Live Review: Aerosmith, The Dead Daisies

Undoubtedly, excitement is in the air tonight as Aerosmith hits Brisbane for the first time in 20 years and this here jaunt – entitled the Global Warming Tour – attracts an age-group cross section that can only be owed to having a song in Armageddon. Well, perhaps not, but regardless, there are as many teens as there are aging rockers, clearly identifying with Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Joey Kramer and the others like it was the early-'80s.

But first up is support band The Dead Daisies, featuring an all-star cast of members from Guns N' Roses, Thin Lizzy, Divinyls (though drummer Charlie Drayton is notably absent tonight), The Angels, Dragon, Robert Palmer and fronted by vocal powerhouse Jon Stevens. Not to be over-thought or over-analysed, The Dead Daisies play good ol' fashioned rock music and are darn good at it too. Stevens remains a true vocal force as he rips apart covers of Free (All Right Now), Faces (Stay With Me) and The Beatles (Helter Skelter), while cramming originals in between for good measure.

Suddenly the bombastic stage is covered in smoke while Lil Jon & The Eastside Boyz' Get Low rouses the crowd to distraction point. Distracted enough to perhaps even miss Steven Tyler and Joe Perry emerge from the middle of the audience from the extended catwalk, while the remaining members of Aerosmith lead the charge from the main stage space and embark on what is probably the only way that tonight's set should begin – Love In An Elevator. Needless to say, the crowd is in raptures taking on the backing chants with aplomb and the hits simply keep coming – Toys In The Attic and Jaded don't dampen the excitement any, while Cryin' provides tonight's first lighters-in-the-air moment. The 65-year-old Steven Tyler doesn't miss a beat, though he's prepared with lyric prompters at the edge of every stage corner. He openly flirts quite outrageously with girls half his daughter's age and generally behaves like the teenager, trying to get the rock'n'roll behaviour sparked, somewhat difficult on a Wednesday night. 

Janie's Got A Gun becomes an early highlight and drummer Joey Kramer takes it into a solo, something much too long and pretty unimpressive. The impressive does occur in the form of Livin' On The Edge, perhaps tonight's highlight. I Don't Want To Miss A Thing is pulled out, as is a cover of The Beatles' Come Together. But the surreal comes in the form of Dude (Looks Like A Lady), Walk This Way and an encore performance of Dream On, complete with grand piano-shaped clavichord placed at the end of the catwalk for remarkable rock shapes from the iconic pairing of Tyler and Perry, like only a band from their era would dare to pull off.