Review: Aerosmith Concert at Amphitheater Northwest

Thursday, July 30, 2015

Robby Davis, GolocalPDX Contributor

Photo by Robby Davis

Aerosmith is one of the most iconic rock-and-roll bands to have come out of the 70s and 80s. They are the masterminds behind hit songs such as “Dream On,” “Walk This Way,” and “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing.” Over the course of the past 40 plus years the band has sold over 150 million records worldwide. They’ve also had 25 gold albums, 18 platinum albums and 12 multi-platinum albums. In 2013 Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and Joe Perry were both inducted into the Songwriter’s Hall Of Fame.

On Tuesday night (July 28th) the Bad Boys From Boston took their Blue Army Tour to Amphitheater Northwest in Ridgefield, Washington.

Before the concert officially began the atmosphere was already rockin’. No matter where you were in the amphitheater you could hear an Aerosmith song playing in the background. People in attendance were walking around with a beer in their hand singing along with whatever song was playing within earshot.

Once 8pm finally arrived the band took the stage and the venue immediately erupted. There were people screaming, jumping and spilling their drinks everywhere. When Steven Tyler stepped out and began singing “Draw The Line” the amphitheater got even louder. Throughout the evening this electricity never let up.

Photo by Robby Davis

Steven Tyler, who has been performing for over 40 years, was bouncing around the stage, jumping off amps and tossing the mic around like he was still 25 years old. He was doing this all while wearing his iconic outfit on a night that was 80 degrees. If one thing’s for sure it’s that Tyler, 67, hasn’t lost his passion for music. And neither has the rest of his band. Joe Perry, Joey Kramer, Tom Hamilton and Brad Whitford all thrilled the crowd with various solos throughout the night. What makes this even more impressive is that every member of the band is well into their 60s.

Those who attended this concert also got to hear a song that no other venue has heard on the tour. Tyler, along with the rest of his bandmates, decided to perform "One Way Street," which is a song from their original self-titled-debut that was released around 45 years ago. "We're gonna play a song that we've never played on this tour," said Tyler. "We're gonna see who f$%*s up first." The band then performed the song with no apparent mistakes.

Once it seemed as though the concert was over, and the band left the stage, the crowd began a “one more song” chant that worked to perfection. Steven Tyler came back out within 10 minutes to the piano and began singing "Home Tonight," which quickly turned into "Dream On." After that the Demon of Screamin’ concluded the night with "Sweet Emotion."

If you’ve never been to an Aerosmith concert make sure you quickly add it to your bucket list. It's not every day that you can see one of the best-selling rock and roll bands of all time.