As always, it’s up to me to be the contrarian. If you’re looking for a show where they pull out some of their biggest hits and the songs that are the biggest crowd pleasers, the ones they could do in their sleep (and often look like they might as well be) you won’t be disappointed. If you’re looking for the band to really show off their range, to reach deep into their back catalog and to play their best music, regardless of whether it makes the girlies scream and the cigarette lighters come out, you will leave sorely disappointed. I’ve seen them twice, and though the second time I saw them was better than the first, both times they were upstaged by the opening act in my opinion. It seems to me that they’ve reached the point in their career where all they have to do is pull out the hits and they can sell out shows anywhere, and when you’ve been to as many concerts as I have, you get really sick of the “legends” coming in, doing a 75 to 90 minute show which includes just the songs everyone knows the words to (whether the songs suck or not), and heading backstage to count their money.
Now, I see that they do change up their setlist from time to time and you might be lucky enough to be there on the night they pull out Toys in the Attic and Big Ten Inch Record, or you might get stuck with a night where they play Cryin’ and Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing, but you know if you’re lucky enough to see the show with the older songs, they may skip Dream On or Back in the Saddle. Basically, they have probably 10 really great songs from the 70s in my estimation that have stood the test of time, you’ll probably hear 5 of them, and the other 8 songs will be the ones that you think to yourself, well, I’d much rather have heard x, y and z (unless you really want to hear Fallin in Love is Hard on the Knees and don’t care so much for Sweet Emotion).
My main complaints are a) the shows are too damn short….they’ve been around long enough and have a good enough repertoire that they should be able to play for 2½ hours…if you’re going to charge those prices, give us a show like Prince or Springsteen or Elvis Costello…hell, even the White Stripes would give you…play all your classics, and whatever else you feel like playing that night instead of worrying about where you’re going to fit in What it Takes or Eat the Rich in your 75 minute set, b) they are inconsistent…they don’t play their best material at every show, and you can’t guarantee you’re going to even hear songs which should be played at every damn show like Dream On, but you may end up with a Janie’s Got a Gun instead, and c) it often to me feels like they’re going through the motions, padding their retirement funds, etc. The band seems to be creatively out of ideas…they haven’t had a hit song in over 8 years now and their biggest feature of their current tour seems to be stuff that was featured in their Guitar Hero game.
Now yes, if you’ve never seen Aerosmith, whatever they play, it sounds fantastic live, and it’s an experience you might want to have, even if you don’t leave fully satisfied, so it might be worth it just to be able to experience it once. And with ZZ Top on the bill, well if I had a job right now, I’d probably go see the show even though I’ve seen Aerosmith twice and left disappointed twice (or I should say only half satisfied). But I wouldn’t sell blood, go without meals for two weeks or skip essential dentistry work to be able to afford tickets. Of course, the gang is getting up their in years…with age comes technical expertise, but on occasion your singer may take a header off the stage and break a shoulder…such is the price of trying to dance when you’re in your 60s.