SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.— Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler charged up a frenzied crowd on the eve of the Super Bowl that features his beloved New England Patriots.
Tyler played fan favorites "Dream On," ''Sweet Emotion" and "Cryin'''at the Rolling Stone party in front of an audience that sang along in unison for most of the songs.
The venue was adorned with Rolling Stone covers from over the years, and Tyler made a reference to magazine founder Jann Wenner's influence on the music industry between songs.
Tyler followed British pop star Charli XCX, who set the stage with an energetic set.
"Who's excited for the f------ Super Bowl?" she shouted. "I thought it was baseball until a few months ago. I'm from the U.K."
Tyler largely avoided any reference to the Patriots despite a long history with the team. The Boston rocker has been a fan of the Patriots for several years, and famously sang the national anthem in the AFC Championship two years ago before the Patriots lost to the Baltimore Ravens. The performance was widely ridiculed as he botched some of the lyrics.
Following the controversy over deflated footballs during this year's AFC title game, Tyler joined Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, John Krasinski and other well-known Patriots fans in a mock video on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" in which they claimed responsibility for the air being taken out of the balls.
Tyler's top billing at an A-list party on one of the entertainment world's biggest party nights is a testament to his staying power as a rock 'n' roll icon. Aerosmith's longevity spans more than a generation, including their rise to stardom in the early 1970s, a rough period during the early '80s when drugs tore the band apart and a resurgence in the late '80s and early '90s that put them back on the top of the charts. In recent years, Tyler was a judge on "American Idol," endearing him to a younger generation of fans.
