Aerosmith review

Wednesday was the best Groundhog Day i've ever experienced. I took a roadie four hours south to see Aerosmith perform at the Glendale Arena with opener Lenny Kravitz. This was the fifth time i've seen Aerosmith covering three states (Phoenix, Milwaukee, Madison, Raleigh and Glendale) and each time is better than the time before. I don't consider myself a fan of Lenny Kravitz but he put on a very good performance. I was surprised by how many songs I recognized but that's probably only because he pimps out most of his catalog to be used in commercials and movie soundtracks. If I were him, I would do the same. I don't drink the Haterade. I hope to be able to do the same thing one day.

I bought my ticket four days prior to the show which sold out and it was in the rafters behind the stage. Some of the radio stations outside spoke of people who had only come to see Lenny and leave. I definitely wanted to know where THEY were sitting. That's like going to a new restaurant just to have the water. Of course, I never would have been exposed to the genius of my goddess, Tori Amos, if she had gone on last when she toured with Alanis Morissette on the 9 1/2 Weeks tour in 1999 as I was in full Alanis worship at the time. After that show, Alanis had been supplanted. At least that had been a co-headlining tour and they both played for the same amount of time. Lenny played about ten songs and there probably could have been a couple more if it weren't for a ten-minute plus version of 'Let Love Rule.'

As I walked through the doors I noticed the lower level was curtained off but there were no attendants in the aisles checking tickets. I never looked at my ticket as I made my way into a choice section and filled in a vacant seat at the top of the row. After Lenny's set I made my way farther down and after chatting up a couple hotties was granted an empty seat inbetween them. (Got the digits too, baby! High five!) I ended up seeing Aerosmith six rows from the floor at the end of one of the stage extensions they use to get farther out into the crowd. At one point I was only ten feet away from Steven Tyler. Aerosmith came on with the best cover of 'Helter Skelter' I ever heard. (Eat your heart out U2). They powered through the classics like 'Walk this way', 'Cryin', 'Dream On', 'Sweet Emotion' and 'Train Kept A Rollin' like it was their first time playing them live. There were selections from the entire catalog and not once did the intensity or energy dwindle. The audience was in a lather all night in a singing, dancing frenzy. Joe Perry took the mic for a couple songs and did 'Stop Messin Round' from Honkin on Bobo and a new one called 'Shakin the Cage'. Very cool. The show was pretty bare essentials. No elaborate stage setup, no overdone light show, just the boys from Boston bringing the house down on every track. If you've never seen Aerosmith live, put it on your 'Things to do before you die' list because it is definitely something that belongs there.

The ovation between the end of the set and the encore was deafening and only got louder when the took the stage again. They finished with 'Back In The Saddle' and 'Draw The Line'. Steven was Steven, doing that funky chicken dance he's famous for, Joe Pery strutted around like he owned the arena (and he did) while the more low key players Tom Hamilton and Brad Whitford were the rocks, randomly wandering out onto the catwalks but mainly holding it down from either side of the stage. Joey mashed the beat that kept you dancing and the energy that coursed from the band through the audience is something i've seen few bands able to replicate. That's why i'm going to see them again in Las Vegas on the 18th. (And drop back in with another review). They may be old but they're better than 98% of the bands half their age. I'll go on record and call them the best band in the world and that's where i'll Draw The Line.

Steelerfan...you're going to be disappointed today

I've watched the coverage of the Super Bowl and am still amazed how all the 'experts' think Pittsburgh is going to stomp Seattle this afternoon. There's no season like (pro) football season I always say. I've been an avid watcher since I was a kid of 6 or 7. It was a rite of passage in my house. I learned the game as boys should, sitting on dads lap while he had his buddies over to enjoy it with him. Before I knew who was who I picked the winners by who had the best looking helmets. That's how San Diego became my favorite team and it has always been that way. I still think they have the best looking helmets. Until they changed their colors, I always had Seattle in second. I look forward to having the same experience with my own son someday. I need a woman to participate in the process...but that's a blog for another day. Female bloggers, feel free to introduce yourselves...football fans get to the head of the line.
Back to the matter at hand, I would bet on Seattle (and I have) every day of the week in this particular matchup. Why? You can start in the backfeld. Can you say league MVP? Apparently the prognosticators can't. Shaun Alexander has more touchdowns than any back in the league and most quarterbacks. These weren't of the 1-10 variety, we're talking 20-50 yard gamebreakers on a lot of them. So why is everyone talking about Jerome Bettis? He may be from Detroit but you mean to tell me there's no one on Seattle's roster from Detroit who is 'making good?' Bettis isn't going to get sixty yards if you combine his rushing AND recieving totals. Alexander will have 60 by the end of the first half. Pittsburgh has a great defense but it has been broken a few times this year. They have to respect the run and bring up Polamalu (the other overhyped player this week). He's a great safety and deserving of attention but the Seahawks have an excellent secondary as well and we haven't heard the names of ANY of those guys this week.
Placing the extra man to stop the run is going to give the Seahawks trio of talented wideouts an advantage they've had all season. Darrell Jackson, Bobby Engram and Joe Jurevicius will make it a long day for the Steelers. Pittsburgh has Hines Ward who comes to play every game and no one else. Antwaan (Gadget Play) Randel-El will probably pass it at least once but you need a reciever, not Slash II. Matt Hasselbeck is a more complete quarterback than Big Ben and will make the clutch throws and move the ball. Pittsburgh has lived and died with grind it out, ball control offense. Now they're up against a team that can do the same to them. Both defenses have been special but guess who's has been getting all the newsprint...
The most important factor is points. Seattle has averaged 28 points a game and is the highest scoring team in the league. Pittsburgh is lucky to score twenty a game. They have played over their heads for three weeks straight putting thirty plus on the board twice but they're due to become the old Steelers and twenty won't do against the Colts of the NFC. Seattle has won thirteen of their last fourteen games...hello!!! The only loss was at the end of the regular season when the starters sat out. So why in the blue hell are they a 4.5 point underdog?!?!
In summation, Pittsburgh may be getting all the coverage but the better team is in the pacific northwest. I'm sure the Seahawks don't mind being the underdog and almost completely forgotten for a change but they have to be feeling a little disrespected by this point. Smashmouth football doesn't play in the Super Bowl and the Steelers are about to find that out. As you can tell by my previous blog, this wasn't the easiest Super Bowl to predict after all but I did have Seattle representing the NFC. Although i'm an AFC guy, I am going to atone for my previous forecasting missteps by giving you the scoop without the favoritism. Shaun Alexander will have 120 yards and two touchdowns and Seattle will win this game 34-24. Sorry Steelerfan, all the terrible towels in the world won't help you now.