AZ Central.com
November 28, 2009

Joe Perry made it clear on his stop in Mesa that he is just a guy who wants to play his guitar.

Granted, he is a multimillionaire rock star with many, many guitars and a band called Aerosmith. But onstage with his other group, the Joe Perry Project, at the Mesa Arts Center’s Ikeda Theater, the 59-year-old guitar master tore through lead after lead with the zeal of a 20-year-old learning “Smoke On the Water.”

“This is one of my favorite riffs. I know you’ll get sick of (hearing) that line as the night goes on,” Perry said early on at the Friday, Nov. 27, show, before playing the funky guitar line to Aerosmith’s “Sight For Sore Eyes.”

Perry sampled many of the riffs from five solo albums that date back, as he put it, “longer ago than I want to admit (1980),” for a small but appreciative crowd.

Backed by the latest version of his Joe Perry Project, a bulletproof group of musicians including longtime pal and occasional Aerosmith fill-in David Hull on bass, keyboardist-guitarist Paul Santo and J. Geils Band drummer Marty Richards, Perry focused on his solo catalog while sprinkling in some tracks from “that other band I play with.”

German singer Hagen Grohle, discovered by Perry’s wife, Billie, on YouTube, did an exceptional job on both the Aerosmith and Joe Perry Project songs.

Perry avoided mentioning Aerosmith by name, no doubt in part because he is frustrated with singer Steven Tyler, who Perry says recently told the band he wants to take two years off.

“All I’m doing is concentrating on this (latest) band. I plan to keep working, and we’ll see what happens,” Perry said of Aerosmith’s future in an interview this month with The Arizona Republic.

“Let the music do the talking,” is how I’ve put it in the past,” Perry added, referring to the title of his debut solo CD.

He played the title track from that album to set the tone for the Mesa show and also dipped into that album for an insane take on “Rockin’ Train.”

The latter song featured Perry, who was clad in black leather from head to toe, in full guitar god mode. Perry threw down wave after wave of slicing riffs and worked the stage like the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer that he is. At one point, he played while straddling his guitar neck, but didn’t just do it for 30 seconds for effect, like some guitarists. Perry played a full verse or two of lead in that challenging position.

Aerosmith fans got their fill with a frantic version of “Toys In the Attic” that showcased just how tight the band was. Perry, playing the famed Gibson that is adorned with his wife’s likeness, went over the top when the time came for him to solo.

Grohle hit every note that Tyler recorded and then some on “Toys,” as well as the show-closing “Walk This Way.”

The singer also drew fan approval as he shrieked on a not-so-successful reggae-infused remake of “Dream On.”

Perry showed of his slide prowess on the bluesy “Vigilante Man,” from his Grammy-nominated “Joe Perry” CD of 2005, which also featured a strong keyboard solo by Santo.

He and Grohle occasionally shared vocals, and Perry sang solo on the bluesy classic “Stop Messin’ Around” (which featured an ultra-smooth solo as he held his guitar behind his back) and the old-school boogie tune, “Slingshot,” from Perry’s new “Have Guitar, Will Travel” album.

Rock-guitar geeks in the Valley who skipped this show and contributed to its light turnout missed an impressive and enjoyable display of fret work by one of rock’s true treasures.