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By Lina Lecaro
The days of arena-level bands impassively directing their PR people to put out a press release with dates for their latest tour seem to be dwindling—at least where seasoned acts are concerned. In Los Angeles, a trend seems to be emerging amid rock’s elder statesmen which turns the announcements themselves into epic events. Motley Crue did it recently with a melodramatic press conference and retirement announcement for their “Final Tour Ever” at Beecher’s Madhouse in the Roosevelt Hotel. And Tuesday, rock icons AEROSMITH took the stage and jammed out live at the Whisky A Go-Go to hype their upcoming tour, “LET ROCK RULE” this summer with tour opener Slash.
Even before the Sunset Strip gig, the band has opted to employ some surprising promo tactics this time out, especially for a classic rock band who’s been around for over 40 years. Notably, they've aligned themselves with the graffiti community, employing big names in street art such as CHUNK and RISK, the latter of whom tagged various buildings in downtown with the band logo and announcement date “4-8-14” last week.
After an interview and fan ticket give-away with singer Steven Tyler’s old American Idol co-hort Ryan Seacrest Tuesday morning, the band made their trek to the Strip around noon, where the marquee touted their performance and a line of fans and select press stood under an unseasonably brutal sun 'til just before the show at lil' before 1 p.m.
Frontman Tyler seemed jazzed to be crooning and carousing on stage again, his signature scarfed mic, boho duds and new facial hair emanating the timeless, gypsy-man style he’s known for. His vocals and swagger still seem quite effortless, even when he donned a sideways baseball cap for a hip-hop flavored version of "Walk This Way," which, Run DMC made cool again, after all. Perry and Slash traded licks on two cuts (“Mama Kin” and “Train Kept A Rollin”) and the rest of the set included the classics "Draw The Line," and "Same Old Song and Dance" as well as the band’s newer hit, "Pink."
