Music For Middlesex II -
Aerosmith stars soar in bluesy benefit
By Steve Morse
Globe Staff, 3/1/04

ARLINGTON -- Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton nailed it when he told the crowd,
"It's just great to be in the company of serious musicians." Indeed, it was.
Hamilton and Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer showed their Boston roots by
joining an exciting blues jam with James Montgomery and Johnny A. that shook the sold-out Regent Theatre to its core.

Their three-song sonic-detonation job was the highlight of a nearly five-hour
show to benefit the Middlesex Human Service Agency, whose clinical director,
Bob Herne, is a counselor who traveled with Aerosmith during its "Get a Grip"
tour. "He's been a friend to the band," Hamilton said backstage. "He helped us
through a lot of tough stuff."

Friday's sterling, multiact bill represented the second year in a row that
musicians have aided the MHSA, which runs two halfway houses, four family
shelters, a day-care center, and a soup kitchen, Herne said. There was also a silent auction at the Regent featuring a signed drum donated by Godsmack.

Hamilton and Kramer joined the blues-powered Montgomery and guitarist Johnny A. for a whomping "Good Time Charlie" (which Montgomery learned from James Cotton), an intense "Stop Messin' Round" (a Peter Green song that Aerosmith covers on its upcoming blues CD, "Honkin' on Bobo," due out March 30), and an impromptu jam tune that the participants did in response to audience demands for an encore. Kramer started a drum riff and the others followed, with Montgomery making up some erotic lyrics. "That song was just called `We play, you sing,' "Kramer said later. And it all fell into place. "I let it be easy. I didn't get wigged out," added Hamilton.

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