I have wanted to see Aerosmith since I was in high school. I remember when their Permanent Vacation album came out, I was actually in 8th grade. That album is what got me into Aerosmith and other big bands like Guns N Roses. I remember being in 9th grade they were touring together, and my parents wouldn’t let me go because I had got in trouble at school. Since then, I have never seen them until now. Jess and I had been talking about doing a trip to Vegas since earlier this year. We really wanted to go there and be able to get a reservation at Hell’s Kitchen and they were booked out months. We decided that we would target late September as we had a lot of other stuff going on before then. It happened to work out that when we wanted to go to Hell’s Kitchen that Aerosmith was also going to be playing in Vegas. As soon as I knew, I knew we were going to go. We had looked at VIP tickets that would have put us in the side stage pit area. The problem with those tickets, first, they were fairly expensive, you had to have a negative covid test (which we could have done if we had to), and the fact we were flying in that day so there was no way we could get there early to line up like we always do. We got there after doors had opened as it was. Had we got there at that time with the pit tickets we would have been at the back of the pit area. For the amount of money, it would have cost for me it would have only been worth it to get on the rail. Instead, we got seat tickets in the balcony, and we still had a great view.
Before we had actually made it to our seats as soon as we got into the venue, we headed to the merch line. It was fairly long but they had at least 2 merch booths and they were moving pretty quickly. The merch line we had got into also had an old tour van and they were taking pictures of the people in line. Just before you got to the merch table you stood in front of the van, they snapped a picture of you then at the end you could view and buy the image they took of you or you and your group. When we got up to the van, we told the guy we didn’t plan on buying a picture, so he didn’t need to take one of us. Then as I told him that I quickly got 2 pictures of me and Jess standing there. The girl in front of us asked if we would take her picture for her and just then the photographer said I am not supposed to let people do that and he didn’t let her take a picture. I get they were trying to sell their picture, but I thought why should they care if someone wants to get their own selfie. There will still be people who will want the professional image they were offering. Anyway, after getting our merch we went to grab a drink. The lines were kind of long and moving slow. The show was supposed to start at 8 and it was 7 minutes till. I told her we aren’t going to be through this line in 7 or less minutes. I told Jess to wait there, and I walked up to this other line that had an express sign on it. There were like 2 people in line. I started talking to the people at the back of the line and asking them what that was all about. The guy told me it was something he paid an extra $40 to get and it allowed him to skip the longer lines. I told him that was cool. I then asked him if I bought one of his beers would be let me check out with him. He said of course, he said I didn’t have to buy him anything he was happy to let me check out with him as long as I just paid for my own beers. I gave him the cash, and he ordered the drinks. After we got our drinks, I thanked them both again and we headed up to our seats. We got to our seats just at 8. As we were sitting there the people next to us were talking and I heard them say the show was supposed to start at 8:15. As we got closer to 8:15 maybe a minute or two before the screen lights up and a timer goes up saying the show starts in about 32 minutes. Along with the countdown they were playing all kinds of Aerosmith clips. About 10 minutes before they were going to start, Jess and I went to the bathroom. While we were out there Jess decided she wanted some popcorn and I wanted another beer. We stood in line but again it was long and moving slow. Jess offered to stay in line and let me go in once the band start. I think they played 3 songs before Jess made it back in and to our seats.
Aerosmith was even better than I expected! They played all their hits and I think the whole band had a lot of energy. Steven Tyler was really engaging with all the people in the pits on the side of the stage. There were 3 pits, one in front and one on each side of the stage. Watching him engage with those pits really made me want to be down there. I told myself next time I see them I will be down there and on the rail! As I said before we still had great seats and I was happy just to be there. At the end of the show on their final song they had a long walkway come out over the crowd and Steven and Joe both walked out there playing Walk This Way. Steven Tyler, Joe Perry and the rest of the band had a lot of energy for their age and they were still dancing all over the place! In total they played 17 songs! As always of course there are a couple of other songs I wish they had played but I wasn’t disappointed one bit! Not only was it an amazing show, but we got to see them in Vegas which was even cooler. It was a venue neither of us had been to before. It was a band neither of us got to see before that night and we both had a great time. As I mentioned the next time I see them I will be on the rail, which means I do hope and plan to see them again in the future!
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