I have to admit, I was bummed to hear that Aerosmith won’t be touring anymore and won’t have a proper farewell tour. I’ve have the opportunity to see them twice over the years and both were great shows. There was a time back in 2001 when Aerosmith had to cancel another show, and while this would’ve brought my count to three, it instead led to me meeting The Cult. You may know their big songs She Sells Sanctuary, Love Removal Machine, or Fire Woman.
I was interning with Rhode Island radio station 94 HJY and they were hosting their own 20th birthday bash on November 7 where Aerosmith would play a show at the “Dunkin Donuts Center” in Providence, RI. The Cult was the opener for that show. It was supposed to be big! But something happened with Aerosmith that I don’t recall, but they had to cancel the show which would force the station to cancel their big bash. But The Cult stepped up and said they’d do a show across the way at Lupos Heartbreak Hotel, a smaller venue, to give fans a night of rock anyway. Aerosmith ticket holders got $5 off the admission (which was only $15 to begin with. What a time to live!)
As part of the HJY staff, we got into the venue early to put up station banners, layout some swag, experience the sound check, and hey look; we get to meet the band too! So, we’re in the club hanging out, and singer Ian Astbury comes over to sell hello and shoot the shit. I don’t recall what we talked about, but at some point he asked us if we wanted to take a photo or get anything signed. Hell yeah we did! These were the pre-smartphone days though and I don’t even think I owned a cell phone at this point (not that cell phones took good pics then anyway), so we scrambled to find a disposable camera or whatever. Lucky for us, we had a Polaroid camera with us mixed in with all the stuff from the radio station van.
So, we grabbed the camera and snapped a pic. Since Polaroids have that large white border, there was plenty of room for a signature, so he signed it. This camera however, was a promotional camera that Sam Adams beer had sent us, and as a result, there was a big Sam Adams bottle on the photo. Ian made some comments about it, wrote “shit” across the bottle as we explained that it was the only camera we had. At this point, one of the other band members comes over to say hi, see what’s up, and BS with us. He sees the photo, questions it, laughs at it, and then grabs the photo and also signs it. At this point, I thought to myself, “what the hell dude? You’re not even in the photo! Why are you signing it!?”
I kick myself to this day, because the “other band member” was drummer Matt Sorum. If you’re unaware, Matt Sorum was also the drummer on the Guns n’ Roses “Use Your Illusion” albums (except Civil War) and the massive touring that followed. I met a Gunner, and totally blew it!!! It took about 10 or 20 seconds after he walked away to realize it. I suck.
Fast forward to the performance, and the band was awesome! There was a ton of energy, the club was packed, the band was loud, and songs were great! People were digging it. At some point during the show, Ian decides to go on a rant about America (he’s from England I believe). He starts yelling and ranting about America, culture, corporate greed, and how everything is a sponsorship like, “your fucking Sam Adams!” I remember cracking up because it was totally directed at us. And, I’d like to believe that his anger fueled his performance that night because I remember the show just kicking ass!
If you were there that night and loved it, this is the photo that I credit with Ian’s energetic performance:
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