Shenanigan’s was packed wall to wall last night with rock n’ roll fans eager to see Aerosmith and Guns N’ Roses…a tribute that is. Dallas natives Walk This Way and Guns 4 Roses had the 10,000 square foot venue rocking like it was 1987.
Walk This Way – A Tribute to Aerosmith opened the show at 9 p.m. with the 1975 classic “Toys In the Attic.” However, it was the second song on the list, 1987’s “Love in an Elevator,” that grabbed the audience’s attention and had them singing along.
When they slowed it down with the number one hit “I Don’t Want to Miss A Thing,” the audience belted out every word, but it was “Dream On” that had the bar glowing like a Christmas tree.
The signature classic “Walk This Way” brought many of the people out of their seats and up to the front of the stage where they danced and shouted out, “Walk this way! Talk this way!”
Like an actual Aerosmith concert, Walk This Way’s set came to a close with the high energy tune, “Train Kept A Rollin’,” which received an abundance of applause, cheers, and whistles.
While the musicianship was phenomenal, it wasn’t just the songs that left the audience wanting more – it was the stage presence.
It was clear that this group had spent a great deal of time studying the performances of Aerosmith, most particularly that of Steven Tyler and Joe Perry.
Ian Latimer and Dave Semans acted as Tyler and Perry respectively, and delivered a true “Toxic Twins” performance that can be seen in any Aerosmith video or concert for the last four decades.
Latimer also duplicated Tyler’s gypsy-like dance moves while crooning from the signature scarf-donned microphone stand, bringing a true almost Aerosmith performance to the Shenanigan’s stage.
The 27-year-old started as a fill-in for the group, but is now their permanent “Steven Tyler.” Never playing San Angelo before, he was not sure what to expect; but last night’s show left him pleased and eager to return.
“There is always a market for this, so you know you are going to have a good crowd,” he said. “If the venue promotes it right, people come out, and it’s a great time. It has definitely met my expectations. This was great; I love it. I can’t wait to come back.”
With the quick change of costumes, drum head, and front man, Walk This Way became Guns 4 Roses.
When the set started with “It’s So Easy” and Hungarian singer Las jumped on the stage, the mixture of his raspy voice and small physique had the audience checking twice to make sure it wasn’t the real Axl Rose.
When the band played 1987’s “Mr. Brownstone,” Las broke out that signature Axl “sway,” receiving much attention from the ladies in the audience.
The venue was once more given a small taste of Aerosmith when Guns 4 Roses played “Mama Kin,” welcoming Latimer back to the stage. He and Las shared vocals on the 1973 classic, just as Tyler and Rose did in Paris back in 1992.
At the start of the popular ballad, “November Rain,” Las chose to step down from the stage for a verse where he sat beside a young lady in the audience and serenaded her, receiving many cheers from others throughout the crowd.
The opening riffs of “Sweet Child O’ Mine” made the crowd wild. A technical difficulty left Las’ microphone turned off for only a few moments; however, it was unnoticeable due to the entire audience belting out every word.
The night’s festivities came to a close with “Paradise City.” Las was able to get everyone in attendance clapping and singing along. When he blew the whistle, the fans went ballistic. The band and audience were so energetic that it looked like watching a video on fast forward.
With very little flaws, no excessive usage of the middle finger, and lack of equipment destruction, this tribute show may have actually been better than seeing the real Guns N’ Roses live.
For bass player and band manager, Chris Bender, this was also his first time in San Angelo and he “loved it.”
“We had talked to some of the other bands that had been here before like Back In Black,” he explained. “They told us that you guys in San Angelo really have a good time and the venue is nice. So we had good expectations going in and I think they were met.”
Minus some minor problems with the technology, the night was an overall success. Owner Derrick Hoffman was extremely pleased and said, “Both bands were awesome. We will have them back for sure. I was a little embarrassed about our subpar system not doing them justice. They were happy, I’m just a perfectionist.”
By the look of the venue, the audience was more than happy as well. It is safe to say that Walk This Way and Guns 4 Roses are both crowd pleasers for San Angelo.
For more information on both bands, check out the following links:
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