Just Push Play Tour

Stage setup

The stage for the tour had a very modern look, resembling the moderness of the band's new album and its cover. Most striking was the silver and white colors, as well as two curving staircases which met at a platform at the top, where some of the most exciting moments of each concert took place, including the entrance of Steven Tyler and Joe Perry at the beginning of the show, as well as Steven Tyler singing the eerie lyrics to the beginning of "Seasons of Wither"

Additionally, the band set up a second smaller stage in the rear of the outdoor pavilions to play for those in the lawn section. During the middle of the show, the band members would walk under very heavy security to this stage to do a three-song set from this stage.

Steven Tyler jokingly referred to this tour as the "Back on the Grass Tour" which was a reference to the auxiliary stage set up on the lawn at many outdoor venues, and at the same time a jab at those who had claimed Aerosmith was using drugs again. Tyler especially targeted former manager Tim Collins with these jokes, who had accused Aerosmith of relapsing into drug use before the band fired him in 1996. "Back On The Grass" was never an official name for the tour, just a joke Tyler repeated in several interviews.

Setlist

The setlist was quite long, featuring as many as 25 songs at some shows. It varied show to show, as most Aerosmith setlists do, but it usually included about half a dozen songs from Just Push Play as well a fair balance between their 70s rock classics and their 80s and 90s pop-rock hits.

Success

The tour came on the heels of the band's platinum album Just Push Play. Aerosmith was at their peak popularity at this time, having played the Super Bowl XXXV Halftime Show, been inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame, and scored a Top 10 hit all within the first half of the year. Just prior to the start of the tour, Steven Tyler sang the National Anthem at the Indianapolis 500, and the team sponsored a car in the race.

As a result, many shows sold out and the band seemed to endlessly add arena dates through the fall and winter, even after their highly successful summer amphitheater tour.

The tour was ranked as the 8th highest grossing of 2001.

Problems

In the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, the band canceled the three shows after that (Virginia Beach, Camden, New Jersey, and Columbia, Maryland), which all also happened to be on the Eastern Seaboard, where the attacks had occurred. These shows were later rescheduled.

Additionally, the band decided to cancel a 2nd show at Irvine, California earlier in the tour, due to a scheduling conflict with the filming of the video for the single "Sunshine."

United We Stand

The band decided to play the United We Stand: What More Can I Give benefit concert (for September 11 victims) at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. on October 21, 2001, alongside Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey, and several other pop stars. The band had been uncertain about whether to play the show due to scheduling conflicts, and made the decision almost at the last minute. The band took the stage in the afternoon, playing about a 5-song set and then flew back to Indianapolis for a concert that same night.

Rockin' the Joint

In January 2002, the band played The Joint, a 2,000 seat venue within the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. This show was recorded and parts of it released as the band's fifth live album, a Dual Disc CD/DVD entitled Rockin' the Joint which was released in 2005.