Almost 4 decades since their inception, AEROSMITH with all their ups 'n' downs remain a Rock 'n' Roll institution. The bad boys from Boston, better "later than never" paid Greece a visit. Now, many newer Rock fans may piss 'n' moan about getting to see most of the bigger bands at the tail end of their career, usually under-performing while doing a cash-grab reunion tour, but believe me when I say that AEROSMITH have visited us at the peak of their career.

But let's start at the start: arriving at Pireaus at about 6pm, worried like hell as I was running on empty, I had little trouble to get to the stadium, whose parking lots seemed inexplicably unavailable (boo). Another annoyance had to do with the fact that the arena was divided into different price zones and to that effect about 3,000 holding the dearer Area "A" tickets had to enter the stadium from a single entrance. This obviously caused a degree of frustration, as people had to wait and sweat together along with a bunch of strangers before they could make it into the stadium (boo squared).

Entering the stadium, I was pleasantly taken by the setup, but once I walked down to the arena I was befuddled by a couple of things. The stage seemed rather small and was not elevated enough, so I guess the more vertically challenged people at Arena "B" must have had a hard time, trying to watch what was going on through the rather small, to justify the name, "giant" projector screens. Also a minor quibble could be made about the catering and merchandising. Utilizing people with back-mounted beer dispensers and centralizing the rather expensive merchandise (crisis? what crisis?) would have worked better. Also another bright idea, when doing a stadium show and one that I hope a lot of organizers will consider following, would be that of vertically setting the stage, along the football pitch, so that people are closer to the stage and that the angle of view is greater, provided that the side stage screens are big enough.

The support band, LIVAN, took the stage rather unceremoniously and while they weren't criminally bad, their alternative post Pop/Rock style, reminiscent of a poor man's DEPECHE MODE, and the queer looks of the singer who bore a striking similarity to the boys from RIGHT SAD FRED crossed with Johan Edlund, with whom he also shared a similar baritone quality, were as far removed from the headliners flamboyant Rock style as they could possibly be. This weird selection, begs the question why the organizer would not have drafted another 3 or 4 real Rock bands (Y&T, WIG WAM, STEEL PANTHER, Michael Monroe and a few more are avail in Europe) or a bigger one (THE CULT or CINDERELLA) to attract the "real" Rock crowd, the demographic that this concert was supposed to target. Any of these stage-tested acts would have provided added value and excitement to the show and would have in all probability made a few more rockers show up than those who actually did, possibly helping the show to break even (I guess the 12,000+ crowd must have not offset the production costs for the organizers). Obviously the fact that 'Sonisphere' fest was a week apart must have not helped either, but pitting a mini-Fest in the heart of the city against a 'proper' one an hour's drive from the metropolis might have had a better chance of recouping the costs.

At any rate, the weird mix of the crowd (rockers, Pop fans, moms and their pubescent daughters who might have only been there for the ballads and some riff raff/event goers, that don't particularly care what the event is, as long as they're there) made me skeptical about the reception that the band would have but I carried on sipping some beer and casually conversing with various 'friends' and 'associates' for a while.

Then a little before 10pm the stadium lights went down and the stage lights ignited…a huge AEROSMITH banner was unfurled, covering the stage and before we knew it the bad boys from Boston were 'going down' making "Love In An Elevator". Just like 'Sweden Rock' a week ago, or 'Arrow Festival' a couple o' years back I knew what to expect, but nonetheless, the reality of how good AEROSMITH are live, even at this day and age, just hit me like a hammer! Bang! "Back In The Saddle" saw Tyler getting warmed up, and shedding of his shirt, making all weird horsey noises and dancing away like a crazy fool in a cool pantaloon (yiha I rhymed!) a criss-cross of selections from "Nine Lives" and "Get A Grip" followed in the form of "Falling In Love (Is Hard On Your Knees)", "Eat The Rich", "Pink" and "Livin' On The Edge" before the band launched into "What It Takes" from "Pump", which really got some of the 80s fans going. Tyler was the undeniable star of the show, magnetizing and mesmerizing everyone with his oozing, overflowing charisma and he was saved by the band's keyboard player Russ Irvine, who also was acting as a backup singer on some rare occasions that he was out of breath while running up and down the stage like a teenager. His 'Toxic Twin', Joe Perry, was too cool for words laying down some mean guitar along with the unsung hero, Brad Whitford, a mean guitar man in his own right…who didn't quite demand much of the spotlight.

"Rag Doll" also received an airing, making the band's set list slightly different to the previous ones and most of all to the Swedish one that I really had a first hand account of. Most welcome addition, possibly ousting "Jaded" out of the setlist. No real harm done. "Crazy" and "Cryin'" sent moms and daughters reaching to their purses for a Kleenex and while I love both songs and accompanying videos I couldn't say I was thrilled, as I would have preferred something funkier and sexier, maybe something like "Walk On Water". Joey Kramer, who was also a b-day boy and got a "happy b-day" sung by the crowd after Steve's motivation, did a more than decent drum solo which he interlarded with some tom-tom head butts and snare and cymbal slaps for comic effect.

"Lord Of The Thighs" sent a shiver down my spine with it's sexy, sleazy, bearback and sly rhythm…"Ooohhh I'm yo man, child lord of the thigh-high–ZA!" Ohhhh, ya! FLEETWOOD MAC's "Stop Messin' Around" was also given an airing, with Joe Perry assuming the vocals and Steven funking about… during the downtime…as the band jammed away for a while. The obligatory, tearjerker/vomit bag educing "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing" was performed to perfection, unlike Sweden, with the entire stadium joining in…I kinda like the song, but I kinda hate it as well. Having to watch Bruce Willis in a movie is bad enough, having to watch him while you're watching one of your favourite bands perform however is far worse. Thankfully, Liv Tyler's image was flickering more during the song on the screen and while unlike dear old Bruce she hasn't saved the world a couple of hundred times, her image alone made the song pass away pleasurably (I m just exaggerating but what the heck).

"Sweet Emotion" gave the show a much needed boost with its thumping driving bass riff, courtesy of Mr. Tom Hamilton. A further solo ensued, in the form of Theremin - etherophone/guitar solo by JP that incorporated parts of Hendrix's "Third Stone From The Sun" in a whacked rendition and really blew our minds, to be followed by Big Joe Williams' "Baby Please Don't Go" that might have been popularized by Van Morrison, but has also been covered much like "Stop Messing Around" by the band on 2004's "Honking On Bobo" covers album. "Draw The Line" proved to be a critical turn. It was the end of the normal show and the band walked off the stage to recuperate for a few minutes, before stepping up again for an encore that included a fantastic and note perfect rendition of the timeless classic that "Dream On" is – that left people gasping for breath, a funky and uplifting airing of the vibed up "Walk This Way" that was one of the biggest hits for the band in the 80s and a frantically ripping version of "Toys In The Attic" that brought the show to a conclusion. Joe Perry got so carried away that he actually drove his guitar through one of the stage fans completely f#$@@#$' it up at the end of the show! That's pretty wild Rock 'n' Roll 4 ya, I guess!

Well, what more can I say than that this was the best concert I've witnessed on Greek soil so far this year and it's unlike to be surpassed, as far as I am concerned. AEROSMITH are "back in the saddle" and they're untouchable! Locked, cocked stocked and loaded, firing on all six, there's no other band or artist that I can think of that could compete or compare with them right now on an artistic or performance level, all things considered. Bring on a new album and tour asap! Oh, and play "No Surprise" godamn it!

AEROSMITH Rocks! Definitely!

(photos by Vagia Anagnostou)

LIVAN