Steven Tyler isn’t ready to call time on Aerosmith’s touring career — despite comments from the stage at the band’s recent Hollywood Bowl concerts that suggested otherwise.
The group returned to the stage for its first live performances in more than three years on Friday and Sunday, playing a shortened headlining set after an all-star cast of guests, including Heart and Guns N’ Roses, paid tribute with performances of Aerosmith songs. The format recalled Ozzy Osbourne’s Back to the Beginning farewell event.
But fans were caught off guard when comedian Bill Burr, who served as master of ceremonies, introduced the October 29 concert by describing the occasion as “this amazing event” and declaring it would be the “final two shows in Aerosmith’s history.” His remarks quickly sparked speculation online that the band was calling it quits.
Tyler wasn’t having it.
“So Bill Burr said these are our final shows, huh?” he asked the Hollywood Bowl audience on Sunday. “Doesn’t he know that you can’t get rid of Aerosmith? In fact, at the end of the fucking world, there will only be cockroaches, Aerosmith and I guess, Bill Burr!”
The singer appeared to take the joke in stride, later describing Burr as “Boston’s own Charlie Brown with a bad-ass attitude.”
Still, Tyler’s own words toward the end of the performance did little to settle the question of what comes next. “Before we say goodnight, I just want to say what a ride it has been with my brothers. 55 years, you guys, 55 years.”
Guitarist Joe Perry offered no clues about the band’s future, instead thanking the musicians who had joined them to perform their songs. “I gotta say thank you to all the performers that came out tonight and played our songs,” he said, before adding, with characteristic self-deprecation, “A lot better than we ever did.”
