Joe Perry must be one hell of an actor. Whether it is onstage or off, the difference between his recent comments to the media about clashing with frontman Steven Tyler, and the way they interact on stage, are polar opposite. Perhaps it was an angle to generate ticket sales?

"This may be the last time you ever see Aerosmith, so come out or miss out."

If that's the case, it seemed to have worked. While not sold out, the Saddledome was fairly packed on September 10th to see Aerosmith's Cocked, Locked and Ready To Rock tour. Kicking things off in fine form with Same Old Song and Dance and Train Kept A-Rollin, Tyler, Perry, guitarist Brad Whitford, bassist Tom Hamilton and drummer Joey Kramer took the audience on a 2+ hour journey through their 40 year career.

Even though a lot of the band’s best known hits were not performed, Aerosmith knocked song after song out of the park. At 62 years old Tyler can still hit the high notes on songs like Living On The Edge and Dream On. There were some questionable moments - Joe Perry squaring off against himself on Guitar Hero was odd - but when the band hit all strides on a 10-minute version of Sweet Emotion, anyone who may have questioned the band going into the show was silenced.

Perry turned 60 on the 10th, and after his guitar solo, he was surprised with a video from the likes of Paul Stanley of Kiss, Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, Jimmy Page and others wishing him a Happy Birthday.  Then the stage filled with crew and family to encourage the entire arena to sing the Birthday song; a special moment that would make the Calgary show unique.

If this was the last time Aerosmith ever plays Calgary, they certainly went out with guns blazing. From start to finish Aerosmith proved this despite their age and their internal turmoil - they can still outperform a lot of other bands.

Adding to the classic rock of the night was opener Joan Jett & The Blackhearts who blistered through a set that included songs from her first band (and subsequent movie) The Runaways, as well as Blackheart's hits like Bad Reputation, Crimson & Clover, Hate Myself for Loving You and of course I Love Rock n Roll. Although probably best suited to a club, Jett was excellent and set the stage for a night where the audience really did love themselves some rock n’ roll.