Ageless wonders Aerosmith and relative youngster Lenny Kravitz attracted 12,000 fans to a Phone Booth where most of the seats were $99. That translated into gross ticket sales of roughly $1.15 million, a new record for the downtown arena, on a night where the brilliant production almost stole the show.

Still going strong after 35 years, Aerosmith made the most of a unique set that featured two colour-shifting catwalks that extended into the audience, a pair of ramps at either side of the stage, an overhead video screen and a cage-like bank of LEDs capable of encircling the band.

To honour the memory of John Lennon, who died 25 years ago yesterday, Aerosmith kicked off the show with the Beatles' Helter Skelter before plunging into their own deep pool of hits. Walk This Way, Same Old Song And Dance, Cryin' and Livin' On The Edge all appeared during the first 35 minutes of a show slated to last 90.

Lead singer Steven Tyler was the focal point all night. Dressed in a black rock T-shirt and tight white pants decorated like playing cards, the 57-year-old grandfather strutted up and down the catwalks, waved his scarf-adorned mic stand and at one point, playfully snatched an orange hat from a female fan. Outside of a concert venue, there isn't anything remotely hip or cool about Tyler and the rest of his bedraggled band. But these graying classic rockers remain master performers when they're on stage.

They were excellent at Winnipeg Arena in 2004, and continued to surprise last night: Only the most embittered cynic on the planet wouldn't have felt a few shivers when Tyler led his charges through Sweet Emotion. At press time, this show certainly looked like a million bucks.

Earlier, 41-year-old Kravitz showed off his fantastic pipes during an 11-song, 70-minute set that included most of the singles from his 16-year career as corporate rock's most enthusiastic proponent of early '70s guitar-rock revivalism.

Playing in front of an eight-piece band that included Winnipeg-born keyboardist George Laks, the svelte sex symbol sported close-cropped hair, a brown leather jacket, bell-bottomed jeans and a T-shirt bearing the name of his first big hit, Let Love Rule.

"We are so happy to be here after so many years, even through it's freezing outside... well, for us," he announced, referring to his lengthy absence from the city.

Kravitz took the stage with Where We Are Runnin', a middling song from his forgettable latest album, Baptism. But things quickly improved with the guilty-pleasure hits from earlier in his career, including sugary ballad Believe, the funky Always On The Run, former Nissan commercial Fly Away and the Kravitz's single-chord version of The Guess Who's American Woman, oddly performed without any mention of the song's Winnipeg origin.

The highlight of the set was Let Love Rule, which saw Kravitz run through the crowd to slap as many hands as possible and allow fans to briefly touch a little piece of rock 'n' roll greatness. While his set was a little heavy on audience participation, he left the crowd proverbially wanting more.

AEROSMITH & LENNY KRAVITZ

MTS Centre, Dec. 8 4 out of 5 stars

Attendance: 12,000

bartley.kives@freepress.mb.ca