Aerosmith (Supported by The Dead Daisies) 

Brisbane Entertainment Centre             01.05.13

A quick look around at the crowd on arrival saw a sea of mullets, midriffs and manky male perms. There were ladies wearing next to nothing and ‘dudes lookin’ like ladies’…. literally. The rock’n’roll adventure was underway.

Supports The Dead Daisies took the stage with former Noiseworks frontman Jon Stevens at the helm and David Lowy on guitar. Superb guitar work from Lowy really added flavour to each tune, their cover of Free’s ‘All Right Now’ explosive, with Stevens breaking out some enthusiastic Tambo’! The same can’t be said about the concluding set, finishing with a sloppy cover of ‘Helter Skelter’.

Then, like an instant ominous presence beaming out over the crowd, the lights dropped to a booming audiovisual presentation on the screen. ‘Be prepared for music from another dimension’ bellowed over the speaker system. Smoke, thunder, flashing lights ensued, an Aerosmith logo was emblazoned on the floor of the stage – and then they emerged. Steven Tyler in an Indian headdress, oversized sunglasses and Joe Perry with axe in hand on the catwalk stage extension reaching through the crowd.

Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler is a man of charisma. He’s a man of substance, a sexual being. Don’t get me wrong, he’s not physically attractive (to me) in any way, but he’s got the moves, the voice and of course, that gargantuan mouth.  With the first spoken words out of it sounding out ‘Any baby’s born yet?’ it was clear that his aim was to impregnate every last person’s ears with the splendid sound of rock’n’roll.

With strategically placed electric fans situated at the end of the stage extension and at the front of the stage, Tyler’s hair was in a constant blow-dry, epically gusted back each time he leaned towards the breeze. Opening their journey through 40 plus years of hits with ‘Love in an Elevator’ the mix was a little muddy however by the time they pulled out ‘Jaded’ it really kick-started.

‘Janie’s Got a Gun’ ,clearly the best song of the night, saw the whole band a little more reflective at the darker subject matter. For a band who haven’t toured Australia for 24 years, fans were ecstatic to hear all the classics including the power ballad ‘Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing’, ‘Walk This Way’ and ‘Dude Looks Like a Lady’ with Tyler’s voice still spot on after two and a half decades.

Following an impressive drum solo from Joey Kramer that saw him hitting his kit with his fists and head and a well-suited cover of The Beatle’s ‘Come Together’ it was almost time for the wonderful madness to end. The showy Tyler re-emerged for an encore, donning a majestic animal print jacket for ‘Dream On’, as Perry helmed a white grand piano for some power chords (and thrusts). ‘Sweet Emotion’ followed, ending it all with confetti cannon, the perfect glitzy finish to a few hours of impeccable showmanship. Tell you what, I was feeling pretty pregnant by the end of it.

– Words by Vivienne Hill

– Photography by Thomas Oliver