I went to see Aerosmith at the Omni here in Atlanta in 1979, on their "Night in the Ruts" tour and it was with great anticipation because local heroes Mother's Finest were opening. That meant it was going to be a killer show and this was back in the day when you could be 16 and get served a beer at a concert, so we were all kinds of pumped up. We got to the show, Mother's Finest hit the stage and let me be very clear: They were not messing around. They flat tore it up and at one point during their set, the stage filled with dry ice fog and they hit their backs with only their feet and guitars necks sticking up. That sight is something I've not forgotten to this day! So they get off the stage and now it's time for the mighty Aerosmith to do what they do. We're ready and rarin' to go and out they come, smoke flying and lights flashing. We're up and hollering when I notice something is... amiss. The guitar player has really long hair and something just doesn't seem quite right. They came out hitting it hard but quickly seem to peter out and by the third or fourth song, the band had slowed to a crawl. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around what is wrong when the guy next to me says, "That ain't Joe Perry!" And I'll be hornswaggled if it wasn't. I didn't know who the heck was on the right side of the stage that night (I later found out that it was Jimmy Crespo) and no disrespect to 'ol Jim, but I was expecting Joe friggin' Perry and he wasn't there. The following is true and you can ask my business partner because he was there too; Aerosmith began to drag their behinds and get so sloppy, people began to leave early. I mean you could see streams of folks heading up the isles and out of the show (something else I'll never forget about that night). We finally decided to leave because the boys just were not in any kind of decent form, but I still bought a T- shirt that said "Right in the Nuts", with the "R" and the "N" switched. I wore it to school the next day, (as was the thing to do in the late 70's) and my homeroom teacher made me turn my shirt inside out. "Offensive" was the word of the day for me, but that entire experience is still with me. Why? Because I did not get to see Smokin' Joe, his Mockingbird and a talkbox do "Sweet Emotion". It could not have gotten any more classic than to witness Aerosmith in 1979, but alas, it was not meant to be and the reason I relate this story to you all is every time I see a Bich or Mockingbird with all the switches and knobs, it reminds me of Perry and ultimately, that night. I've seen the boys since, with Perry back in the fold and of course, I got all my vintage Aerosmith on so all's well that ends well, I guess. At least as long as Joe's on the right side of the stage...