Legendary Aerosmith front man Steven Tyler and the Loving Mary Band opened their summer tour in Lewiston, NY this past Tuesday night to a near capacity crowd. This was the first show of the Artpark M&T Bank presents Tuesday’s in the park summer concert series. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect as it was about 75 and most importantly, no rain. Tyler and the Loving Mary Band took the stage at about 8:10pm and played for approximately an hour and half. The setlist was very diverse as it included a few Beatles covers, standard Aerosmith classics and some new songs off Tyler’s country album released last year titled “We’re All Somebody from Somewhere.”
Tyler brought the elements from the Aerosmith stage that he is known for. He incorporated his extended stage, various fans set up around the front of the stage to cool him off and of course, what is a show without the traditional scarves adorned all over the microphone stand? Tyler made sure to address the fans in Lewiston while turning around to the back and shouting “Can you here us back there Canada?” (behind the stage is the Niagara Gorge which Canada is set on the other side)
The first few chords to “Sweet Emotion” were played and the entire evenings mood was set from that point on. Tyler played off his band, the crowd and some of the lucky side stage guests as well. The stage included a large video screen in the back that at times, showed parts of Tyler’s career, the band performing live and the crowd as well. The showstopper (in my opinion) was Tyler’s take on the song Janis Joplin made popular in “Piece of my Heart.” The bands harmonies and overall unison and flow propelled the song to a new height. I hope they don’t take it out of the rotation. Tyler wasn’t afraid to let each of the Loving Mary Band to take the spotlight at various times throughout the set.
Tyler’s voice remains as powerful as ever. He showcased that throughout. It was no more evident than the ballads “What it Takes” and the iconic “Dream On.” He can still make the ladies swoon even at age 70, as it was mostly women who filled the front of stage area, hanging on every note and move Tyler made.
The band did go through some adjustments with levels at times, probably due to the first show on the tour. This didn’t take away from an overall terrific performance the entire band gave. The camaraderie was tight ads you can see how much they love performing together. This is the 2nd time I got to witness them and hope they can continue to perform and grow as an entity.
Selist:
Sweet Emotion (Aerosmith song)
Cryin’ (Aerosmith song)
I’m Down/Oh! Darling (The Beatles cover)
Come Together (The Beatles cover)
Sorry (Buckcherry snippet)
Jaded (Aerosmith song)
Love is Your Name
Piece of my Heart (Emma Franklin cover)
What it Takes (Aerosmith song)
We’re All Somebody From Somewhere
Only Heaven
Livin’ on the Edge (Aerosmith song)
My own Worst Enemy
Dream On (Aerosmith song)
Train Kept A-Rollin (Tiny Bradshaw cover)
Walk This Way (Aerosmith song)
Whole Lotta Love (Led Zeppelin cover)
We would like to thank Dave Wedekindt for the tickets to review the show.
