Aerosmith

at The Providence Civic Center

September 13

The Providence Civic Center was blazingly hot the night of Monday, September 13th. This could have been attributed to the scorching heat of the summer night, or to the tens of thousands of fans packed into the auditorium. More likely, however, the audience would have said that Aerosmith was the hottest element of the night.

Several decades in the business haven't dulled Aerosmith's edge. Rather, these rock and roll veterans have the energy of a band still on the desperate cutting edge. Combined with their innate talent and years of experience at refining their performance, Aerosmith has a rawness that the younger acts can only hope to approach in the years ahead.

Of course, the driving force of Aerosmith remains Steve Tyler. His raspy-throated, pelting voice and wild cavortings roused the crowd from the first moments, when the band began with "Eat the Rich," a song off their new album, Get a Grip.

Early in the night, the group established that, whether they played hits from the '70s, '80s or '90s, they still had the same power and compulsive drive that defines Aerosmith. In the beginning of the set, the group alternately launched into "Back in the Saddle," "Cryin" and "Love in an Elevator," all sounding as fresh as an impromptu jam session.

In fact, in many ways a jam session is what this concert resembled. Every member of the band was highlighted for ten minute solos, an opportunity for them to do what they do best, spontaneously unhindered. The best of these moments was Joe Perry's turn on guitar. He proved that there are few still alive who can approach him for raw style.

Years of experience also gave the band the ability to play the crowd as well as--well, as well as Joe Perry plays guitar. After rousing the crowd to a fever pitch, Aerosmith proceeded to lull them with their rock ballad, "Dream On." Then they returned with the haunting "Janie's Got a Gun" and some of their harder numbers--only to break the mounting tension again by suddenly breaking into the theme from Peter Gunn. When Steve Tyler jokingly asked if everyone knew how it felt to be "Livin' on the Edge," and then began the best and last number of the show, the crowd went wild.

Speaking of "the Man," Steve Tyler was also in top form. During a particularly spirited rendition of "Rag Doll," he seemed hard put to keep from flinging himself into the audience. And by the time the band ripped through the inspired "Sweet Emotion," he simply gave in to his instincts and waded in.

It's easy to see why, after all these years, Aerosmith is more popular than ever before. They have no need to rely on the superficial props of laser shows, revolving stages or video projectors to put on a show. Their music alone, raw and unleashed, more than suffices. Aerosmith remembers what most of today's rock and roll performers seem not yet to have discovered--that rock and roll comes before the performance, and should, in fact, inspire the performance. In a decade where one would be hard put to differentiate between all the Top 40 hits, Aerosmith is a reminder of what rock and roll should still be--loud, brash, ferocious and above all, fun.