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With Aerosmith, fans might not want to miss a thing, but they most especially did not want to miss — if at all possible — the band’s two all-star-guest-augmented shows at the Hollywood Bowl this week, the first of which
was Thursday night. These two outings are the group’s first shows since they had to cut their farewell tour abruptly short a little over three years ago. Could they also be the last?
No one has said anything official about this representing an actual finale for Aerosmith, and so many fans have figured that they may have further shows in them after this, perhaps going out at some point in the future with a hometown gig in Boston, in that line of prospective thinking. And yet, there was the show’s host, Bill Burr, at the very top of the evening, captured on video for all the world to hear declaring that these were “the final two shows in Aerosmith’s history.” The casual way in which he dropped that bombshell while introducing show-opener Warren Hayne made it clear he was speaking out of turn. But was Burr letting a real cat out of the bag? (Or, considering that he did a lengthy comic monologue about getting a DUI as a youth on his way home from an Aerosmith show, had he just dipped back into the sauce backstage for old time’s sake?)
If these two shows should be the end of the line — rather than just being put together for the sake of filming for a TV special or documentary, as seemed to be happening — it would be a fairly proud way to go out, as the band sounded in completely top form during a short-ish but spectacular 45-minute set that rounded out the nearly four-hour evening. In particular, Steven Tyler gave no evidence of the vocal injury that halted the abortive 2023 tour. Not just back in the saddle — Tyler and Joe Perry, Tom Hamilton and Brad Whitford did not sound or act like cowpokes who had any immediate intention of re-vacating their seats upon the horse they rode in on.
The asterisk on all that was the participation of original drummer Joey Kramer, who had had to take a break from the band due to health issues even prior to the ’23 interruption, but had made it clear he didn’t want to be done. For the first five numbers of Aerosmith’s six-song climactic set Thursday, the drummer on duty was Dave Grohl, slamming it home as if he were slugger Shohei Ohtani in his pre-midseason prime. So the question of “what about Joey?” was begged when, toward the end, Tyler said, “Before we say goodnight, I just want to say what a ride it’s been with my brothers — Joe, Tom, Brad and Joey,. Fifty-five fucking years, and we’re the same fucking band that started fifty-five and a half years ago.” (You’ve got to love a guy who’s so proud of his permanent record that he remembers to throw the “and a half” in there.)
And there. suddenly, was Kramer, at center stage, sharing a hug with the frontman. He then retreated to the second drum kit that had been sitting out, promissorily, with the initials “JK” on it. Grohl gave up his position on the main kit and left the stage so that it could be taken over by John Douglas, the drum tech who had come to fill in previously for Kramer. As the two men drummed side-by-side on the final number, it seemed evident that Kramer was capable of laying down a good beat but probably not capable of doing the heavy lifting at this point in time. And so the way that it was handled seemed like a good, bittersweet compromise, in allowing the co-founder to come out and collect his flowers at the close as a still-working performer.
No one from the general public who’d bought a ticket had too much idea what to expect out of Aerosmith for these two shows. So some might have thought the 45 minutes were too brief, although a look at the all-star lineup (some of whom will be repeating Sunday night, and some of whom will rotate out) made it clear to anyone attentive that this would not be a full career-summation kind of show. There were no sentimental musings, beyond Tyler’s aforementioned 55-and-a-half remarks. At the end of “Walk This Way,” without any farewells being offered, fireworks started going off over the Bowl’s shell, and it was unclear whether they’d be coming back for more after the sparklers went out or not. They did not, which made things feel a bit anticlimactic. Presumably, they’ll end night 2 with a slight bit more speechifying, whether or not they’re in the mood for clarifying future prospects or an end to all that.
Anyway, aside from the odd finish, what the Bowl audience got in the broader sense was far from an anticlimax in the overall scheme of things. They wanted to see Aerosmith performing with the vigor of a mirage reassembling before their eyes, or as if there were four portraits of Dorian Gray being held in storage back in the green room. Against the odds of layoffs and advancing time, that’s exactly what they got. Long scarves tied to the mic stand and blowing in the wind? Check. Even longer hair on Tyler and Perry, also blowing in those hurricane-level breezes, with the singer festooned in a beautiful open blouse? Check. The band in crunchy precision, and the singer howling like he’d never taken a hiatus from dreaming on? Double-check. Whatever injury went down with Tyler’s larynx, it was apparently reversible, and he seems to have the kind of chops that naturally age well… which no one would take for granted after hearing some bumpy moments from some of the opening attractions. It was all you could have hoped for from the Aerosmith of 2026, and maybe even a little better than that.
