The most popular by far and most mind-blowing performance of the night was the return of Aerosmith after 20 years Aussie absence.
The American band was added as a late headliner, and fans attending the original sideshow were redirected to Stone. The arena filled up almost double around the beginning of their 7:30pm set, showing that many were solely attending for Aerosmith. Those who weren’t fans, I am 90 per cent sure became fans after seeing Tyler prove he really knew how to rock.
Gracing the stage with an eye catching outfit and sunnies, you just can’t help but be mesmerized by his stage presence and superior vocalist ability. The whole vibe definitely had me dancing along; I don’t know how anyone stayed seated!
I know it is a cliché, but “Walk This Way” was my highlight. Surprisingly I also favourited “I don’t want to miss a thing” (The Armageddon song). I don’t know what it was, but with the cold night, strength within the lyrics and enthusiastic crowd, I really felt I was… missing things… by not listening to them more often!
They also threw in a Beatles cover (Come Together) which was certainly a crowd-pleaser.
In regards to the rest of the festival, I would 100 per cent recommend anyone to go and see “Kings Of Chaos” when they return to Sydney in January. If Guns and Roses, Deep Purple and Def Leppard are your kind of thing, these guys are a supergroup like no other. Including members from all of the above and more, it was pure talent and beyond doubt a stand-out collaboration. They definitely didn’t get a long enough set time (7 tracks) and not one person seemed disappointed. Ending on Paradise City, they really had festival goers pumped for the rest of the night to come.
Van Halen closed the show, and I had been looking forward to seeing them for a long time. Sound was quite disappointing, as many attendees decided to have a whinge about, including myself. Eddie Van Halen redeemed the poor organization though, smashing out an unforgettable solo.
A cover of “Pretty Woman” caught my attention, along with all time favourites, “Panama” and “Hot For Teacher”.
All in all, I think the calibre of the artists involved left people satisfied, but perhaps a venue change and set up could be better if it ever returns, as there was a tiny side stage pretty much ignored with some talented smaller acts trying to gain some exposure.
Image: Ross Halfin
