Aerosmith Rocks With Fiery Repertoire

One of the guiding principles of punk is the idea that anyone can be a rock star, and while that may be true, it’s a fact that not just anyone can make an arena rock as hard as a hole-in-the-wall club. Aerosmith unabashedly embodies the best elements of pre-punk rock ‘n’ roll, and at Glen Helen Blockbuster Pavilion on Saturday the veteran group demonstrated that it isn’t the size of the venue so much as the vigor of the band that really counts.

Steven Tyler revels in the big spotlight, and throughout the band’s two-hour-plus set he didn’t just sing the songs, he animated them, prancing, vamping and otherwise hamming it up with aplomb. His bandmates were in equally fine form. Scintillating solo work imbued classic hits as well as songs from their current album, “Nine Lives,” with a lively spontaneity. The exotic strains of “Taste of India” simmered with the same intoxicating spirit as “Sweet Emotion” and the interludes of bluesy jamming that cropped up throughout the evening.

Having been around the block more than a few times in the last 25 years, Aerosmith has amassed a sizable repertoire, and Saturday’s set was a satisfying mixture of lighter-worthy ballads, libidinous bump-and-grind opuses and unbridled rockers. But the fuel that fired them all up was Aerosmith’s unadulterated commitment to the raw soul of the music--something that distinguishes great rock of any stripe.