The Permanent Vacation Tour, by American hard rock band Aerosmith, lasted from October 1987 to September 1988. It supported the band's commercially successful comeback album '' Permanent Vacation'', released in September 1987.

Background

The tour was the band's first since completing

drug rehabilitation Drug rehabilitation is the process of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and street drugs such as cannabis, cocaine, heroin or amphetamines. The general intent i ...

. Guns N' Roses, notorious for drug abuse at the time, was the supporting act for part of the tour, primarily during the summer of 1988. Aerosmith asked Guns to not do drugs in their presence, so they wouldn't relapse. "I told those guys, 'This is my dressing room and, if you whip out the coke, I'm going to have to leave,'" Steven Tyler recalled. "That was it. Then it was printed that we banned them from drinking backstage. Never." The two bands had a similar style, musically and personality-wise, and were both on

Geffen Records Geffen Records is an American record label established by David Geffen and owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M Records imprint. Founded in 1980, Geffen Records has been a part of Interscope Geffen A&M since 1999 and h ...

at the time. Upon their first meeting, the band members couldn't help but notice how much they resembled each other. Guns N' Roses' video for "

Paradise City "Paradise City" is a song by the American rock band Guns N' Roses, featured on their debut album, ''Appetite for Destruction'' (1987). Released as a single in January 1989, it is the only song on the album to feature a synthesizer. The song pea ...

" included footage from a show in which they opened for Aerosmith and Deep Purple at Giants Stadium on August 16, 1988.

Duff McKagan Michael Andrew "Duff" McKagan (born February 5, 1964), sometimes credited as Duff "Rose" McKagan, is an American musician. He played bass for twelve years in the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late ...

can be seen wearing an Aerosmith T-shirt in the video. "Thank God we got to meet some people that weren't fucked up!" remarked Guns guitarist

Izzy Stradlin Jeffrey Dean Isbell (born April 8, 1962), best known as Izzy Stradlin, is an American guitarist. He was a co-founder and rhythm guitarist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, which he left at the height of their fame in 1991, and with whom he r ...

. "It influenced me, big-time… cos

Tyler Tyler may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tyler (name), an English name; with lists of people with the surname or given name * Tyler, the Creator (born 1991), American rap artist and producer * John Tyler, 10th president of the United ...

and those guys, they were always like my rock idols… When we toured with them, I'd go out to watch and they'd sound fucking amazing! I thought, We're gonna have to really pull this shit together to keep up." Extreme,

Dokken Dokken is an American glam metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1978. It split up in 1989 and reformed four years later. The band had several hit singles which charted on the Billboard Hot 100, such as " Alone Again", " In My Dreams", and " Burn ...

and

White Lion The white lion is a rare color mutation of the lion, specifically the Southern African lion. White lions in the area of Timbavati are thought to have been indigenous to the Timbavati region of South Africa for centuries, although the earliest ...

also filled opening slots on the tour. During a show on this tour,

Liv Tyler Liv Rundgren Tyler (born Liv Rundgren; July 1, 1977) is an American actress, producer, singer and former model. She began a modeling career at age 14. She later decided to focus on acting and made her film debut in ''Silent Fall'' (1994); she ...

, aged 11 at the time, learned that her sister was

Mia Tyler Mia Abagale Tallarico (born December 22, 1978), better known as Mia Tyler, is an American actress, model, media personality and socialite. Early life and education Tyler is the daughter of rock singer Steven Tyler of the band Aerosmith and act ...

and her father was Steven Tyler.

Tour dates

Setlist

The band consistently played six tracks from ''Permanent Vacation'': the major singles "

Dude (Looks Like a Lady) "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)" is a song by American rock band Aerosmith. It was released as the lead single from the band's ninth studio album '' Permanent Vacation'' in 1987. The track reached number 14 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, number 41 ...

", "

Angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles inclu ...

", and " Rag Doll", as well as the rock radio hit "

Hangman Jury "Hangman Jury" is a song by American rock band Aerosmith. It was released as a promotional single in 1987 on the album '' Permanent Vacation''. It was written by lead singer Steven Tyler, guitarist Joe Perry, and outside collaborator Jim Vallanc ...

", the rocking title track, and the Beatles cover "

I'm Down "I'm Down" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was released on a non-album single as the B-side to "Help!" in July 1965. The song originated in McCartney's attempt ...

". The band also played numerous songs from their classic 1973–1982 era. A typical setlist would be this: # " Toys in the Attic" # "

Same Old Song and Dance "Same Old Song and Dance" is a song by American hard rock band Aerosmith, written by singer Steven Tyler and guitarist Joe Perry. Released on March 19, 1974, as the lead single from their second studio album, ''Get Your Wings'', it has remained ...

# "Big Ten Inch Record" # "

" # " Lightning Strikes" # " Rag Doll" # "

" # "Permanent Vacation" # "

" # " Back in the Saddle" # " Last Child" # " Draw the Line" # " Rats in the Cellar" # "One Way Street" # " Dream On" # "

Train Kept A-Rollin' "Train Kept A-Rollin'" (or "The Train Kept A-Rollin'") is a song first recorded by American jazz and rhythm and blues musician Tiny Bradshaw in 1951. Originally performed in the style of a jump blues, Bradshaw borrowed lyrics from an earlier son ...

" # "

Sweet Emotion "Sweet Emotion" is a song by the American rock band Aerosmith from the band's third album '' Toys in the Attic''. It was released as a single on May 19, 1975. The song began a string of pop hits and large-scale mainstream success for the band ...

" # "

Walk This Way "Walk This Way" is a song by the American rock band Aerosmith. Written by Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, the song was originally released as the second single from the album '' Toys in the Attic'' (1975). It peaked at number 10 on the ''Billboa ...

References

{{Aerosmith Aerosmith concert tours 1987 concert tours 1988 concert tours