SPILL LIVE REVIEW: THE JOE PERRY PROJECT w/ CHARLIE EDWARD @ HISTORY, TORONTO

THE JOE PERRY PROJECT w/ CHARLIE EDWARD

@ HISTORY, TORONTO

AUGUST 16, 2025

For his first steps since Aerosmith announced their retirement from the road, guitarist Joe Perry has revived his solo band, The Joe Perry Project, for a string dates. This time around, however, the band featured an all-star lineup including Aerosmith’s Brad Whitford, Stone Temple Pilots’ Robert DeLeo, and The Black Crowes’ Chris Robinson. With local support from Charlie Edward, their stop at Toronto’s History was truly a night of classic rock revelry.

Toronto’s very own Charlie Edward opened the show with a quick set consisting not only of material from his debut EP, Let Me Go, released in June of this year, along with a number of unreleased songs. Backed by a tight band, Edward led the set with a powerful voice and presence that evoked the nostalgia of an era long gone.

As the band walked on stage, Perry sauntered behind, taking one last drag from his cigarette before picking up his transparent, 1969 Dan Armstrong guitar, remaining the eternal epitome of cool. Opening their set with “Let The Music Do The Talking”, the band sounded massive. While a muddy sound would, at times make lead guitar lines and vocals harder to decipher, the energy among the veteran ensemble was frenetic with Perry leading the charge as he stalked the stage, juxtaposing the larger-than-life showmanship of Robinson. The band would continue forward with a pair of Aerosmith tracks, “My Fist Your Face” and “Mama Kin”. While the set would include a handful of Perry’s solo work including “Fortunate One”, “East Coast, West Coast”, and “Won’t Let Me Go”, their performance comprised largely of Aerosmith tracks and a pair of songs from The Black Crowes, “Twice As Hard” and “Jealous Again”, and lastly “Vaseline” and a stirring, jazzy rendition of “Interstate Love Song”, both by Stone Temple Pilots.

To my surprise, Perry and company stayed away from most of Aerosmith’s biggest hits, opting more for deep cuts like “Get The Lead Out”, which they paired with a verse of Led Zeppelin’s “Heartbreaker”, as well as “Combination”, “Get It Up”, and “Draw The Line”. Most exciting was their performance of “Last Child”, featuring an extended solo from Whitford. Perry’s choice of material from Aerosmith speaks to the nature of this tour; it would be far easier to go on stage and perform the most recognizable songs, but Perry sought out the sublime by reaching for some gems from their back catalogue. The band was loose, but not sloppy, as they navigated extended outros, solos, and jams, often looking to Perry who would cue a transition with the change of his stance. Without fail, they collectively stuck the landing every time. A special shoutout must go to Robinson whose vocals sounded incredible, making him among the greatest classic rock singers.  Closing out the set with two-song encore, Perry performed a pair of staples, “The Train Kept A-Rollin’” and “Walk This Way”, allowing for him to rip a handful of incendiary solos before the night was through.

It’s hard to make the case that Perry, a guitarist whose band has toured stadiums globally since the ‘80s, is underrated, but despite his solos, songwriting, and collection of riffs, he is oddly left out of the conversations surrounding greatest guitar heroes. His current tour serves as a reminder to his status as a student of Page, Beck, and Richards as a quintessential innovator to ‘70s and ‘80s rock. Most impressively, however,  Perry demonstrated, seemingly effortlessly, his ability to stand tall without the support of Aerosmith in delivering a no filler, all killer, bare bones rock show that was beyond enjoyable to watch.

Joe Perry Links

Charlie Edward Links