Aerosmith rocks The Tower Theater, March 26, 1978 - the set opener "Rats in the Cellar" and a stellar performance of "Seasons of Wither"

0:04 Hey everybody, welcome back to the concert room. Inside the Philly Concert Experience. I'm your host, Bob Hill. The concert room is a podcast session dedicated to all the great performances and performers who played on the stage at the legendary Philadelphia Spectrum Arena. The Spectrum held numerous events and concerts over its 40 plus years of existence, earning the nickname America Show Place. The Spectrum was a special place for music fans and bands. And welcome back. We're rolling along here in season two.

0:37 I hope you found the last couple of shows with our guests enjoyable and informative. But let's get back to rocking inside the concert room. I got a great band today. Uh and uh great show for us to talk about.

1:01 Starting with their game.

1:05 And then give you a wing.

1:10 Draw the line and then closing out the 70s with the rock. Of course these albums can take the book of the head in their life. All the way up until they return a few years ago.

1:27 Kind of a more radio friendly head. Um very much arithmetic.

1:38 The hard rock.

1:46 And uh now of course the track room shows.

2:06 There were two separate incidents. Um 1977 and 1978.

2:19 All out there for you to read. Um I understand it were other incidents like that on the tour. Talking about 1977. Um fairly fairly that nothing is dangerous.

2:38 I'll just leave it there.

2:41 Um very unfortunate on the internet.

2:58 From the 1978 hour feeder show.

3:19 A lot of the same bands you play with background.

3:26 But also the same band you're playing the background.

3:37 Uh the tower of the theater was located in the door.

3:41 Right outside the city line of the local for us in the city and through the family. And the tower had a capacity of about three thousand more for uh capacity. And it really made it uncomfortable and intimate.

4:01 So a great environment for the fans and fans on any given night.

4:19 And it's gonna play the spectrum again. They rolled it to the tower on the current draw the line tour. And then it was on March 26th, 1978. During this time of the late 70s, the band was kind of struggling with the turn which would lead to Joe Hurry Brad Whitford to leave in 1979. The band would reunite 1984, they were healthy, and uh really the rest of the history. It was on four that I thought I remember for the very first time. I was in California at the time, and then put on a great Greek theater in Hollywood.

4:58 And uh black and blue open up uh this was on their back in the title tour, and they were just uh later in the decade I was able to see them again in 1988.

5:18 And I really hope you were able to see them at least one back in the day. And if not, I hope it's kinda gives you an idea of what they were like in the early days. So let's get to this performance. I picked two from the tower show. As I mentioned, the set opener that night. One of the best songs I can think of any band opening up a set, and that's Rats in the Sower. And uh also cueed up a spectacular version of Seasons of Wither, one of my favorite songs by Air Smith. Um, and that is later on in the set.

5:50 So I'm gonna cue those two up and we're gonna play them back to back. Okay, so here we go. Turn this up.

14:41 I mean, that is Raw and Fierce Irismith, early Irishmith full of attitude and street swagger. Not a secret why they influenced a generation of kids who went on to play hard rock and metal. This whole show at the tower, by the way, I think rivals their live bootleg album that was officially released uh around this time. And so I think if you line these up uh together, I think uh this holds up just as well as uh great live bootleg album that was put out around the same time. So thanks again for tuning in.

15:16 I'm Bob Hill. Please subscribe, feel free to leave a comment. I have a few more good performances and features coming up. Uh so stay involved. And I look forward to seeing you again in the concert room.