THE JOE PERRY PROJECT – LIVE @ FOXWOODS & HOUSE OF BLUES
By Anthony Mastromarino
Joe Perry, legendary Aerosmith guitarist, songwriter, and 2001 Rock n Roll Hall of Fame inductee, kicked off a brief six-night Joe Perry Project US tour with a career-spanning raucous performance at the Great Cedar Showroom (formerly Fox Theater) at Foxwoods Casino on Saturday April 15 th , 2023.
The Joe Perry Project was originally formed in 1979, following Joe’s departure from Aerosmith and March of 1980 saw the debut release Let The Music Do The Talking. The original lineup included Ralph Mormon on vocals, Ronnie Stewart on drums, and David Hull on bass. Various members have been pulled into the ranks of The Joe Perry Project over the years, and based on Saturday’s performance, the 2023 touring version appears to be the strongest one yet.
The current touring lineup includes Gary Cherone (Extreme) on lead vocals, Jason Sutter (Chris Cornell, Marylin Manson, New York Dolls) on drums, Buck Johnson (Aerosmith, Hollywood Vampires, Whitford St Holmes) on keys and backing vocals, and the aforementioned David Hull (charter member of The Joe Perry Project, Dirty Angels, Farrenheit, James Montogomery, Aerosmith) on bass.
The nearly two-hour twenty song set included a wide range of deep cuts pulled from Joe’s entire career, as well as a wide selection of hand-picked covers, rarities, and guilty pleasures. The band walked out on stage to the intro music of “Rumble In The Jungle”, which is the opening track off Sweetzerland Manifesto, released in 2018 on Roman Records.
The set began with Joe playing the familiar slow blues intro of “I’ve Got The Rock n Rolls Again” before kicking the song into high gear, an aptly titled opener which set the tone for the next two hours. “East Coast West Coast” and “Let The Music Do The Talking” concluded the opening three song salvo and Joe’s message was delivered loud and clear.
An interesting sidenote, is that the lyrics that Gary sang for “Let The Music Do The Talking” were from Aerosmith’s version off of Done With Mirrors, as opposed to the lyrics from the original Project release.
The first of many major set list surprises included “Somebody”, a true gem off Aerosmith’s debut release, which has been rarely performed live since the 1974 / 75 timeframe. “S.O.S. (Too Bad)” and “Aye, Aye, Aye” followed before Joe introduced “Fortunate One”, which will be included on the Sweetzerland Manifesto MK II release on May 26 th . The song features Chris Robinson (Black Crowes) on vocals, as well as some thick and dirty slide work from Joe on his Dan Armstrong Lucite guitar. Gary covered Chris Robinson’s vocals to near perfection.
“Chip Away The Stone” was another personal favorite in the set, but Joe and Jason Sutter just couldn’t seem to get “Spanish Sushi” off the ground before they decided to abort the track in favor of “Stepping Out”, a song that dates back to John Mayall’s Blues Breakers (featuring Eric Clapton). The band literally stepped out on this one with extended solos by Joe and the distinctive Hammond B3 sound provided by Buck Johnson on keys.
Joe offered a lengthy intro to the next song, which was a 1950’s rockabilly track entitled “Flying Saucers Rock n Roll.” The song was originally recorded by Billy Lee Riley, but Joe’s take on the song more closely resembled the supercharged version recorded by Robert Gordon and Link Ray and released in 1977. Joe even donned a leopard print sport coat to set the mood, and admitted the song was such a guilty pleasure that he played it twice. You could clearly see that Joe was in the moment, and the vocal delivery was right in his wheelhouse. The delivery and performance were very reminiscent of “Stop Messin’ Around” a blues track that Joe regularly performs and sings in Aerosmith.
“You Can’t Put Your Arms Around A Memory” was dedicated to Johnny Thunders and yielded to “Lick And A Promise” a deep cut off of Aerosmith’s 1976 masterpiece “Rocks”. “Quake” is a song that features original vocals by Gary and will be included on the aforementioned Sweetzerland Manifesto MKII release.
Blistering versions of “Reefer Headed Woman” and “Bone to Bone (Coney Island)” were welcome surprises, and both are featured on Aerosmith’s Night In The Ruts album released back in 1979. It was during the performance of these songs that you get a real sense of the intuitive connection between David Hull on bass and Joe on guitar with extended and improvised solos.
“Rockin’ Train” brought the set back to Joe’s affinity for his R&B roots. Following the song’s conclusion, Joe declared the performance to be the true definition of garage rock. The Yardbirds’ classic “Train Kept a Rollin” closed out the main set.
