Mother Popcorn & The Wolfchild….

Aerosmith/The Cult/Oct 15 2001/Target Center/Minneapolis Minnesota/Just Push Play World Tour

Being that it was my birthday a week before Tbone splurged and got us great seats and we took the trek down to Minnie to catch Aerosmith with openers the Cult in which we were really psyched to see…..

The Cult were pluggging there first album in about 6 years the very good Beyond Good And Evil kind of reunion album so to speak and the main culprits Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy were back along with Matt Sorum, Billy Morrison on bass and some dude that looked the Edge from U2 playing rhythm guitar wearing a cowboy hat!

Tbone and myself have loved the Cult for many moons but they were always one of the elusive acts that we had not gotten around to seeing live until now and here they are right before our eyes!

Billy Duffy leads the charge with that all too familiar opening riff of Lil Devil and we’re off! Here comes a lean mean Ian Astbury with a bandana wrapped around his noggin and he’s slammimg the tambourine around like no ones business and fuckin hell this is what live rock n roll is about! The basics man and the Cult just keep it simple friends!

So how does the Cult follow up with Lil Devil…simple they go head first into Peace Dog and Yep me and Tbone have officially lost our shit! 2 songs in and it’s basically our greatest hits set being played live before our eyes! The Cult than slams the third song out and it’s Sweet Soul Sister…like holy hell what a pace the Cult are putting down! Classic after classic is played! From there it’s time to plug the current release with Rise and True Believers(dedicated to the people of 9/11) and from there the Cult punch the gas with Wild Flower,Fire Woman,She Sells Sanctuary and closer….Love Removal Machine!

The Cult showed up,rocked and kicked our asses big time! Tbone and myself agree that the Cult had one of the best opening sets ever we had witnessed! Like i said earlier! The Cult played a greatest hits catered to me and Tbone! Awesome…….

After short turnover here comes Aerosmith pushing Just Push Play…

Aero has a super duper big stage with the soon to be typical cat walk that stretches almost half way out on the floor,huge video screen and a real cool lighting rig that is massive and slick! I noticed on this tour as well as the Get A Grip and Nine Lives shows  that Joe Perry has about 10 different kind of amp configurations behind him and man it must be loud on his side of the stage! No wonder Steve Tyler is constantly yelling at him to turn it down!

Aero hits  the stage with Beyond Beautiful(best track off current release) and the Aero boys segue right into Love In A Elevator,you know you’re catalogue is deep in hits when you can play one of your biggest hits second song in! Aero knows the game as current single Jaded and the title track from the current album Just Push Play are performed!

So if you have been a fan of Live Aerosmith as long as me and Tbone have been you know that Tyler blasting the harmonica is a prerequisite of any live Aero show and Big Ten Inch( watch the video posted) and Pink are played back 2 back! Also these guys never forget there roots so it’s time for some Mama Kin and a real throwback with Walkin The Dog and the bigge Aeroballad Dream On,a three pack  from there debut! One of my favs from the MTV Aero is played and that’s Eat The Rich ( love that tune,never get tired of hearing it!)  Another newbie track is played (Drop Dead Gorgeous) that kinda is there to be honest. Aero senses this and man there’s Perry laying down the slide guitar and everyone’s fav Draw The Line is cranked and were now all back on board!

The big Pump hit or one of em Janie’s Got A Gun is played and goes over like gangbusters with the MTV generation! And in keeping with the program Sunshine the 4th and last track to be played off of said current release is performed for me personally I like the first two tracks from Just Push Play(Beyond Beautiful and the title track) than the other two (Drop Dead Gorgeous and Sunshine) but still I know the game Ya gotta plug the current album and now were offically into hit county with Cryin but I kinda dig it live,more harp playing from Tyler( love that shit!)

Ok folks heres the part of the program where it gets dicey for me and yeah man that Aerosap Armageddon ballad is played. This is not Aerosmith this is Aerowood(Hollywood) not my cup of tea but millions love it soooooo be it! But here’s the interesting part towards the end of it they jam Mother Popcorn! Yeah that one,from Live Bootleg….holy shit there’s some street cred giving on  there with that move ! Well done Aero!

