Live Reviews

The 40 greatest concerts in Boston history: 24

Aerosmith | Downstairs at the Middle East | November 9, 1995

By PHOENIX STAFF | October 25, 2006

concerts_24

Aerosmith

In the midst of their umpteenth comeback, Aerosmith followed a surprise show at Mama Kin’s with a raw and uncut gig at the Middle East — one of the best of their post-rehab years. Forgoing the usual arena extras of huge keyboard swells and extra backing vocalists, they presaged Honkin’ on Bobo (Columbia) by getting down to the nitty-gritty blues at the heart of their sound, with a set that featured many rarely played oldies, and similarly styled new tunes (the best of which — “What Kind of Love Are You On” — only ever appeared as a B-side). That long-promised Aerosmith blues album seemed just around the corner that night as Steven Tyler and Joe Perry proved they still had one of the leanest, meanest hard-rock bands of their era.

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Topics: Live Reviews , Aerosmith, Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, More

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The 40 greatest concerts in Boston history: 24

I was at this Aerosmith show. In fact, they played the very next night at the now defunct club they once partially owned, Mama Kin. I was lucky enough to get into both shows, which they played under two different fake names. The Middle East show in particular was a test for any arena-rock band because it was a stripped-down set with only the core band members and no effects. They mostly played somewhat unknown and newer material, so it wasn't the songs that made such an impression. It was the fact that when you stripped away all the glamour, glitz, and even the hit songs, Aerosmith was simply one of the best bands I'd ever heard. They were really that good. In fact, they were so good that not a single drunken knucklehead shouted "Dream On" through the entire set. Can you believe it? David Avery Powderfinger Promotions

By DMAvery on 10/26/2006 at 2:18:43

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