Farewell? Perry has final word
Joe Perry is headed to Phoenix on Final Four weekend for one of the only U.S. dates he’ll play with Aerosmith before the year is out – a free outdoor concert he says he’s excited to play, in part, because they’re shaking up the setlist with songs you haven’t heard them play in years.
“We were rehearsing for the European tour and it turns out that getting this gig has worked out perfect,” Perry says. “We’re psyched.”
Those European dates are the opening leg of the Aero-Vederci Baby! Tour, so named because when they announced it last November, it was meant to be a bit of a farewell tour.
What does “farewell” really mean in rock and roll, though?
Talking to Perry, it sure doesn’t sound like he’s ready to put an end to the good thing he found in a Boston apartment when he and the same four guys – Steven Tyler, Brad Whitford, Tom Hamilton and Joey Kramer – he’ll share a stage with here in Phoenix had their first rehearsal back in 1970.
Question: How does it feel to play the songs you “have to” play?
A: Well, when you see the audience reaction to the first chords of “Dream On” or “Walk This Way” or “Sweet Emotion,” it unifies us so much with the audience. We’ve tried to play “Dream On” every show we’ve done. Bar five. And I still get off playing it when I see the audience singing along. Steven still hits that high note at the end. I can’t believe that after all these years he can still bang that out. It’s amazing. And now we know the songs in a way that we didn’t when we recorded them, so we get to play them the way we would have recorded them if we had 20 or 30 years under our belt. We don’t step too far off the path to try to make them different. Listen, I’m a fan first. When I’m sitting in the audience, I don’t want to hear the Stones do a reggae version of “Honky Tonk Women,” you know what I mean? I want to hear the song the way I’m used to it. That’s part of the fun of it.
Q: What do you think has allowed you to keep making music together for this many years with those same guys?
A: Different forces at different times. If there’s one constant, it’s that we’ve always had a feeling that we’re underdogs. We’re out to prove ourselves. And we’ve been really lucky. As people get older, there’s a lot of different things that could happen that could take you out of play.
And all the different things that can pull bands apart. We’ve had some close scrapes and managed to come through it. So we’re here and believe me, the irony of us all being on the same stage? If you see me shaking my head on stage, that’s what I’m thinking about. I can’t believe it. And everybody’s been getting along really well. It’s amazing. In and of itself, it’s no reason to go see a band, just because it’s the same five guys. But if you like the tunes and you want to see a rock and roll show? It’s the real thing. Q: There’s been talk of this tour you’re launching being a farewell tour. Is it?
A: Well, when we were talking at the end of last year, taking a break and thinking about the next go-round, you know, it’s closer to the end than the beginning. So we talked about ‘Let’s call it a farewell tour.’ And it sounded like a good idea when we were just sitting around, but when we started doing interviews, actually having to verbalize it, if you’re saying farewell tour, that means you have to have a last gig – at least theoretically. And we couldn’t wrap our minds around actually saying this is gonna be our last gig. We’ve been doing it for too long and none of us could picture that. I mean, I play every show like it’s the last one, because I don’t know what’s gonna happen the next day. But we tried and couldn’t do it. We can obviously sling some bull at an interview but that was one piece we couldn’t get over and honestly say, “Yeah, this is the final show of our farewell tour.” Q: So it’s not a farewell tour.
A: Not officially, no. But we postponed the American tour we were supposed to do this fall. And we’re gonna go out and tour until, you know, we’re done. And we’re gonna try and hit every place we’ve ever played and never played. There’s always new places to go. New countries. I’d like to play China and the Far East. There’s a lot of places that are off the beaten path. Is this the last tour? Well, I don’t know. I don’t think so.