AEROSMITH blogger/travel companion/photographer John Bionelli has issued the following road report:

"The Dubai show was something else. It was held in some Rugby field. The day before Joe went out to the desert with Ross Halfin to take some pictures and go cruising in some SUV’s in the sand. It was kind of like going jet skiing but on sand. The only scary thing is hoping the car won’t tip over. Steven and Tom went the day before and came away without a scratch. Joe’s mother Mary also came along for the ride and seemed to be having fun. It’s Mary’s first time on tour and she is having a blast. She has been telling stories about the early days of Aerosmith and admits to still get teary-eyed when the band plays Dream On in concert. She was telling me as she was boarding the band’s private jet that she and her husband lent the band $2,000 dollars to buy one of their first busses around 1972. She said she was finally paid back around the Rocks tour.

Off to India… The guys got to the airport in India to sheer pandemonium. They had an impromptu photograph session at the airport and it was immediately part of a really cool Aerosmith special on local TV that night. The band and crew stayed at an awesome hotel called The Taj West Inn in Bangalore. The band were well taken care of. The hotel staff were awesome. When ever you asked for something the staff would nod as if they were a human bobblehead doll and your request would be taken care of in no time. The band and family were supposed to fly off to Denmark right after the show but liked the Hotel and India itself so much they stayed 2 extra days. The show itself was really good. Russ Irwin missed the Dubai and India show because of a missing passport so it was a little weird with him not being there. His tech Bruce Hendrix filled in on a few tunes. You have to take your hat off to old “Haystack” he had big shoes to fill and did a great job. Steven had a great night and must have logged in a few miles on stage in the humid night air. The next day the promoter arranged for an Elephant to be brought to the Hotel. Ross Halfin took some great photos. I was told he would have to work fast because the Elephant had to leave in an hour because it had a prior commitment. Old Ross nearly turned a deeper shade of orange each time old Nelly wouldn’t raise his trunk when Ross asked. He was screaming at the Elephant… but to no avail. Steven finally whispered something in it’s ear and the Elephant obliged. Most of the gang went out shopping in Bangalore. The Bangalore traffic is intense. They make Boston drivers look like the chauffeur in Driving Miss Daisy. Bangalore is also going through a growth spurt with their own version of the Big Dig.

As much fun as Dubai and Bangalore were, it was good to finally get back to Europe. Copenhagen is a great city. I put it right up there with Stockholm for the Scandinavian countries. The show was sold out with Danish band D*A*D opening the show. These guys are a great hard rock band that have been together longer than most members of our crew have been alive. If you get a chance check their music out. They have a heavy AC-DC influence with a little Cheap Trick thrown in for good measure. Their name was originally Disney After Dark but was forced to change for obvious reasons. Old Walt would be turning in his cylinder if his team of lawyers let that one slip through.

The guys played the Sweden Rock Festival on Friday night. There were a ton of great hard rock and rock bands on the bill. GOV’T MULE played and rocked the place. Brad got to hang with his friend guitarist Warren Haynes before the show and talked about how Brad jammed with the Mule at Mama Kin a while ago. SKID ROW played the opposite stage before Aerosmith. They sounded good but was not the same Skid Row that opened for Aerosmith during the PUMP tour. They had a new singer who mentioned to the crowd that he has been in the band for 8 years. My, how time flies!? It was not the same as when SEBASTIAN BACH was in the band but hey - ya gotta eat."