The encore was kicked off by the biggest surprise of the evening with the inclusion of “Lightning Strikes” off Aerosmith’s Rock In A Hard Place release from 1982. As many are aware, this album was released after Joe’s departure from the band.
Buck Johnson had just begun the intro, when Joe stepped to the mic and asked him to hold off for a second. Joe indicated that this song is one of his favorite Aerosmith tracks, despite not having a damn thing to do with it. Gary immediately replied that Joe was about to put his DNA all over it, which he certainly did. The main riff was as sinister as ever, and Joe played it as if he wrote it. In fact, when the band finished, Joe stepped up to the mic, and with his hand on his head, and repeated the lyric “its dog eat dog when you meet your rival” with a Cheshire cat grin across his face… The set concluded with a spirited version of “Walk This Way”.
The entire evening was a celebration of Joe’s career and a reaffirmation of his stature among the pantheon of rock n roll’s greatest guitarists and songwriters.
Aerosmith DNA was all over this performance, as Joe’s Aerosmith crew members included two of the finest FOH lighting and sound guys in the industry in Cosmo Wilson and John Shipp, Road Manger / Underboss / Consiglieri, John Bionelli keeping The Admirals ship on course, Joey Kramer’s long time drum tech, John “Magee” McGarry was on hand to support Jason Sutter, and Darren Hurst handled Joe’s guitar tech duties. All are long time and current members of Aerosmith’s touring and production team.
Darren Hurst may have been the busiest man on that stage as Joe switched guitars on nearly every song throughout the twenty-song set. When Joe tours, he brings a full arsenal of vintage guitars along with him, which include a variety of road worn Les Paul’s, Firebird’s, an ES335 w/ a Bigsby tailpiece, Tele’s, Strat’s, Dan Armstong’s, and more. As Uncle Junior once said to Tony Soprano, “next time you come in, you come heavy, or not at all.” Joe clearly prescribes to that mindset, and Darren Hurst kept Joe fully locked and loaded all night long.
The following night included another incendiary hometown performance at Boston’s House of Blue’s on Lansdowne Street, which was attended by Joe’s longtime Aerosmith bandmate Tom Hamilton. Additional tour dates included stops at NYC’s Webster Hall on Tuesday 4/18, Des Plains IL on 4/20. St Charles IL on 4/21 and Pontiac MI on 4/22.
Further proof that a rolling stone gathers no moss, Joe’s schedule this year also includes a string of dates with the Hollywood Vampires, as well as the commencement of Aerosmith tour dates beginning in September.
Opening the show at Foxwoods was Robin Taylor Zander, son of Cheap Trick vocalist / guitarist Robin Zander. Robin Taylor is a spitting image of his father both visually and vocally. The band performed original material soon to be released on April 21 st , and is inspired by the sounds of early Beatles, Beach Boys, and Cheap Trick. During the encore, the band also performed a stunning cover of The Beatles’ “Dear Prudence”.
In fact, RTZ has teamed up with legendary Aerosmith, Cheap Trick, John Lennon Producer Jack Douglas for their upcoming release, and Jack was in attendance and on hand to support the band.
The second opener included Micky James, another up and coming artist whose influences include the glam rock stage presence of Marc Bolan of T Rex, David Bowie, The Strokes, and Justin Hawkins.
In closing, this version of The Joe Perry Project is one of the finest that’s been put together, and the first two shows have been the most gratifying and enjoyable I’ve ever attended, dating all the way back to its origins in 1980.
Gary Cherone has proven to be a perfect choice as vocalist and front man for the 2023 touring version of The Project, with his youthful energy, stage presence, and his incredible vocal range. The Malden MA native is clearly enjoying his role and is as much a fan of the songs he’s singing as the fans in attendance.
In addition to Buck Johnson’s stellar work on keys, he also adds potent backing vocals with an unlimited range. Buck is often cited by Steven as being one of the true MVPs of Aerosmith’s touring band.
Jason Sutter has been an absolute beast on drums and has developed an amazing rapport with David Hull on bass. It’s been an absolute joy to witness these two perform together as they add such heft and power, as they propel the overall performance.
Having David Hull on bass represents a full circle moment, as he is one of the charter members of the original Joe Perry Project, appearing on the first two releases as bassist, backing vocalist, and co-writer of several tracks. David also performed on Joe’s Have Guitar, Will Travel solo album released in 2009, and toured with Joe in 2009 and 2010. David also performed with Aerosmith in 2006 on their “Route of All Evil Tour”, as a temporary replacement for Tom Hamilton who was absent while recovering from throat cancer.
To learn more about Joe Perry, check out his website
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