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Rockin' the Joint

by Aerosmith

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If one had told a 1975 Aerosmith fan that three decades hence they'd be shelling out a fistful of c-notes to see their heroes rocking a Las Vegas quasi-lounge, they'd have likely chuckled, slapped the headphones back over their greasy locks and cranked up Toys in the Attic for its 897th go ‘round. But here they are, American hard rock's greatest survivors, rockin', talkin' ‘n' walking an artistic tightrope at the Hard Rock Café's Joint between expected crotch-rock chestnuts (a blues-sassed "Same Old Song and Dance," a hard-charging "Draw the Line" and obligatory "Walk This Way") and their unlikely latter-day incarnation the MOR ballad-mongers of Diane Warren's "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing." But if gritty takes on "No More No More" and the shadowy "Seasons of Wither" point up just how formulaic the band had become by the time of Just Push Play's "Light Inside," their snotty covers of "Big Ten Inch" and "Rattlesnake Shake," Fleetwood Mac's ‘60s ode to self-love, argue they're still 15 at heart – even if the focused performances here are obviously the product of grizzled veterans. --Jerry McCulley