Aerosmith back in the saddle at center

The stage, flooded with a variety of fluorescent lights, featured a rotating drum stage, less-than-thrilling pyrotechnic effects, cheesy-looking plastic snakes and columnar red cats.

And to top it all off, Steven Tyler was wearing skintight pink spandex pants.

Despite all of the played-out mid-'80s rock theatrics, Aerosmith still managed to accomplish Monday night what they set out to do -- treat a near-capacity Bryce Jordan Center crowd of 10,300 to a decent rock n' roll concert, even though the near-50-year-old Tyler was wearing those frightening pants.

Taking the stage amidst much bravado, it was clear the members of Aerosmith still really love to play rock n' roll. Tyler leaped and ran all over the brightly lit stage while guitarist Joe Perry contorted his body in ways that made one wonder how he was concentrating on playing.

The band was solid from the start and almost immediately had the audience wrapped around its fingers. By the time the band played the opening descending riff of "Love In an Elevator," most of the crowd was on its feet, responding to Tyler's "Gonna be a penthouse pauper" with the lyrically brilliant response, "Whoa-oh!"

The music was solid, and although no member of the band is a virtuoso by any means, the group as a whole was solid, too. While Tyler and Perry jumped around the stage like wild men, rhythm guitarist Brad Whitford, bassist Tom Hamilton and drummer Joey Kramer laid down a solid foundation. Whitford, dressed conservatively in jeans, seemed amused by his bandmates' antics.

The band ran through songs from their latest effort, Nine Lives, playing "Falling In Love (Is Hard On the Knees)" and "Hole In My Soul," to a tepid crowd response. Maybe sensing the lull in excitement, Tyler jacked up the energy level with a surprising version of "Livin' on the Edge." The band managed to take a song that usually sounds sterile on the radio and gave it -- along with the audience -- some much-needed life.

From then on, Aerosmith kept the show rocking, playing radio favorites such as "Janie's Got a Gun," a jazzy rendition of "Rag Doll" and "Pink."

The audience was comprised of an interesting mix of old and new Aerosmith fans, such as father and son Charlie and Chad Carruthers of Altoona. Regardless of age, however, almost all of the crowd seemed to wait the entire show for the band's best -- and oldest -- songs.

"I don't really like the new record," Chad said. "I mostly like the old stuff."

Those in attendance must have agreed because as the band broke into the timeless riff that kicks off "Walk This Way," the crowd erupted. Tyler was at his best vocally, Perry ran around possessed and the rest of the band played better than they had all night.

Although the show had its flaws, "Walk This Way" provided a great rock n' roll moment, which is what rock n' roll is really supposed to be -- a moment.

Kenny Wayne Shepherd opened the show with a set of fiery guitar work, highlighted by an extended cover of Jimi Hendrix's "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)."

There's no denying Shepherd's pure talent, but that of his backing band is questionable. The lyrics of his own songs are merely frames for him to solo around, and he needs to find balance between the work he puts into his guitar solos and his lyrics.

The crowd, however, was too amazed by Shepherd's guitar magic to care about his lyrical weakness, and offered a standing ovation at the end of his set.

Bernie Punt, marketing representative for the center, said he was pleased with how the show turned out, especially with the fact that audience turnout was better than expected.

"They've been averaging about 7,500 for shows, so we were above average," Punt said. "The concert promoter was very happy, and so was the band."

From the looks of things, the audience was as well.