Permanent Vacation Tour

Background

The tour was notable as the band's first tour since completing drug rehabilitation. Guns N' Roses, a band notorious for drug abuse at the time, was the supporting act for part of the tour, primarily during the summer of 1988. Aerosmith asked Guns N' Roses to not do drugs in their presence, so they wouldn't relapse. The two bands had a similar style, musically and personality, and were on the same record label at the time, Geffen Records. Upon their first meeting, the band members couldn't help but notice how much they resembled each other. Guns N' Roses' video for "Paradise City" included footage from a show in which they opened for Aerosmith and Deep Purple at Giants Stadium on August 16, 1988. Duff McKagan can be seen wearing an Aerosmith T-shirt in the video. Bands Dokken and White Lion also filled the opening slot on the tour.

In addition, during a show on this tour, Liv Tyler, aged 11 at the time, found out that her sister was Mia Tyler and her father was Steven Tyler for the first time.

Setlist

The band consistently played six tracks from Permanent Vacation: the major singles "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)", "Angel", and "Rag Doll", as well as the rock radio hit "Hangman Jury", the rocking title track, and the Beatles cover "I'm Down". The band also played numerous songs from their classic 1973–1982 era. A typical setlist would be this:

1. "Toys in the Attic"
2. "Same Old Song and Dance
3. "Big Ten Inch Record"
4. "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)"
5. "Lightning Strikes"
6. "Rag Doll"
7. "Hangman Jury"
8. "Permanent Vacation"
9. "Angel"
10. "Back in the Saddle"
11. "Last Child"
12. "Draw the Line"
13. "Rats in the Cellar"
14. "One Way Street"
15. "Dream On"
16. "Train Kept A-Rollin'"
17. "Sweet Emotion"
18. "I'm Down"
19. "Walk This Way"