In early 2007, the band announced
a new World Tour, their first for nearly a decade to include dates outside North America or Japan.
[145] The band performed at London's
Hard Rock Cafe in February 2007 to promote their European tour which included a night in Hyde Park as part of the
Hyde Park Calling festival sponsored by Hard Rock Cafe.
[146] In the spring, the band toured Latin America to sold-out stadium crowds.
[138]
In the summer, the band toured Europe, performing at several major rock
festivals and visiting some countries they had never played before.
Additionally, the band played in Middle East countries such as the
United Arab Emirates and India for the first time.
[7] The band also played a few select dates in California and Canada in late July. One such date, a July 21 concert in
Prince Edward Island, was the largest in that province's history.
[147] In September, the band performed eight dates in major markets in Northeastern North America. These shows were opened by
Joan Jett. The band also played a private gig in Hawaii. A public show in
Maui was canceled for logistical reasons,
[148] which spurred a class action lawsuit against the band.
[149]
In April 2009, Aerosmith agreed to compensate all ticket buyers of the
canceled show with a free ticket to a rescheduled Maui show to be held
on October 20, 2009, along with reimbursements of all out-of-pocket
expenses related to the show.
[150]
On November 1, 2007, the band entered the studio to work on the final
studio album of their current contract with Sony. At the time, it was
believed that the album would include both re-recorded tracks left off
previous albums as well as brand new material.
[151]
In an interview, guitarist Joe Perry revealed that in addition to
creating a new album, the band was working closely with the makers of
the
Guitar Hero series to develop
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, a video game dedicated to the band's music.
[152] The game was released on June 29, 2008 and contains many of their most popular songs.
[153]
Steven Tyler announced on VH1 Classic Radio on September 4, 2008 that
Aerosmith intends to enter the studio at the end of September 2008 to
complete the band's
15th studio album.
Tyler also confirmed that the band plans to begin a new U.S. tour in
June 2009, in support of the as-yet-untitled album. This tour was
supposed to be preceded by a concert in Venezuela on February 1, 2009.
[154]
However, on January 15, 2009, Tyler said the band would be unable to
play the gig because of a second knee injury of guitarist Joe Perry. In
mid-February 2009, it was announced that the album would be produced by
the famed
Brendan O'Brien
and that the album would likely be recorded live, like their earlier
records. Although the band had hoped to finish the album before
the tour started in June 2009,
[155]
Perry said that the group "realized there wasn't any chance of getting
[the album] finished before we hit the road for the summer." The tour
featured
ZZ Top as the opening act for most of the tour.
[156] The
Aerosmith/ZZ Top Tour, presented by
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, was officially announced and the first dates released on April 8, 2009.
[157]
Aerosmith performing in
Tallinn, Estonia on July 5, 2007.
The tour was slated to take the band across North America from June to September 2009.
[158] The tour featured the band perform nearly all of the songs on the band's 1975 album
Toys in the Attic during the first seven dates of the tour and also featured Joe Perry sing lead vocals on the 1976
deep cut "Combination". The tour was plagued with several health problems, however. Guitarist
Brad Whitford
had to sit out the first seven dates of the tour in order to recover
from head surgery, after injuring his head getting out of his car. On
June 28, 2009, at the band's seventh show of the tour at the
Mohegan Sun Arena in
Uncasville, Connecticut, lead singer
Steven Tyler
injured his leg, which required seven shows to be postponed. As soon as
the band resumed the tour on July 15, Whitford returned to the fold.
However,
Tom Hamilton
had to depart the tour in order to recover from non-invasive surgery.
On August 5, 2009, Tyler was rushed to the hospital after falling from
the stage at a concert in
Sturgis, South Dakota.
[159]
He was helped up by security staff and taken backstage, before
guitarist Joe Perry told the audience the show was over. Tyler was
airlifted to Rapid City Regional Hospital, where he received treatment
for head and neck injuries and a broken shoulder. In the wake of Tyler's
injuries, the band was forced to postpone five shows in Western Canada.
On August 14, 2009, Aerosmith announced that they had decided to cancel
the rest of their U.S. tour dates with ZZ Top, due to Tyler's injuries.
[160][161]
In the midst of the tour, Perry completed work on his fifth solo album,
Have Guitar, Will Travel and drummer
Joey Kramer released his autobiography,
Hit Hard. Perry's solo album was released on October 6, 2009.
[162][163]
After Tyler recovered from falling off stage, the band returned to the stage in mid-October for two shows in Hawaii, one in
Maui which was rescheduled from 2007 and finally played as part of a legal settlement, and an additional show which was played in
Honolulu. In early November, the band played a concert in
Abu Dhabi at the
Grand Prix.
[164]
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