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In case you weren't there, it tipped it down in London yesterday. However, I'd spent £50 on a ticket to see Aerosmith and 'special guests' play in Hyde Park and I'm a Yorkshireman, damnit. I'm not going to let a little thing like being cold, wet and deeply miserable get in the way of value for money so off I trooped into the driving rain.
I got there at about 4pm to find a band called The Answer on stage. In this case the question I was asking was "Is this Thunder?" Damn, they sound like them." In fact, I was for a long time convinced that they were Thunder and only decided that they weren't when they didn't play any of Thunder's hit during their set, instead settling for being a Led Zep tribute band.
Next up was Jet or, as they shall henceforth be known, The Copyright Infringers. The Rolling Stones, Iggy Pop, AC/DC, Pink Floyd, Oasis and more bands would all have fair cause to bring a suit for nicking their riffs. For all that Jet do the overconfident young turks of rawk thing very well and play with real verve and gusto and cock-strutting pomp, they didn't play an original note once.
With that the clouds really opened just in time for Chris Cornell to come on. I've never been a fan of his, either now or when he was in Soundgarden as every song he's ever sung has been pretty much the same tuneless, shoe-gazing dirge. However, to give him his due Chris was a real trooper - he stood in the driving rain for an hour singing his heart out and doing his level best to bring some life and enthusiasm to a bedraggled crowd. By the end of his set I still didn't much like his music, but I'd really warmed to him as a performer, his professionalism and enthusiasm.
And finally, Aerosmith. The rain stopped, the clouds cleared and if I'd been Chris I'd've been royally hacked off by the shift in the waether the instant I left the stage as Areosmith came on to the first dry bit of weather we'd had all day. The first 45 minutes - hour were a greatest hits medley with all the 'demon of screamin' showmanship you'd expect from one of the biggest bands in the world before the last half hour descended into self-indulgent noodling guitar masturbation. I stood and tapped my foot impatiently whilst Joe Perry demonstrated he could play a Theremin (yes, a Theremin) and aside from some rather fun blues there was a just way too much self-congratulatory back-slapping on stage to be that much fun.
And then the encore - Walk this Way, predictably. But, unpredictably and to my genuine surprise and utter delight, with Run-DMC* on stage. I've wanted to see Aerosmith and Run DMC play this together since I was 15 years old and never thought I would, and now I have.
Fifty quid? Money well spent.
*Well, not Jam Master Jay, on account of his being dead.
I got there at about 4pm to find a band called The Answer on stage. In this case the question I was asking was "Is this Thunder?" Damn, they sound like them." In fact, I was for a long time convinced that they were Thunder and only decided that they weren't when they didn't play any of Thunder's hit during their set, instead settling for being a Led Zep tribute band.
Next up was Jet or, as they shall henceforth be known, The Copyright Infringers. The Rolling Stones, Iggy Pop, AC/DC, Pink Floyd, Oasis and more bands would all have fair cause to bring a suit for nicking their riffs. For all that Jet do the overconfident young turks of rawk thing very well and play with real verve and gusto and cock-strutting pomp, they didn't play an original note once.
With that the clouds really opened just in time for Chris Cornell to come on. I've never been a fan of his, either now or when he was in Soundgarden as every song he's ever sung has been pretty much the same tuneless, shoe-gazing dirge. However, to give him his due Chris was a real trooper - he stood in the driving rain for an hour singing his heart out and doing his level best to bring some life and enthusiasm to a bedraggled crowd. By the end of his set I still didn't much like his music, but I'd really warmed to him as a performer, his professionalism and enthusiasm.
And finally, Aerosmith. The rain stopped, the clouds cleared and if I'd been Chris I'd've been royally hacked off by the shift in the waether the instant I left the stage as Areosmith came on to the first dry bit of weather we'd had all day. The first 45 minutes - hour were a greatest hits medley with all the 'demon of screamin' showmanship you'd expect from one of the biggest bands in the world before the last half hour descended into self-indulgent noodling guitar masturbation. I stood and tapped my foot impatiently whilst Joe Perry demonstrated he could play a Theremin (yes, a Theremin) and aside from some rather fun blues there was a just way too much self-congratulatory back-slapping on stage to be that much fun.
And then the encore - Walk this Way, predictably. But, unpredictably and to my genuine surprise and utter delight, with Run-DMC* on stage. I've wanted to see Aerosmith and Run DMC play this together since I was 15 years old and never thought I would, and now I have.
Fifty quid? Money well spent.
*Well, not Jam Master Jay, on account of his being dead.
