Aerosmith staged their second and final California Dream On concert at L.A.’s Hollywood Bowl on Sunday night, and they tweaked their set in a few significant ways from the first evening even though they played mostly the same songs. This time around, John Douglas was behind the drum kit instead of Dave Grohl, they added “Come Together” into the mix, and Run-DMC joined them for “Walk This Way.”
They began “Walk This Way” in standard fashion, and once again invited founding drummer Joey Kramer back to the stage for his only appearance of the evening. (He performed alongside Douglas.) But after the few notes, Steven Tyler instructed the band to stop. “Hold on, hold on, something’s wrong,” he said. “We’re missing something. I think you know what I mean. We’re missing some people! This song ain’t the song without some people.”
Nearly everyone in the crowd knew exactly what was going to happen next since Run-DMC were advertised as guests, and the more astute ones likely realized that Joe Perry was holding the exact same Guild X-100 Bladerunner guitar he played in the iconic 1986 video.
Sure enough, Joseph “Rev Run” Simmons and Darryl “DMC” McDaniels came out from opposite ends of the stage to join Aerosmith for a bombastic “Walk This Way.” “Run-DMC!” Tyler bellowed near the end as Simmons and McDaniels literally bowed down to them. “We broke through the wall together and showed the world what they was missing.” (Aerosmith’s headlining set also included “Toys in the Attic,” “Back in the Saddle,” “Sweet Emotion,” “Dream On,” and a grand finale of “Train Kept A-Rollin’.”)
Earlier in the night, Tom Morello and Lzzy Hale broke out “Kings and Queens” and “Round and Round,” Billy Idol sang “Living’ on the Edge” with Steven Stevens, Grace Potter belted out “What it Takes,” Heart ripped into “Janie’s Got a Gun” and their own hit “Barracuda,” and the Black Crowes went deep into the Aerosmith catalog and dug out “Get the Lead Out” from 1976’s Rocks.
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Guns N’ Roses completely rearranged their set from opening night by playing “Mama Kin,” which they originally covered on their 1986 debut Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide and was a part of their early live repertoire. They followed it with “S.O.S. (Too Bad),” “Rats in the Cellar,” and “Sick as a Dog.” It was the first they’d ever played all three Aerosmith songs, and they closed out with “Sweet Child o’ Mine” and “Nighttrain” from their own catalog.
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These two events weren’t advertised as Aerosmith’s last concerts, but comedian Bill Burr said they were “the final two shows in Aerosmith’s history” on opening night, generating a lot of headlines and confusion. Steven Tyler cleared things up at the second show. “So Bill Burr said these are our final shows, huh?” he told the crowd. “Doesn’t he know that you can’t get rid of Aerosmith? In fact, at the end of the fuckin’ world, there will only be cockroaches, Aerosmith and I guess Bill Burr!”
He’s right that Aerosmith have proved over the past 55 years that they’re absolutely un-killable. Despite everything they’ve gone through, all five original members were still onstage both nights at the Hollywood Bowl. Still, they haven’t performed a full concert since their Peace Out farewell tour was called off in 2023 after just three shows. It’s easy to imagine appearances at special events in the future, but a return to the road or even a full set feels unlikely. And if Burr was indeed telling the truth and these were their last shows, they made them very special for the fans. There was also a professional camera crew on hand at them both, meaning we’re likely to revisit these events at some future point in a documentary or concert film.
