Watch AEROSMITH play first concert in two and a half years

06-09-2022

AEROSMITH played its first concert in more than two and a half years last night (Sunday, September 4) in Bangor, Maine.

Prior to the show at Maine Savings Amphitheater, the band’s last live performance took place in February 2020 in Las Vegas as part of AEROSMITH‘s “Deuces Are Wild” residency.

The setlist for last night’s concert was as follows:

Back In The Saddle
02. Same Old Song And Dance
03. Rag Doll
04. Mama Kin
05. Remember (Walking In The Sand)(THE SHANGRI‐LAS cover) (first time played live since 2017)
06. Stop Messin’ Around (FLEETWOOD MAC cover)
07. Hangman Jury
08. Seasons Of Wither
09. Livin’ On The Edge
10. Full Circle (First Time Played Live Since 2013)
11. Cryin’
12. The Other Side
13. I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing
14. Love In An Elevator
15. Sweet Emotion
16. Dude (Looks Like A Lady)

Encore:

17. Dream On
18. Walk This Way
19. Big Ten Inch Record (BULL MOOSE JACKSON cover)

Four months ago, AEROSMITH announced that singer Steven Tyler had entered a treatment program following a recent relapse, prompting the band to put their Las Vegas residency on a temporary hold. AEROSMITH has canceled its previously announced June and July 2022 dates for its Las Vegas residency, “Aerosmith: Deuces Are Wild”, while singer Steven Tyler concentrates on “his health and recovery.”

In May (Tuesday, May 24), the hard rock legends released the following statement via social media: “As many of you know, our beloved brother Steven has worked on his sobriety for many years. After foot surgery to prepare for the stage and the necessity of pain management during the process, he has recently relapsed and voluntarily entered a treatment program to concentrate on his health and recovery.

“We are truly sorry to inform our fans and friends that we must cancel our first set of Las Vegas Residency dates this June and July while he focuses on his well-being.

“We will continue our 2022 dates starting in September, and we’ll let you know any further updates as soon as we can. We are devastated that we have inconvenienced so many of you, especially our most loyal fans who often travel great distances to experience our shows.

“Thank you for your understanding and for your support for Steven during this time.

“If you purchased your tickets via Ticketmaster, you will be refunded and will receive an email shortly with details, otherwise please contact your point of purchase for information on refunds.”

Three years ago, Tyler — whose vast consumption of cocaine, heroin and alcohol in the 1970s earned him and bandmate Joe Perry the nickname “The Toxic Twins” — said that he had a lot of fun drinking and using drugs.

“You have a shot of Jack Daniel’s and you play Madison Square Garden and you get offstage and you go clubbing with Jimmy Page — come on!” the 74-year-old said. “After two encores in Madison Square Garden, you don’t go and play shuffleboard. Or Yahtzee, you know? You go and rock the fuck out. You’ve done something that you never thought you could, and you actually think that you are a super-being.”

Tyler, who once said he “snorted half of Peru” (meaning cocaine, of course),said that his drug use got to a point where nothing mattered more.

“We would do cocaine to go up, quaaludes to come down,” he said. “We would drink and then snort some coke until we thought we were straight. But that’s not true — you’re just drunk and coked out. It was more or less the thing to do, back then as well.”

“I don’t think there were any bands that even knew what sober was,” he added.

“I was the kind of guy who would hate to be the guy who never came down because he never went up, if you can understand that. So I played with everything.”

Tyler said that his drug use enhanced his performance at first but eventually took its toll. Over time, he noticed that he required more alcohol or drugs to get the same relief.

“It absolutely works for a while,” he said. “But then things go wrong. You become addicted, it’s something you do all the time, and suddenly it starts influencing your greatness. What happens with using is: It works in the beginning, but it doesn’t work in the end. It takes you down. There’s nothing but jail, insanity or death.”

Asked if he missed anything about how he used to be, Tyler said: “I got a band that’s still together, the guys are still alive, everyone’s healthy. We play better than we did 50 years ago. I mean, there was a certain rawness when we played clubs and we were all fucked up. Sure, I get it. But the band is still together and still sought-after. People still want us for a million-plus dollars a night. And that’s what’s at risk if I use again. And my kids. My cats. My dogs. My beautiful fucking house in Maui. My girlfriend. Everything is at risk.”

Since opening in April 2019 at Park MGM, “Aerosmith: Deuces Are Wild” has received rave reviews from fans and critics alike. Variety called the show a “multi-sensory spectacular” while People described it as “an audible history of the group’s five decades.” The Wrap wrote “AEROSMITH still rocks, hard, not in spite of their five decades but because of them,” with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution saying that the show “offers fiery spectacle, deep cuts and hits,” and that they “are rock pioneers triumphing in a new environment.”

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