Jurassic Rock

These days, several world tours are starting to look more like an extended field trip to the geriatric ward than a string of concert dates. Promoting their upcoming and recently released albums, Kiss, Motley Crüe, Aerosmith, ZZ Top and Chickenfoot, have all been exchanging their Life Alert necklaces for stage passes. Following the example of the quintessential Jurassic rockers, The Rolling Stones, these bands are not letting age get in the way of any of their fun. I mean, if dudes as old as the Stones can still perform with a dead guitarist, these guys should be okay for quite a while longer (I’m convinced that promoters have taken a cue from Weekend at Bernie’s and repeatedly exhumed Keith Richards for the last three tours).

But it’s the music that matters right? So who cares about the oxygen tanks and Hove-a-rounds as long as they can still play and show us a great time?

It remains to be seen how successful the upcoming albums from Kiss, ZZ Top and Aerosmith will be, but ITunes nominated Motley Crüe for best hard rock song last year, “Saints of Los Angeles”. The first self-titled album, from the compilation group Chickenfoot is doing well, debuting at #6 on Billboard and selling 180,000 copies in the first three weeks.

Unfortunately, Aerosmith has had to cancel their tour with ZZ Top due to two on stage injuries sustained by their energetic front man, Steven Tyler – who is apparently still refusing to use his walker. ZZ Top is busy piecing together their own tour which their website explains, “will take ZZ Top to many of the markets that had been on that canceled tour's itinerary, giving fans a second chance, in a manner of speaking, to see the band after all. ZZ Top affirms a commitment to scheduling as many dates as feasible as soon as possible.”

Chickenfoot will be performing up until late September, before drummer Chad Smith returns to the studio with his main squeeze, The Red Hot Chili Peppers – no word on whether Chickenfoot will write or tour together again.  Kiss will be releasing its album “Sonic Boom” on October 6 and are slated to tour until early December, while the Crüe will be wrapping up their brief tour by September 5th.

So are promoters and label execs just trying to squeeze as much as they can out of these bands while they still can? Or are these epic legends destined to remain relevant forces in the hard rock world? If Motley Crüe and Chickenfoot’s albums were any indication, I would definitely say so. Furthermore, sales are reflecting a younger and more diverse audience, showing that these aren’t just mere senior citizen events.

But even if these guys weren’t hanging on and writing new albums, we can always be sure to expect the kind of fantastic shows that their age and experience brings to the table.  Just be sure to tell the soundman that the feedback he can’t seem to get rid of is probably coming from a hearing aid – not a microphone.