1 Rock died because it became self-referential. You got tattoos and put on the clothes and we were supposed to believe you, but even though you sang pretty good and one could tap their toes to your music, the audience didn't feel it in the gut, there was not that visceral response. I'd like to say that something picked up the rock mantle and ran with it, but this would be untrue. At least today. Hip-hop had a good run, but when the most exciting thing is a beef between two artists you know you've lost your way. As for the popsters... If it were only about songs, we'd be living in the early sixties. AND WE ARE! But in 1964... The Beatles arrived and entranced the baby boomer population, which became glued to the radio and drooled in admiration at concerts and... Top 40 evolved into FM. And there were guitarists, and then virtuosos, from Keith Emerson to Rick Wakeman. Boundaries were being pushed. And when it started to fade, MTV came along and reinvigorated the entire scene. And that's when Billy Idol came along. I owned that Generation X LP, the debut, it was 1978 and there was something happening in the U.K. that we couldn't keep our eyes off of. They'd digested the Ramones, and multiple bands were spawned, whereas in the U.S. despite everybody bowing at the altar of the original punk band today, the truth is they were ignored at this time. There was not only punk, but new wave like Elvis Costello and Joe Jackson, and ska with the English Beat, the Specials, Selecter... There was a plethora of these acts, who seemed to come from nowhere, often with no experience, and we hoovered them right up. Some of us. Not everybody. These records did not cross over to the Top 40, but if you were a fan, addicted to the radio, a regular at the record store, you knew. And you were excited. Now what truly broke MTV was the new bands from the U.K., many of which were one hit wonders, but we didn't have a U.S. equivalent to Culture Club and Haircut 100 and no one even wore their hair like Mike Score in A Flock of Seagulls. Reagan was in office, money was paramount, and these acts seemed not to care, and as a result they laughed all the way to the bank. And eventually in the late eighties we got hair band ballads, rockers in spandex, and then Nirvana came along and blew up the past at the same time that Metallica opened an avenue for harder rock and... Since then all we've gotten is imitations. Which leads me to Lizzy Hale. She strutted, she screamed, but it washed right off of me. I could see the act, but it didn't penetrate. She wasn't dangerous. The attitude seemed forced. That's how I felt about the entire first half of last night's show. They'd seen the movie, they knew how to paint the numbers, but it was all ultimately safe. I mean does rock and roll belong in the Hollywood Bowl to begin with? And then came Billy Idol. What has he got to do with Aerosmith? I mean he did exhibit a Rebel Yell, but he started off as a punk, the antithesis to the five from Boston. Then again, Steve Stevens could come out of central casting from the era, the last hurrah, when you had long hair and picked your axe and... I wasn't expecting much, but Billy leaned into "Livin' on the Edge"... I know it, never appreciated it as much as what came before, but last night... I had to look it up on my phone. Sure, Mark Hudson was involved, so you could say there was a ringer, but if you know Hudson...he might have been on that TV show, but he's nothing like his brother who married Goldie Hawn... "There's something wrong with the world today" Ain't that the truth. But all we get with records is escape, cosplay, almost nothing straight to the heart... WE'RE LIVIN' ON THE EDGE! We most certainly are, you used to listen to a band to know which way the wind blew, now you go on social media, where the "musicians" are hawking products as part of the expansion of their band. Billy is leaning into it. Not playing to the audience. But locked into the song. He's DELIVERING IT! And that's what we're looking for. 2 I guess I single out Lizzy Hale because she was trying so hard. Too many of the first half performers were just going through the motions, there were no showstoppers, it was more akin to one of those post-Grammy spectaculars where they honor the work of somebody... You build a cast, some women sprinkled in so you don't get blowback, people show up for the opportunity to be seen and... I'm sitting there thinking I want to be touched. And then I was. By the Black Crowes. Chris Robinson was LEANING INTO IT! Talk about a guy who rubs people the wrong way. Even hard core fans, they can't get over the