Grohl was not the only guest musician to sit in with Aerosmith, as Perry brought out his Hollywood Vampires bandmate, “Johnny fucking Depp,” to play on the penultimate number, “Train Kept A-Rollin’.” Lest any cynics imagine the actor did not have his instrument plugged in for his rhythm playing, Perry actually tossed Depp a spot to take half of his guitar solo, which he pulled off with fleeting aplomb.
But the highlight might have occurred one song before that, with “Dream On,” which is a predictable choice for a standout, but when something that time-tested works, you don’t have to go looking for an underdog pick just for the sake of it. Tyler began the anthem accompanying himself on grand piano (while the audio from an interlude video was still playing) and eventually revealed that there was a small staircase behind the gleaming instrument, as there he was on top of it, preening and posing for the post-high-note outro like only someone of his greatest (?) generation can get away with. We love our Geese, and their modern-day modesty, but we may still love Tyler as a strutting, raunchy swan a little bit more.
The two acts on the bill that got full mini-sets prior to Aerosmith’s appearance were the Black Crowes and Guns N’ Roses, each of whom devoted either most or all of their time on stage to covering the headliner. The BC guys were all about the Aerosmith, capably holding down the Joe Perry Project song “Let the Music Do the Talking” as their opener, followed by “Write Me a Letter,” “Combination,” “No More No More” and, finally, “Chip Away the Stone.”
GNR did also did a five-song set, with three of those five being Aerosmith covers — “Nobody’s Fault,” “Seasons of Wither” and a delectable “Last Child” — before adding value for the audience with “Sweet Child of Mine” and “Welcome to the Jungle.” Slash was on form, and Axl Rose was game, though better in his lower range; in his upper, he sounded… well, different… sort of more like a choirboy falsetto, as heard here, than the raspier instrument we remember. Settling into and enjoying that difference may take more acclimation than we all had time for in such a quick appearance.
Most everyone else on the bill got two numbers. With country superstar Eric Church, you’d have to count it as a split decision. “Rag Doll” was a lot of fun, given a very rootsy treatment. But “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” was, well, a miss, with the singer trying a little too strenuously to match Tyler’s intensity, while spending the entire number notably staring downward through his shades at the words on a monitor. It’s unclear whether he will also be on the bill for night 2, but he could use a do-over on that one; with a little more prep, it might yet be within his reach.
Church was working with a house band that included Don Was, Kenny Aronoff, Andrew Watt and other famous names, as were those that preceded him — Heart’s Wilson sisters, Sammy Hagar, Billy Idol with Steve Stevens, Warren Haynes, and Sully of Godsmack.
Chances are that most of those performers will not be returning for the second Bowl show, since a lot of the advertised acts have yet to appear, like Run-DMC, Tom Morello, Marcus King, Jerry Cantrell and Train’s Pat Monahan. Unless, that is, they are planning to move the start time for Sunday up even further than they did for Thursday; ticketholders for this first show got a warning through their apps in the afternoon that the very action-packed bill would be kicking off at 6:45 instead of 7.
The two shows are being produced by by 724 Management and Blackbird Presents, with the involvement of the latter company being a sure sign that a doc or special is in store, pretty much confirmed by the presence of a flying camera on wires swooping back and forth above the venue’s box seats. The world will likely get a chance to see it, then, in some form. But only time — or maybe some additional remarks from the stage on Sunday? — will tell whether there might be still additional chances to see the band in the flesh down the road.
Setlist for Aerosmith & Friends at the Hollywood Bowl, night 1, Oct. 29, 2026:
Sully Of Godsmack:
Make It
Lightning Strikes
Warren Haynes:
Lord of the Thighs
Walkin’ the Dog
Billy Idol And Steve Stevens:
Livin’ on the Edge
Sammy Hagar:
Draw the Line
Helter Skelter
Heart:
Never Loved a Man
Janie’s Got a Gun
Eric Church:
Rag Doll
I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing
The Black Crowes:
Let The Music Do the Talking
Write Me a Letter
Combination
No More No More
Chip Away the Stone
Guns N’ Roses:
Nobody’s Fault
Last Child
Seasons of Wither
Welcome to the Jungle
Paradise City
Aerosmith:
Toys in the Attic (with Dave Grohl)
Back in the Saddle (with Grohl)
Sweet Emotion (with Grohl)
Dream On (with Grohl)
Train Kept a Rollin’ (with Grohl and Johnny Depp)
Walk This Way (with Joey Kramer and John Douglas)
