Aerosmith rockers wrap up the Singapore Social concerts with fiery show

Aerosmith lead guitarist Joe Perry, 63, (left) and lead singer Steven Tyler, 65, (right). Photo by Shirly Hamra/Yahoo! Photo
Aerosmith lead guitarist Joe Perry, 63, (left) and lead singer Steven Tyler, 65, (right). Photo by Shirly Hamra/Yahoo! Photo

Steven Tyler will always be the adored poster boy of rock band Aerosmith, but it was guitarist Joe Perry who blew Singapore away on Saturday night when he played so hard his guitar was on fire.

Literally.

The other half of the “toxic twins”, Perry, 63, had blasted his guitar so loudly that smoke started coming out of the stereo and it eventually caught fire. The fire had smoked up the stage but quickly extinguished on its own.

The fiery stunt was just one of the many ways the veteran rockers thrilled with their experienced musicianship, and great showmanship honed by years together and on the road.

The highly sought after band had performed a two-hour show on Saturday night at The Meadow at Gardens by the Bay, wrapping up the two-day Singapore Social concerts. The concert, held in conjunction with the Social Star Awards on Thursday, saw a crowd of 10,500 people, a bigger turnout than day one which saw performances by K-Pop megastar Psy and Canadian pop princess Carly Rae Jepsen.

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Most of the concertgoers had already reserved their spots in the mosh pit from as early as 7.30pm and had waited patiently through the opening act, UK band Euphoria Audio, who played a string of rock ballads. An hour later, the venue was completely filled and the night grew incredibly warm - just nice for the band of the moment to fire things up onstage with its fiery entrance.

Bam, wham, fizz - the large screen "exploded" with its fiery visuals, and vocalist Tyler, 65, strutted onstage with his usual gear, a mike stand garlanded with hippy shawls of various colours. He sashayed on stage in a shimmery black coat, and graphic singlet and tight pants. He also had on a pair of large retro red-framed shades.

Perry had on a shiny black coat, nicely completing his signature bohemian-rock outfit, and look like a glammed up Jack Sparrow from the movie, "Pirates of the Caribbean".

But as the night wore on, humidity would force them to take off their outfit piece by piece. At the end of the show, Steve would be topless and Perry coatless.

Related story: Watch Aerosmith perform live at the Singapore Social concert

The band began the night with songs from their recent album, “Music from another Dimension”, but it was their classic rock hits that really got the crowd on their feet, starting with the catchy “Jaded”.

Other irresistible hits included “Crying”, “Janie’s Got a Gun”, “Dude Looks Like a Lady” and of course, the power ballad “Dream On”. The latter was played during the encore segment with Tyler partying it up on top of a white grand piano.

Perhaps honouring the newer generation of musicians, the band also worked with beatboxer Hikakin, who spiced up “Walk This Way” with his versatile vocals. Dub step dancer Marquese Scott, one of the YouTube sensations in town for the awards, also had his turn with the band.

And then, of course, the band did not forget its 1998 smash hit “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing”. It featured in the soundtrack of the movie "Armageddon”, which starred Tyler's daughter, Liv.

Related story: Aerosmith at the Singapore Social: live, loud and loaded

The crowd roared as the first strains of the radio-friendly hit was played, possibly singing the lyrics louder than Tyler himself. Still, nobody could take the lead away from Tyler, who's still very much a sex symbol despite being a grandfather. He flicked his long tresses while saying "hi" to the ladies in between songs, winked to several lucky ones and even, melted hearts by doing a goofy dance at one point.

Tyler did not hit as many high notes as he used to in the past, or shatter the windows of Marina Bay Sands hotel with his voice as he had promised, but the crowd still loved him.
And what’s not to love? Many Singaporeans had waited almost a lifetime to catch the mega rock band live and their dream had finally come true.

For Aerosmith, their inaugural visit to Singapore meant having more friends as Tyler had said, “I shouldn’t say goodbye, I should say ‘hello new friends’ ”.

Well hello to you too, new friend. We hope to see you again.