Aerosmith kicks the MTV kids to the curb and launches into Walk This Way and than  into a few bars of Uncle Salty and here comes the feedback and Joes talk box and Sweet Emotion is rocked to the masses!

Aerosmiths encore consists of Livin On The Edge(another fav) and Steve Tyler doing a acapella version by himself no less of What It Takes from Pump and the night ends off with Train Kept A Rollin!

Aero showed up and they are a fine well oiled live machine and this performance did not disappoint! Actually they never do! Looking back yeah Just Push Play was not one of there best albums to say the least but they still rocked the songs that me and Tbone Love!

The Cult man! Its the Cult they knew the deal and they delivered! One great packaged live show!

3/4’s Filler….Aerosmith/Just Push Play

You know when Tbone suggested I do reviews on albums that I thought were misses well theres a pile of EM but I would have never thought about Aerosmith!  Well,  I mean for the majority of comments from my review earlier on with Smiths Done With Mirrors it was debatable where I loved that record but some of my fellow bloggers thought it was poop and fair enuff man we gotta debate once in a while and it’s good to not agree with everything that being said,ok I will stop yapping…..

So in 2001 after the hype of the Jaded single which I thought was good not great here comes Aerosmith with the tuity fruity album cover that so reminds me of another 3/4’s filler album that was firmly lodged in Tbones tape case( drum roll ) Autographs That’s The Stuff( Tbone should review Autograph) and man ugh! But you can’t judge a disc by its cover so let’s dig a little deep into this record and I will try and explain to you what I thought went wrong with Just Push Play!

Now Don’t get me wrong here there’s a few tracks here I like and well let’s see as I dig into Steve and Joe’s stash….

BEYOND BEAUTIFUL- this is into the early 2000’s a new sounding AeroForce 1 headed into unchartered air space and for a opening number it’s pretty good. The guitars are sounding good kinda Zeppish and Tyler of course sounds good and this song i really dig!

JUST PUSH PLAY- Fuckin A…..hahaha….actually Steve nails out a pretty cool loudspeaker vibe about SUMTHIN to do,with smoking all the Gangja! I guess old habits are hard to,let go eh Steve? Seriously this is like hippy hop pity Aerosmith and I’m good with it I mean Ya gotta change with the times right? So give the boys there due, they were trying and well that’s what I say so Just Push Play!( sorry that was pathetic)! Bottom line this is a cratchy post 2000 Aerotune!

SUNSHINE- now when me and Tbone caught the Just Push Play tour that year(review a comin tomorrow) Aero was plugging this song and they played it live. It’s ok but when I think of later day Aero singles there are way better songs as singles  out there! (Livin On The Edge,Love In A Elevator,Eat The Rich for instance) ummm ok Angel was sap,Sunshine is better than Angel but uggggh.

JADED- yeah this was ok..somewhat catchy chrous but it’s Radio Aero 98.5 on your dial! Naaa not really for me….

DROP DEAD GORGEOUS- played this live on tour that me and Tbone seen…can’t even recall how it goes…

LIGHT INSIDE-Tom Hamiltons bass grumbles along on this song and the verses are excellent as is the guitar solos but the chorus is weak just kinda goofy and isn’t it usually the chorus that has the hook? I dunno but close call but man geez….

Well this is gonna be short and sweet …that’s it folks I can’t even go there with the other tracks as I haven’t listened to them in years and nor do I really want to……

IN CONCLUSION-   you quickly realize that Aerosmith still has to play the game and I really think that  the  Aerosap Armaggeddon soundtrack song(I refuse to type it) messed with there psychey and they needed to chase after another one of these deals(hit) to stay current and it’s like Steve and Joe were doing drugs in the musical sense of outside influences were messing with there stash!(songwriting style) Say what Ya want about Nine Lives(fuckin love that record) but it was more true to there sound but man where into the early 2,000s and Aerosmith go all Disney on our asses with that Armageddon soundtrack tune ( yeah I’m ragging!)and leave us the true hard core fan base going……WTF!