Joe Perry Project – Arcada Theatre – St. Charles, Il – April 22nd 2023

The Joe Perry Project with special guest Micky Jones Arcada Theatre St. Charles, Il 4/22/2023 

Review and photos by Tommy Sommers

I can’t really talk about the bands until I talk about the Arcada Theater. It’s truly one of the most unique places I’ve ever been It’s a wonderful place to see a live show. Because you get more than just the live show. You get to enter a time capsule in a way. There’s a speakeasy on the third floor that you must go through a bookcase to enter. It Harkins back to the roaring 20’s of Chicago with a lot of artifacts, antiques, and unique items. There is a tunnel in the basement that used to go under the river to a hotel. This was used by Al Capone. And other notorious gangsters of that era. If you’re a history buff, it’s worth going there just for that. Not to mention a live show, great restaurant, the Speakeasy, a discotheque, and many other special things planned. Their staff is incredibly accommodating no matter which part of the building you are in. The owner Ron Onesty was walking around the entire weekend greeting his guests. He was completely accessible if you had any questions period again a cool and unique experience.

The opening act Mickey Jones was a real surprise to me. I was unfamiliar with his music and came to find out that he’s been around for almost 10 years. He’s from the UK and this is the first time I’ve seen him perform. I was really taken by how incredibly catchy his songs are. It’s a three-piece band and all the musicianship in this band is incredible.

If you’re a fan of the 70s style glam music but with a little bit of A twist, this is an artist that’s worth checking out. His performance was fantastic it was somewhere between Iggy Pop and Aldus Snow. The character from the movie Get Him to the Greek. I found myself really entertained at the performance. It made taking photos all that more interesting when you have a subject like this. All the band members were very energetic and entertaining.

Headliner, the Joe Perry Project should be familiar to almost every single person reading this. But if you’re not, Joe Perry is the lead guitar player for the band Aerosmith. When Joe left Aerosmith in the early 1980s, he formed this solo band. It’s been on and off active since then. They have a new record coming out very soon and they played a track off the new record.

The rest of the performance was filled with classic Aerosmith songs, many from the Joe Perry Project solo albums as well as some covers by Johnny thunders, jeff beck, and Billy Lee Reily.  It was a great throwback night of rock and roll. What I mean by that is it felt like an old school rock’n’roll show that I used to attend when I was a kid. Joe Perry could be one of the last great rock stars of our generation. So many that have come after him don’t hold that same level of swagger.

In addition, Gary Cherone of the band Extreme was handling all the vocals. He is an absolute perfect fit for these songs. I followed Joe’s entire solo career and I’ve always loved his music. But there are some singers I like better than others. For me Gary is the best one he’s ever had with his solo career. They are both Boston boys so I don’t know how they wouldn’t be a perfect fit together. Extreme will be releasing a new record soon as well, and going out on tour this summer. If for some reason Joe Perry announces some more dates for this band, i urge you to see it. If you like old school rock’n’roll that has music that’s still fresh 30 plus years after it was written, this is the show you need to see!