Aerosmith News

via PopCultureBlog.DallasNews.com

Joe Perry and Steven Tyler ascended in a cloud of billowy smoke from underneath the end of a long catwalk. It was a quintessential rock entrance tailored for a sold-out arena crowd. Tyler, his trademark scarves-draped microphone stand at his black nail-polished fingertips, immediately launched into 1977′s “Draw the Line.”

Rock ‘n’ roll familiarity never fails to send an energizing electric rush through a receptive audience. So the packed house Saturday night at American Airlines Center reacted in kind, giving Aerosmith instant approval.

It’s been two years since Tyler and company played Dallas. It’s also been eight years since the iconic rock band released a new studio album. Music From Another Dimension! will arrive in early November, and Aerosmith performed a couple of catchy, rhythmic numbers from the project – “Oh Yeah” and “Legendary Child.”

But the “Global Warming Tour,” opened by special guest Cheap Trick, was all about the staples. For the first trek after Tyler officially vacated the American Idol judge chair, the group dipped into material from albums released in the ’70s, ’80s, ’90s and 2000s. They even dusted off their cover of the Beatles’ “Come Together,” which they recorded for 1978′s soundtrack to the film fiasco Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Tyler, Perry, drummer Joey Kramer, bassist Tom Hamilton and rhythm guitarist Brad Whitford were all in fine form. Tyler pranced around in his usual glam-fortified fashion as if he owned the stage. Perry gave us a memorable guitar solo standing by an amp dressed with an American flag. Kramer’s drum solo was a muscular, no-frills triumph.

Assisted by a couple of female background vocalists as well as keyboardist Russ Irwin and percussionist Jesse Sky Kramer (Joey’s son), the Aerosmith guys seamlessly floated between the earlier, classic sound and the latter, more commercially punchy style. “Same Old Song and Dance,” “Sweet Emotion,” “Walk This Way” and “Dream On” blended with “Love In an Elevator,” “Livin’ On the Edge,” “Pink” and “Rag Doll.”

Aerosmith always managed to reinvent itself for the masses without losing its inherent musicality. Power ballads notwithstanding, especially the cringe-inducing “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing,” the Boston-formed band stayed true to its creative forces. That’s why 42 years after its inception, Aerosmith still sells out arenas.

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