Just saw a tweet from Mick Mars, that had a link to this great video, from Jeff Beck’s 50th Anniversary Concert at the Hollywood Bowl.
You know I love me some Steven Tyler, so enjoy this version of Aerosmith’s classic Train Kept A-Rollin’, with Jeff Beck on guitar.
FINALLY!
Aerosmith is starting the second leg of their Global Warming Tour and New York, Tampa and Ft. Lauderdale are all on the calendar!
There isn’t even a question that I will be going to one, if not two of the Shows!
God knows I talk about Steven Tyler a lot on my blog and with good reason. I have one thing to say and I’m not ashamed to say it: Steven Tyler is still the hottest Rock Singer in the world! This man is 64 years old and his ass still looks good in tight, tight pants and he drives women of all ages to scream with abandon when he hits the stage.
I lucked out (and so did Kevin) when my friend, Danielle Simms, agreed to be my date for the Aerosmith concert in Atlanta. Even though she managed to be 25 minutes late for this monumental occasion, she arrived in style, in her ruffled mini nightgown, that drove fellow male concert-goers crazy! (Seriously, some guy handed her his business card and pantomimed picking up a phone and mouthing the words “Call Me” to her!) I think this same guy tried to “direct” me on what to shoot, whenever I put my phone down for a minute!
Cheap Trick was the opening act for Aerosmith and even though they are from my hometown of Chicago (kind of), in all these years of concert going, I never had the chance to see them play live. The band was tight, and sounded great. Robin Zander had some weird hair thing going on under his hat though (like sheets of hair extensions had just been attached below his center part) and bass player Tom Petersson looked like someone had just woken him up from a nap. Rick Nielsen made up for all that with his wild throwing of hundreds of guitar picks at a time, into the audience.
I wish Cheap Trick had played my favorite songs like She’s Tight or He’s a Whore, but they didn’t. They did play Stop This Game, Surrender (of course) and their beautiful ballad, The Flame, which is another one of my favorite songs.
I missed the first 15 minutes of Cheap Trick’s set, waiting for Danielle, and unfortunately their set ended quickly, but then the quickest stage turnaround I’ve ever seen happened, and before we knew it the lights dimmed and the Aerosmith show started!
I had obsessed about buying these concert tickets because I wanted the absolute best seats I could get without spending thousands on them. I have seen Aerosmith shows over and over again, starting in the nosebleed seats and then moving down to the floor. I have learned over the years, that while the seats off to the side have great views, you really miss the entire vibe of the concert, if you are not in the thick of it, in the floor seats. If you have floor seats, you are on your feet dancing and singing for the entire concert!
Three years ago, I sat in the 27th row for an Aerosmith concert and it wasn’t close enough. This time I bought 11th row seats for one reason…I had noticed from the concert venue layouts that most of the shows had a center catwalk coming out from the stage. I knew from previous Aerosmith concerts, that they would start the concert, on the end of that catwalk, and then spend a good amount of the concert time on it. I felt bad for the people who had spent thousands of dollars for 1st through 6th row seats, because my hunch was right…My 11th row seats turned into 3rd row seats when Steven Tyler and Joe Perry rose up through the floor, at the end of that catwalk, and started the show.
Oh be still my heart!
Aerosmith launched into Draw the Line and the energy never stopped. While the concert was happening I noticed something was different but I couldn’t put my finger on it. After a few days I figured it out…Steven Tyler has always had a frantic energy when he performs. From way back in the day, when he used to do front flips, to running from one side of the stage to the other, to spinning in circles with the mike stand and all of his scarves. This time the difference was that his “frantic” energy was gone and it had been replaced by a practiced, assured, sexual prowl. Those are the best words I can think of to describe how Steven Tyler commands a stage and the audience that he drives into a frenzy with his moves.
As an Aerosmith fan, I want to watch and absorb and enjoy every second of their concert.
As a photographer, (and as a lover of Steven Tyler) I can’t help but try to capture photos or videos of all this action. How can I not shoot when I am only a few feet away from my favorite obsession?!
I do not have an iPhone. I have a POS LG Smart Phone that I should have gotten rid of after I found out it didn’t shoot so well at the INXS concert last year. I was deleting photos and videos on the fly (to free up space), but kept a few of them that looked “promising”. Well…let’s just say that what looked good on my cell phone screen, doesn’t look so good on any other screen.
So I apologize in advance for the photos and video I have posted here. I should have had better equipment (or a better phone) but I didn’t.
I am including some video footage from the concert at the end of this post with a disclaimer attached to it — THE AUDIO IS VERY LOUD AND TERRIBLE!
The video moments I captured were priceless, so I had to include them. I have Steven and Joe Perry rising up through the stage to start the concert. I have two separate shots of Danielle in between me and the stage, and best of all, I have Steven Tyler singing Livin’ on the Edge, right in front of us, less than 15 feet away! We were blinded by the spotlights on him but he moved a bit to the left and moaned and groaned into the microphone for a few seconds, much to the delight of all the screaming women around me.
