once again, I was reminded of why, to me, Aerosmith is the very definition of Hard Rock.

So even though it left me wanting more, even though it was a too-short show that should have spotlighted Aerosmith rather than give them equal billing with Motley Crue, this was still one for the ages. Rock n' by-god Roll at its absolute best.

- Alright, rock n' rollers - I'm out, but back with more soon. KICK IT.

"Dream on, dream on
Dream until your dream come true"