Aerosmith is back on schedule to rock War Memorial Stadium
September 23, 2009
By: Rich Chatenever, Entertainment Editor
WAILUKU - Aerosmith is back on schedule to rock War Memorial Stadium.
The seemingly star-crossed and previously canceled concert is now scheduled for 7 p.m. Oct. 20, Maui Arts & Cultural Center Executive Vice President and General Manager Art Vento confirmed Monday.
Steven Tyler, the group's charismatic vocalist whose fall off a concert stage last month canceled the remainder of the group's Mainland tour, told concert producer Tom Moffatt he was "feeling great and everything is back to normal," in anticipation of the band's trip to the islands.
Tyler said the band had been looking forward to playing in the islands since 1976, adding "a big mahalo to the fans for making a dream come true."
The Maui Arts & Cultural Center is presenting the Maui show in the larger-capacity stadium a few blocks away. Aerosmith will also perform in Honolulu on Oct. 18. Veteran island showmen Moffatt and Shep Gordon are producing the Maui and Oahu concerts.
The long-awaited Maui concert is part of the settlement of a class-action lawsuit set off when Aerosmith canceled a 2007 concert at the same venue at the last minute.
The legal action was brought by a group suing for expenses for tickets and travel to the island for the show. Plans for a makeup concert on Maui, tentatively scheduled for earlier this month, had been put on hold after Tyler fell off the stage during an Aug. 8 performance in Sturgis, S.D., breaking his left shoulder and requiring 20 stitches for a head injury.
The band canceled the remainder of its Mainland tour at that time but reiterated its commitment to playing on Maui.
Parties to the class-action lawsuit who complied with the terms of the settlement will each receive a free general admission ticket, good for either the Maui or the Oahu show.
For ticket buyers, Vento emphasized that there would be plenty of good seating available in the 10,000-seat stadium.
"It has taken careful planning to work out the details and exact timing for Aerosmith's Maui concert," Vento said. "They are ready to make this show happen . . . and in a very big way."
Reserved seating tickets priced at $125 and $85 and general admission bleacher seating at $65 will go on sale to MACC annual donors at 10 a.m. Saturday at the center box office, by calling 242-7469 or online at www.mauiarts.org. Tickets will go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. Oct. 1. Applicable processing fees are added to the price of each ticket.
Buyers can become annual donors by going online at www.mauiarts.org/donorbenefit or at the time of purchase. The number of tickets available to donors will depend on their donor level: Ilima level, two tickets; Ohia level, four tickets; Kukui level, six tickets; Silversword level and above, eight tickets. Ticket purchases will be limited to a maximum of eight.
Still filling stadiums nearly four decades after making its debut at Boston's Mendon Nipmus Regional High School in 1970, the hard-driving Aerosmith was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2001. The band members are Tyler on lead vocals, keyboards, piano, harmonica and percussion; Joe Perry on lead and rhythm guitars and background vocals; Brad Whitford on rhythm and lead guitars; Tom Hamilton on bass, rhythm guitar and background vocals; and Joey Kramer on drums, percussion and background vocals. Their hits include "Walk This Way," "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)," "Back in the Saddle," "Sweet Emotion," "Dream On" and "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing."
Along with their four Grammys, 150 million albums sold and many other achievements, members of the group shot to new fame with the 2008 release of the video game Guitar Hero: Aerosmith Edition.
