1988.08.31 - Pittsburgh Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, USA

Aerosmith yields spotlight to blossoming Guns N’ Roses in arena show

By Michael Winks
For The Pittsburgh Press

If treated properly, metal won't rust.

Steven Tyler, conceivably the burnout king of the 70s (it’s a close call between him, the Stones’ Keith Richard and John Phillips of the Mamas and Papas), has polished and toughened the metal in his band, Aerosmith, which played to a capacity crowd last night at the Civic Arena.

Aerosmith fans hope that, as Neil Young would say, it will not be better to burn out than to fade away. And they might also hope Guns N’ Roses will not satisfy any “appetite for destruction,” themselves.

Soon-to-be headliners masquerading as last night’s opening act, Guns N’ Roses is this year’s most talked about newcomer on the hard-rock scene.

Unfortunately, I missed most of the LA-based band’s set. I must confess I was caught in traffic where heavy metal fans in trucks were consuming large quantities of beer, taking time out to urinate on the entry ramp. Combine this with some fan vandalism at the Civic Arena during the show and you can see metalheads are not exactly living down negative stereotypes.

And if that weren’t enough, try the number of times both bands used the “f” word.

While I grumbled about the traffic, W. Axl Rose, lead singer for Guns N’ Roses, was blowing the audience away with “Paradise City” off their latest album, “Appetite for Destruction.” Rose has a screechy voice, not unlike Tyler’s, but his support — particularly guitarist Slash — is strong.

The band has a very definite connection to rock ’n’ roll and blues, rather than heavy metal, although a quick listen to the new album might seem to prove otherwise. The portion of the set that I saw showed little tendency on the part of the guitarists to go off onto typically heavy metal tangents.

Before playing “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” the blockbuster hit that closed their set, Rose stepped forward and graciously explained that the group wanted to dedicate this song to a local 16-year-old who died in an auto accident.

“I guess it would mean a lot to his friends and family,” he said.

It’s nice to have stereotypes shattered ... if even just a little.

Which takes us back to Aerosmith, who stayed true to form, thanks in part to Tyler’s stage gyrations. The lead vocalist has been compared to Mick Jagger, thanks to similarly puckered lips and an occasional rooster strut, but he doesn’t possess Jagger’s naughty boy charm.

He also possesses one of those screechy voices I cannot abide in a rock star. Sorry, Robert Plant fans, I think it’s for the birds. When it came time for Tyler to sing “Dream On,” I was tempted to cover my ears before he came to the high-pitched wails in the climax.

As it turned out, Tyler lamely worked the falsetto in, but it had no power. Singing like that for your whole career can burn out your voice in a hurry.

But the band gave a stalwart rock performance, mixing songs well, building up to the finale, “Dream On,” “Walk This Way” and “Sweet Emotion,” before doing “Dude (Looks Like a Lady)” as an encore.

Every time I watched guitarists Joe Perry and Brad Whitford go into heavy metal solos, I kept thinking of the drummer who spontaneously combusted in the satirical film, “This is Spinal Tap.” I guess I’m just too old for mindless, heavy metal pyrotechnics.

Drummer Joey Kramer did his trademark solo where he straps wires on himself that are attached to a drum machine and bangs away at the stage and himself.

Ho hum.

Some other good numbers were “Rag Doll,” “Same Old Song and Dance” and “Draw The Line.” I couldn't help noticing “Rag Doll” reminded me of Lovin’ Spoonful’s “Summer in the City” and "Permanent Vacation” had a section that reminded me of “Summertime Blues.” Not too surprising. After all, Tyler and guitarist Joe Perry probably grew up with those songs.