I can’t really talk about the bands until I talk about the Arcada Theater. It’s truly one of the most unique places I’ve ever been It’s a wonderful place to see a live show. Because you get more than just the live show. You get to enter a time capsule in a way. There’s a speakeasy on the third floor that you must go through a bookcase to enter. It Harkins back to the roaring 20’s of Chicago with a lot of artifacts, antiques, and unique items. There is a tunnel in the basement that used to go under the river to a hotel. This was used by Al Capone. And other notorious gangsters of that era. If you’re a history buff, it’s worth going there just for that. Not to mention a live show, great restaurant, the Speakeasy, a discotheque, and many other special things planned. Their staff is incredibly accommodating no matter which part of the building you are in. The owner Ron Onesty was walking around the entire weekend greeting his guests. He was completely accessible if you had any questions period again a cool and unique experience.
For starters I must admit that I’ve never heard of the opening act before, Micky Jones. But boy was I glad I was introduced to him. As I get older and I watch more and more of my favorite bands and artists retire, I can’t help but wonder who will take their place? I know music changes and trends come and go. I am speaking on a much broader point of who are the artists with a classic style that could make a big impact? I saw one the other night, Micky Jones. If you like 70’s glam with a more modern sound, check this band out.
He is from across the pond from America and has been around for 10 years. So that fact alone really surprised me because I had not heard of him before. I hope he makes an impact here in the state. He should tour with other rock acts along with bands like Starcrawler. I would love to see him on the rock festival circuit.
I drove six hours to see The Joe Perry Project. I have been a fan of the joe perry project since his first solo album came out back in 1980. He’s had some lineup changes and some singers have been better than others. I have always loved the songs which is what keeps me coming back. When I found out that Gary Cherone of the band Extreme was singing on this tour, my first thought was this is the perfect match for Joe’s songs.
I was also aware that this was a very short and limited tour. He has a new record coming out in the not-too-distant future. I’m really hoping that once the record comes out, he will find some time to take this band out on the road to play more shows. It’s an old school rock and roll shows from the 1970s. There is updated lighting, but the songs have a real throwback feel like the concerts I used to attend when I was a kid. I should make note that he did perform one song off of the new record “Fortunate One”.
One of the things that I think I appreciate most about Joe Perry’s guitar playing is his ability to make it look so freeform and loose. He’s one of the last of his generation that has that unique rock’n’roll swagger to him. It’s something that I admired about Johnny Thunders of the New York Dolls as well. In fact, johnny was a friend of joe’s and he played tribute to him by performing his song, “You Can’t Put Your Arms Around a Memory”. For me it’s the perfect type of cover song to add to your original catalog. He also did a beautiful tribute to his friend Jeff Beck by performing “Beck’s Bolero”.
The setlist was fantastic and I couldn’t have asked for more. I’m one of those people that try to avoid looking at any set lists before I go to the show or watching any video on YouTube. I won’t be surprised and not know what the next song is going to be. He played a lot of different songs throughout his solo career, but I noticed that he didn’t do anything off of his solo album Once a Rocker, Always a Rocker. He sure seemed to cover everything else. He performed several different covers that he did as a solo act as well as covers that Aerosmith performed. One being, “Bone to Bone (Coney Island Whitefish Boy)”. As well as some Aerosmith classics period two of my absolute favorite Aerosmith songs were performed this night. “Lightning Strikes” and Chip Away at the Stone” and they were played to perfection.
He did a rockabilly cover “Flying Saucer Rock ‘n Roll” Which is a Song from 1957 by Billy Lee Riley. It was covered by The Stray Cats in the 1980s and they did a great version of it. This is the first time that I’ve ever seen this before other than a band literally running out of material. They played the song twice in a row. Joe said he loves this song so much that he wanted to play it a second time. You could tell he was really enjoying himself and it was fun to hear him interact with the audience. Most of you know at an Aerosmith show, Steven Tyler does all the crowd interaction. As expected, they performed “Let the Music Do the Talking” but surprisingly performed the Aerosmith version of the song.
Gary Cherone’s voice is truly a perfect fit for this band. It really added a lot to the songs. And he is a very dynamic performer that knows how to entertain the fans. But I would be remiss if I didn’t mention how incredible the band was. Every single musician up on that stage was of the highest caliber. The other big thing was there that there was no use of any tracks. Everything was live as it was played. That added to the raw feel of the performance. It’s something that has been missing with some artists.
Rumor has it that Aerosmith will be doing a tour this fall. I also understand that there are dates set for Hollywood Vampires as well. It appears Joe will be very busy. Plus, Extreme has a new album coming out as well and has planned a fall tour. There are three more reasons for me to have attended this show last weekend. This maybe it for the year. I’m really hoping that that’s not the case. This is a must-see tour if there’s any more dates that are announced, you need to go. Even if you’re only familiar with a few of the Aerosmith songs, if you are a classic rock music fan you will love this show. It’s truly a step back in time to an era of rock’n’roll that’s gone.
