Aerosmith Not Content To Play Out The String

Aerosmith and Motley Crue share similar histories. The former set the bar high for sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll in the '70s, while the latter took that bar, flatlined after a heroin overdose, then signed it out of the hospital to cook up a fresh eight ball. Since those tumultuous years, however, both groups have rebounded from drug and alcohol abuse to achieve great success.

Together, they co-headlined the Route Of All Evil tour with battered lineups. Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler had surgery on his throat earlier in the year and recently revealed that he has Hepatitis C. Bassist Tom Hamilton is sitting out the tour while he recovers from radiation treatment for throat cancer, and Motley Crue guitarist Mick Mars underwent hip replacement surgery two years ago and is still battling degenerative bone disease. But the illness, a history of debauchery and onsite nurses are where the similarities between the two groups end.

Motley Crue began their set with a promising tribal theme before kicking the night off with "Dr. Feelgood." Unfortunately that's the last we would see of the tribal theme as it was quickly replaced with a predominantly satanic motif. Crue have always used pentagrams and cartoonish devil imagery, but the inverted crucifixes were a little too extreme for these former glam rock pretty boys. Remember guys, you're Motley Crue, not Dimmu Borgir.

Even shots of George Bush during "Shout At The Devil" seemed a little out of the band's range. Eventually, they ditched the political and religious imagery and brought out the bitches. During "Looks That Kill," scantily clad women danced inside of cages hung from the ceiling. During strip club anthem "Girls, Girls, Girls," the Crue were joined by — what else? — strippers. Images of girls "doing stuff" to each other also appeared on the screen. It was all very cheesy and all vintage Crue.

Singer Vince Neil had a tough time getting the crowd energized, as most of the night's attendees were just beginning to file into the ACC during their set. It wasn't his fault, though. The crowd was lukewarm for most of the night. Why is it that the more expensive the ticket, the shittier the crowd gets? At $120 for the good seats, the lamest of the lame were definitely out on this night.

The loudest ovation the group received early on came when Neil mentioned Aerosmith and drummer Tommy Lee did the opening to "Walk This Way." Four songs in, Neil's voice began to give and he couldn't hold any notes. He was able to fake his way through "Live Wire" and "Same Ol' Situation (S.O.S)," but then came Motley Crue's biggest ballad, "Home Sweet Home." After making the crowd sing the entire first verse and trying to divert attention to a sexy redhead doing some Cirque Du Soleil acrobatics over Lee's kit, you could tell Neil was dreading singing a cappella. Lucky for him, bassist Nikki Sixx and Mars were able to drown out his voice.

The rest of the Crue set wasn't as bad. In a band filled with personalities, it's funny that the one behind Motley Crue's kit emerged as one of the biggest ever. Despite the reality shows, sex tapes and questionable musical projects, you have to love Lee for the amount of fun he always seems to have — or hate him for the exact same reason. Either way, no other Crue member was able to generate a louder reaction from the crowd than Lee, who celebrated his 44th birthday in front of the ACC crowd with a bottle of Jagermeister and a "pussy cake."

By the end of the set, Neil could only speak the words to the songs. Motley Crue ended their set with Sixx smashing his bass. The six blasts of pyro that exploded with every smash indicated that the stunt was planned. But at that point, it was sort of symbolic. Something as simple as smashing a guitar to pieces took the Crue so much effort to execute that it ended up being anticlimactic.

A short video montage of young and old Aerosmith photos was shown before the curtains dropped for "Toys In The Attic." A runway stretched several rows into the crowd, allowing fans to get intimate with guitar virtuoso Joe Perry and Tyler, who got about as close to his adoring fans as he possibly could without kissing them.

By the time the band played "Mama Kin," they'd blown Crue out of the water. Earlier in the year, Aerosmith had to cancel several dates because of Tyler's throat problems, which many thought marked the beginning of the end for Aerosmith. However, this night marked a whole new beginning for the Boston quintet. At 58, only five years younger than rock 'n' roll Methuselah Mick Jagger, Tyler outshone the Stones legend, Vince Neil and any other frontman in every imaginable way. His unmistakable banshee wail reached glass-shattering highs, and he was perfectly sleazy. Tyler doesn't just grab his crotch. 50 Cent grabs his crotch. Tyler caresses his dick.

The unsung heroes of Aerosmith, who are basically everyone else in the band minus Tyler and Perry, don't get as much attention as they deserve. Then again, they do play in a band featuring two of the biggest American classic rock icons of all time. Still, guitarist Brad Whitford's lead guitar work on "Last Child" was outstanding, and drummer Joey Kramer was solid all night.

Last week, John Frusciante stole the spotlight during the two nights the Chili Peppers played the ACC. Having seen both bands, it's obvious the RHCP guitarist also stole Joe Perry's stance. Way before Frusciante and Slash were rocking the open-button-down-with-hair-over-the-face look, Perry immortalized the pose with the kind of look and skills that have earned him guitar god status. You can pick any song from the evening and Perry was flawless.

In a refreshing move, the band strayed away from the typical greatest hits set, much to the dismay of the aforementioned lame fans in the audience who were wondering why they didn't get to hear "Dude (Looks Like A Lady)." That said, even I missed "Rag Doll," but the group did a great job of alternating between the smashes, like "Dream On" and "Cryin'," and songs that showcased their blues-inspired roots, such as "Rattlesnake Shake." The audience finally woke up when Aerosmith tackled encore tracks "Sweet Emotion" and "Walk This Way."

At this point, it's fair to say the Crue had a nice run, but will have to remain content with being one of the best bands of the '80s hair metal era. Aerosmith, on the other hand, keep rolling on as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, American rock 'n' roll band ever.