Live Review: Aerosmith, Wolfmother, Grinspoon

There's plenty of room on the hill when we wander down and take our seats in time for Grinspoon. The band have still got it and Pat Davern's guitar wizardry doesn't go unnoticed. Tracks such as Thrills, Kills & Sunday Pills and More Than You Are stand up and Phil Jamieson's a captivating frontman. He jokes about wearing “Iain Hewiston suspenders”, but they look rad and match the red cup from which he imbibes.

Audience members flood the front section to dance to Wolfmother. Putting on a floppy, black-felt chick's hat is a mistake made by Andrew Stockdale, although the svelte frontman's arse always looks smokin' in a pair of Wranglers. And what this band brings is always world class. There's a catfight in the mosh with one casualty given her marching orders. Attention local 'heroes' who like to bag Stockdale: become as accomplished a singer/guitarist as he is, sell as many records as he has and then open your cake-hole to comment. Woman, Joker & The Thief and New Moon Rising; holy crap, when Stockdale sings along with the impossibly high, debilitating riff we're completely won over. Stockdale acknowledges this is the last gig the band will perform under the Wolfmother moniker and invites us all to their next one. Long Way To Go, the first taste from Stockdale's solo EP, is a face melter and the musicians he's currently rolling with – especially former drummer with The Vines, Hamish Rosser – are top notch. Proudly team Stockdale.

Too many amps to count are set up for our mighty headliners, Aerosmith. And of course they have a catwalk for Steve Tyler to sashay down. Love In An Elevator opens and it's guns blazin' from the get-go. They don't breed 'em like Tyler anymore. There's three printed scarves flowing from his mic stand and Tyler throws a pair of novelty sunnies (and later a harmonica during Livin' On The Edge!) into the crowd – pukka souvenirs worth fighting for. Being in Tyler's presence is precious, such is his charisma and how massive is that gob! “Gooday!” he says in exaggerated fashion. Cryin' shows off Tyler's sustained vocal chops and we have flashbacks to the video clip featuring Alicia Silverstone (getting her bellybutton pierced) and Stephen Dorff (being a dick). Tyler's XXX-rated heavy-breathing interlude gets pulses racing – “You can't help yourself at all,” can you Tyler?

Tyler's introducing Janie's Got A Gun as a song about “child abuse and related issues” brings added gravitas to the performance. Legendary guitarist Joe Perry is labelled “my blood brother in arms” by Tyler and the pair even have matching blonde/grey streaks in their hair. Perry's axe is a work of art with a portrait of his wife Billie (who resembles a Baywatch babe) emblazoned across it. The guitarist also has his own personal Beyoncé fan. The macho blokes in the crowd seem hesitant to sing along with I Don't Want To Miss A Thing (aka the Armageddon song), but it makes chicks moist. Tyler is the real deal. He emotes with every lyric as if he experienced the inspiration behind it yesterday. Aerosmith's cover of Come Together by The Beatles sounds wonderfully dirty. After acknowledging drummer Joey Kramer is pissed off he didn't get a solo, Tyler demands an impromptu one to make up for it. Whether or not the song's actually inspired by Mötley Crüe lead singer Vince Neil, thank fuck for (Dude) Looks Like A Lady – it's an absolute belter. To enhance Run DMC collab Walk This Way, Tyler welcomes a coupla young b-boys – who were apparently break dancing out the front of the band's hotel – to execute some backspins on the catwalk.

For the encore, Tyler plays honkytonk piano on Dream On. Perry stands on top of the piano to get busy with some riffs. Does he really need to expose quite so much chest? Tyler joins his bro' on top of the piano and then their exceptional keyboard player Russ Irwin takes over. As larger than life as Tyler himself, you should see the size of his maraca! Here's hoping another 20 years don't pass until we welcome this matchless band to our stages once more.