Las Vegas Sun

March 19, 2024

Steven Tyler opts for intimacy in ‘Out On a Limb’ tour launch

Aerosmith at MGM Grand

L.E. Baskow

Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler greets the crowd Saturday, Aug. 1, 2015, at MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Aerosmith at MGM Grand

Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler performs Saturday, Aug. 1, 2015, at MGM Grand Garden Arena. Launch slideshow »

Steven Tyler at ‘Sexxy’

Aerosmith rocker Steven Tyler at Jennifer Romas’ “Sexxy” at Westgate Las Vegas. Launch slideshow »

Steven Tyler has lived a life, no question, a genuine rock ’n’ roll survivor who has quite a tale to tell.

Tyler is letting it fly this weekend on the Strip.

Adopting a format at once intriguing and, for him, a new adventure, the legendary Aerosmith frontman is beginning his "Out on a Limb" tour Saturday night at the Venetian Theater (tickets start at $40 and are on sale at Venetian.com and by calling 702-414-9000 or 866-641-7469). The show is the launching point for Tyler’s 19-city tour of theaters and music halls across the country.

Tyler’s initial test drive of the show was in May at Lincoln Center in New York, where he and backing band Loving Mary performed retooled versions of “Sweet Emotion,” “Jaded,” and “Cryin’.”

Tyler’s new show is a music experience blended with tales about his life as a legendary rocker. The tour has been directed by Brett Ratner, with video screens to complement Tyler’s storytelling and the live performance. Tyler is also raising money and awareness for his Janie’s Fund charity, a partnership with Youth Villages to provide support for young abused women.

Tyler recently fielded questions from national media in a conference call from Nashville. Some of the highlights:

Going solo is “a real hoot.”

“You know what, it’s so flipped out to turn around and see a whole bunch of other faces. I mean, I love Aerosmith. And I’m looking forward to going on tour in South America this October, November,” Tyler said. “But this is a real hoot. I’ve never done a solo anything, and I kind of got jealous that the other guys in the band did. So I took a year off. It’s been a little bit longer, but I think you’ll like what you hear.”

It will be a massive toga party.

No, not really. Maybe for a show at Caesars, though ... but Tyler is eager to hit the stage with new musicians. “This is the most phenomenal band I get to sing with,” he said. “There’s a metamorphosis that happens when you’re with other people that do things another way if you’re open to it.”

Living through his tumultuous past has made him a grateful soul.

Aerosmith’s history is pockmarked with battles of addiction and professional thrill rides. But Tyler, at age 67, remains one of the most energetic and appealing frontmen in rock.

“Albert Einstein said, ‘Knowledge will never replace imagination.’ The few brain cells — I like to think few; it’s probably a lot — I lost going through that era, I almost feel like saying if I jump down the rabbit hole, could I not tell you about someone I met named Alice?” Tyler said. “Now to climb out of that alive ... I don’t know, man. God, she was good to me. But I just have this crazy, you know — and I say this only because I got beaten up so much for it — this crazy passion and love of life. And always speaking out of line and out of turn and out of this and out of that. ‘You’re out of your mind.’ Well, good, I’d rather be out of my mind than in a place that you’re in.”

He holds great regard for Axis theater headliner Jennifer Lopez from his time as a judge on “American Idol.”

“I fell so in love with her and she knew it, and we made each other blush a lot of times. I loved that. I loved being next to her and feeling her love. She’s a very strong woman and beautiful, and I was enamored by her and her smarts for music,” Tyler said. “I think she’s a dynamic musician and singer and dancer. And I got such joy out of, you know, talking with Randy. Randy Jackson is such a great personality.”

He actually prefers playing small venues to large.

“The last time we did small venues was like at the end of that first run of Aerosmith, about ‘81, ‘82, ‘83 ... The band started breaking up and a lot of drug use and drinking too much,” he said. “But we’d play small venues in our heyday, in ‘78. We played small venues every now and then in 1997,” Tyler said. “We did the Beacon (Theatre in New York, in 2006). We’ve done a lot of small venues. I always love them. The word comes up ‘business’ and ‘money,’ which I hate to hear because I never really cared about it. I always went with my heart ... I like playing a small venue where I look out and everybody’s close as opposed to 20,000 when they’ve got a big barricade, and I can’t feel or see the people.”

Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at twitter.com/JohnnyKats. Also, follow Kats on Instagram Instagram.com/JohnnyKats1.

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