I must point out that the video feature on my phone does NOT zoom in. Video shoots in one setting only and everything usually looks really far away, even though I am much closer than it seems. (Almost like the video camera has a wide angle lens on it.) When you watch this video I have posted, and see how close Steven is to us, during Livin’ on the Edge, remember that he is even closer than it looks.
Next time (and there will be a next time) I will go to the Aerosmith Concert with a much better camera (or phone.)
If you haven’t bought tickets to Aerosmith’s Global Warming Tour, you have missed out on one of the best concerts of the year.
Watch my Video Highlights from the Aerosmith Concert in Atlanta, GA on July 26, 2012. WARNING: Audio is very loud and terrible.
Click Here – To read my story about how I met Steven Tyler (a long time ago!)
It has taken me four months to get my tickets for the Aerosmith/Cheap Trick concert! I first blogged about their Global Warming Tour at the end of March.
I had planned to attend the New Jersey Show (so I could also go to New York), then thought I would go to Boston, then Chicago…all the while, Atlanta being the closest place to me.
I finally ran out of time, trying to make up my mind, so today I finalized my plans.
I have 11th Row Floor seats for Aerosmith’s Atlanta show, this coming Thursday (7/26). Kevin would rather stick a hot poker in his eye, than go to this concert with me, so invitations have gone out!
Three people have already declined, so if you are in Atlanta this coming Thursday, and you want to see Aerosmith & Cheap Trick, get in touch with me to share in the adventure!
Hope I get some great photos and/or great stories for upcoming blog posts!
I was sad when I heard the news today, that Steven Tyler would not be coming back to American Idol as a judge next Season.
I (along with millions of other people) will miss seeing him every week.
Worse yet…I still have not bought tickets for the Aerosmith Tour that is taking place right now!
Gotta get my dose of Steven Tyler somehow!
A thought came to mind on Sunday, that it would be so great to see Aerosmith in concert again, since it’s been about two years since I last saw them in Ft. Lauderdale.
Mere hours after I had that thought, I got the email announcing their Global Warming Tour for this Summer.
Just in time! Presale tickets go on sale tomorrow (actually today already.)
Unfortunately they won’t be playing anywhere near Tampa so I will just have to make the pilgrimage to Boston or New Jersey for one (or both) of their concerts there.
Even after all these years, Aerosmith puts on an awesome show. If you’ve never been to an Aerosmith concert, there is no better time than the present!
I am admittedly an Aerosmith / Steven Tyler fan. However, that does not mean I am crazy and follow whatever it is that he does, nor is Steven Tyler on my mind, on a daily basis. That simple fact makes this next story hilarious!
So – I’m shopping at Macy’s in New York City on a Saturday afternoon. I never go to Macy’s in Florida except for right before I left, I found this really cool (black) hoodie in the men’s department that is my new “go to” jacket.
As I’m wandering through Macy’s, just sort of wasting time and looking at everything, (just to say I had looked at everything), I meander into the men’s department. I start looking at jackets and then I spot some clothing out of the corner of my eye. I walk over to this display of studded jackets and T-shirts with cool designs on the front. I decide that they are definitely “rocker looking” but don’t see anything that I want to buy right then. I’m not a label snob, but I check out the name of the clothing designer and it is Andrew Charles. I wonder who in the hell Andrew Charles is, and just make the mental note to check up on it later.
Flash forward to the next day…I am on Google trying to find something about a store in New York, and I come across some links to Steven Tyler. Of course, being the Steven Tyler devotee that I am, I get distracted from my original mission and I click on the link to find out what it will tell me about Steven Tyler.
Imagine my shock when I read that just a month before, Steven and his two daughters (Mia and Chelsea) were at the Macy’s in Herald Square to launch the new clothing line, by Andy Hilfiger, called Andrew Charles. Apparently Steven collaborated with the Hilfigers on that clothing line and/or Steven was the inspiration for this rock and roll-tinged sportswear collection!
I constantly amaze myself that unconsciously I make the same choices over and over again or I end up liking the same things that I have previously liked.
So, I end up being influenced by Steven Tyler, sometimes, without even knowing it. I like Steven Tyler and I liked the new Andrew Charles clothing line, not even knowing that Steven Tyler was the inspiration for it.
Seems that I did miss out on the best part of this story though…Apparently people who had purchased Andrew Charles clothing prior to the Grand Opening on October 14th, 2011, received “Backstage Passes” so they could have their photo taken with Steven Tyler.
Sigh.
I would have flown to New York and bought the clothing just for that opportunity!
When I first saw this version of Sweet Emotion I was kind of annoyed by it, but then I just had to laugh! Because what could possibly be better, than listening to an Aerosmith song while you’re having phone sex?!
Plus, Steven Tyler looks really hot in this video to boot!
This video is very different from the 1975 version below, but each are great in their own way.
