Aerosmith’s career got off to a bumpy start. Even with a little impromptu help from Steve Hunter on their second album, “Get Your Wings”, the band was facing the axe from their label ahead of writing its follow-up. Joe Perry, Brad Whitford, and company found their stride on "Toys in the Attic" — but a year earlier, they’d been given a sharp reality check as to the status of the band.
Certain pockets of the American rock scene were more receptive to their twin-guitar, hard blues-rock shtick than others. By the time "Get Your Wings" was released, the Boston band had built a strong following in cities like Detroit. But New York remained a tough nut to crack — even when they found themselves headlining a festival.
“We played once with Rory Gallagher in Central Park,” Brad Whitford, flanked by Joe Perry, tells Rick Beato in a new interview. It was the Schaefer Music Festival, a series of gigs that took place that Summer, which saw Peter Frampton, B.B. King, and Bad Company also perform.
For Joe Perry the memory is still painful: “I don't wanna hear about that,” he says.
“It was before we were accepted in New York at all,” Whitford continues. “Rory Gallagher probably had one of the most stunning shows of his entire career.”
“He kicked our ass,” Perry agrees. “We headlined. He went on first, and he kicked our ass.”
There was a clear divide between how the Irishman, whom Joe Bonamassa has recently honored with a trio of dates in his hometown, was received, and how they treated Aerosmith.
“He went off stage. They made him come out for an encore,” Whitford goes on. “He did his encore. Went off. They made him come out again. Another encore. They wouldn't stop. He came out for three encores.
“And then we got on the stage, and I just remember watching people walk away before we even started playing. It was like the show's over, and who are these guys? They didn't care.”
According to Setlist.fm, Aerosmith soldiered through an 11-song set bookended by "Somebody", from their self-titled 1973 debut album, and their rough and tough cover of Tiny Bradshaw's "The Train Kept A-Rollin'". It sounds like a thankful night at the office. Afterwards, they retreated backstage to lick their wounds and console themselves that such a disparaging reaction was purely down to the fact that Rory Gallagher played out of his skin.
It’s not the first time Gallagher has shown a then-small, now-mammoth act a thing or two about live performances during his lifetime. Alex Lifeson says Rush’s first proper tour, under his wing, was a huge education for him, and he came away having learned a trick that is now all over the progger’s back catalog.
Elsewhere in their chat with Beato, the pair discussed the trouble of finding the right amplifier as they battled through their first records.
“All that shit was pretty much handmade,” says Perry. “So, you might get a great Marshall and another one not so great. They were also kind of like Harley Davidson's; you had to travel with a toolkit 'cause when they sounded the best, was right before they blew up.
“People didn’t realize that when they're glowing hot, it's a sign that they're getting pummelled, so we just went from amp to amp. I remember taking amps apart to solder something on there to try and get a bit more gain out of them.”
Last month, Perry hinted that Aerosmith are not quite done touring yet. The band was forced into retirement last year due to Steven Tyler’s ongoing health issues, but says there have been discussions about doing at least one more show.
