This is the question I must ask myself with the news that the band will perform either Rocks (which is one of my all-time favorite albums, straight up) or the similarly seminal Toys In The Attic in their entirety during the first few weeks of their summer tour with ZZ Top, which started last week and stops at my local shed later this month. The cheapest seats via Live Nation’s site are $95 (plus service charges) as of this writing; mezzanine tickets, which only cost $41, aren’t available on Live Nation, and they’re bottoming out at $90 on StubHub.
Actually, the Toys performances will have asterisks attached to them for now; the band won’t be performing the weepy album closer “You See Me Crying,” because Tyler doesn’t feel up to singing it just yet. And Brad Whitford won’t be on the tour until at least July 6, the result of him suffering a head injury. (Yipes!) But if Tyler can’t sing “Crying,” how can I be sure he’ll be up to the caterwaul demands of “Nobody’s Fault”? And is ZZ Top going to try and step up the game by busting out Tres Hombres in full?
Aerosmith turn to Web for guidance from fans [Reuters]
“Rocks” really is the album that most fans think is the band’s best. I’ve seen them a lot over the years and one time when I got to go to the meet and greet, I geeked out and asked Tyler and Hamilton(usually the most accessible members of the band) to play either “Lick & A Promise” or “Nobody’s Fault”. Unfortunately, all I got was “Rats In The Cellar”, but it was the highlight of the show for anyone over 25.
I have a feeling they won’t follow through completely on Toys or Rocks for this tour. They were supposed to do “Get Your Wings” on the tour before last and it didn’t happen.