fact that the reunion left out past band members, especially the drummer who wrote that book. But Chris...DOESN'T SEEM TO CARE! Chris has got ATTITUDE! He's feeling the songs, they're part of him, and his brother Rich is a way underrated guitar player. The Crowes were not trying too hard, they were just doing what they do, with even a sense of humor. There was no issue of image, they gave a shout-out to George Drakoulias, saying they played the next song for the man who discovered them at their audition. And it was NO MORE NO MORE! "Baby I'm a DREAMER Found my horse and carriage" They were all dreamers. It was an utterly long shot. Their parents weren't dunning people to pay attention, oftentimes they just wished their progeny would go back to school, or get a job. But not only did musicians like those in Aerosmith take their own path, they were DIFFERENT! Sure, you might have gone to high school with them, but you lost touch long ago. You heard they were livin' for the city, doin' drugs, going down a dark path. If you thought about them at all, you shook your head, wondering how they chose to go down such a wrong road. AND THEN YOU HEARD DREAM ON ON THE RADIO! Aerosmith's first album came out when Steven Tyler was TWENTY FIVE! May sound young to you today, but if you delve into the weeds... You graduate from high school at eighteen and he spent SEVEN YEARS trying to make it. The Black Crowes didn't need to convince us, they were living the music, which lifted them above the first half acts. Didn't have to be studied, didn't have to be perfect, it just needed to have energy and feel. And then came Guns N' Roses." 3 I still can't forgive them for leaving Izzy out of the reunion. Then again, he was already gone before the first full implosion. But "Dust n' Bones"... That's still my favorite cut from the Illusions. Izzy was the secret sauce. The band hasn't put out truly great, consistent work, since. But they're playing stadiums. Seemingly year after year. Now I know why. THEY KILLED! After a lame review of their first night's performance in the L.A. "Times" I wasn't expecting much, but it could have been 1987, when the band broke. They were loud and raucous and unlike anything else... They were just one step further, louder, more edgy, more obnoxious. And everyone knows Axl is crazy. As are many of our heroes. That's why they do this, to express themselves. They channel something we can relate to. And this is all they can do, they can't fit in in the regular world, do a day job. And this was not the comeback Axl, puffy with corn rows, he was lean and wearing a t-shirt and giving it his all. AND THEY STARTED WITH MAMA KIN! Yes, they reached back to the debut and amped it up in a way that Adrian Barber could not, Aerosmith needed Jack Douglas to lift them up over the line. (Who Tyler gave a shout-out to at the end of the evening, and when the show was over the big screen listed those who were no longer with us. Rock and roll is a hard road, not everybody survives.) GN'R was not going through the motions, THEY WERE THE MOTIONS! Slash has got his Les Paul propped up at an angle. You wouldn't let your daughter go out with these guys. Now in truth, Axl gave a speech that was so calm and heartfelt that it almost had me re-evaluating, was he back on the planet? But when they tore into "Sweet Child o' Mine" and "Nightrain"...he was hopping around like he was high on...who knows what, himself! And he even shimmied! You know that patented Axl move, that sexy squirm that drove the girls wild. He's still got it. They've got it. But W. Axl Rose is 64. That's how much time has passed. Long, long time ago, as Don McLean would sing... Then again, Buddy and those on the plane were his heroes, Guns N' Roses are ours. But not as much as Aerosmith. 4 They were not going to let the opening acts blow them off the stage. No, Aerosmith delivered like their lives depended upon it, they were full bore and... This is an interesting act. Sure, Joe is Steven's sidekick, as Keith is to Mick, but this is definitely Steven's stage, he is the focus. I don't want to denigrate the rest of the band, I just want to say they're not moving, they're not playing it up, they cede the focus to Tyler, who they support at full volume, but... Sure, he's got his outfit and the streamers from his mic stand, but... You wince when Mick starts to dance. Did you see that video where he's in a dance studio rehearsing for the tour after his heart issue? Steven ain't in no dance studio, there's nothing rehearsed, managed about it, it's pure emotion. Which after telling us they were back in the saddle, Tyler implored Tom Hamilton to play... A shiver just went through me... Have you listened to "Sweet Emotion" recently? Of course it's great, but it's more than that... It's ethereal, but with the energy of kryptonite underneath. It starts to boil, and then it EXPLODES! There's a rhythm, you're nodding your head, the vocals are sweet, and then... The band's original manager David Krebs told me rock and roll died because you can't sing lyrics like this anymore. "Stand in front just a shakin' your ass" This wasn't the Beatles. And the Stones were English. But Steven Tyler... This was POSSIBLE! The music turned you into a jumping bean, you could feel it between your legs. "I'll take you backstage you can drink from my glass" And they were game, they begged to be picked. That's the power of rock and roll. "'Cause a month on the road and I'll be eating from you hand" That's the truth...CAN YOU HANDLE THE TRUTH? And then the smoke started to pour out of the white piano wheeled on stage and.... "Every time that I look in the mirror All these lines on my face getting clearer" How many times have you heard "Dream On"? Tyler was insisting this was the FIRST TIME! He demanded attention. And even got on top of the instrument and grooved and I was worried about him up there at 78 with his feet... But he was throwing caution to the wind, which is what a true rocker does, forgets about the pitfalls, it's full steam ahead Mr. Boatswain, full steam ahead. And that brings us to the next song, COME TOGETHER! You wouldn't think they'd play a cover at this show, but... Here comes old flat-top He come grooving up slowly. "Come Together" is the only thing that is remembered from that execrable movie, it's the only thing that DESERVES TO SURVIVE from "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." And then... Tyler remarks that they're the only band that still has all five original members and... Joey Kramer comes in from the wings and... He ain't movin' that well, but he gets up behind the kit and the rhythm is clear, this is "Walk This Way." But not far into it, Tyler stops the music. I feel sorry for Joey. Obviously there's something wrong with his playing, or the band just couldn't find the groove, and I'm giving Tyler props for stopping, needing to get it right. And Tyler's talking and we're waiting for the song to start again... And then it becomes PERFECTLY CLEAR! Rev Run and Darryl McDaniels enter from the wings, bopping, wearing the same hats from 1988, and they're up front and center and now we're truly WALKING THIS WAY! Tyler has ceded the stage. Run and DMC are throwing it down, making you believe you missed out when you didn't go to all those rap shows. The pure energy, the injection of adrenaline, it's the MTV 80's COME ALIVE! Yet it didn't feel like nostalgia, but pure life, a completion of the circle. We're all still here, these are our roots, rock and roll will never die... At least as long as Aerosmith is around. And then the harmonica and... The train is kept a-rollin'. Showing the band's roots, all the way from Tiny Bradshaw to the Yardbirds to Lake Sunapee. All energy, all cylinders firing. And then it was done. 5 So what did we learn? There's a reason certain acts are considered legends, why their music sustains. And it's more than what's in the grooves, it's the identity of the band members, the attitude, it's the other. Now the legend is true. Most of the time you meet your heroes and they disappoint you. But I always say NOT STEVEN TYLER! I woke up one morning to a message, Tyler was calling me from the studio, he was working with Ringo... And when I called back I chided him. WHAT ARE YOU DOING UP AT TEN A.M., DIDN'T YOU READ THE ROCK AND ROLL MANUAL? And without missing a beat, Tyler said... I THREW THAT MANUAL OUT YEARS AGO! He's that guy. He's Steven Tyler. The guy you see on stage. And it was his night. Not that the rest of the band wasn't great, didn't deliver, but it was Tyler who put on the brakes, took the band off the road. And now he's back? ABSOLUTELY! -- Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/ -- Listen to the podcast: -iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj -Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp -- http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz -- If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter, http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1 If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25 To change your email address http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=preferences&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25
