Aerosmith is two different bands in one. There's the 1970s hard rockers who forged a reputation as America's answer to the Rolling Stones, and there's the modern-day video stars who favor ballads and middle-of-the-road pop.

        Their '70s catalog outshines recent recorded output. Live in concert, the difference is also noticeable, but even the most grizzled disciple of the old Aerosmith must admit the band's shows pack a wallop to this day.

        The Boston quintet kept a sold-out Riverbend crowd on its feet for 2 1/4 hours Friday night with a mix of the old and new, and a production that included a second stage set up in the middle of the crowd, a requisite touch for any music act that considers itself big-time.

        “Walk This Way,” “Sweet Emotion,” “Draw the Line,” “Mama Kin”: there was an inspired vibe to the performances of these '70s classics missing from the rest of the set. Newer tunes like “Jaded” and “Eat the Rich” were good, but they lacked the organic feel of the old stuff. The co-writers and song doctors they employ today can't make up for a time when they were a simpler rock band and things were clicking.

        The best of the newer stuff turned out to be those tunes for which Aerosmith is most criticized — the ballads. “What It Takes,” song No. 2 in the three-song encore, began with vocalist Steven Tyler singing a verse a cappella, and a roar from the crowd followed each line. “Cryin”' may stand as the best hard-rock ballad of the '90s, at least it sounds that way back-to-back with the pun-from-hell sappiness of “I Don't Want to Miss a Thing.”

        The people with the cheap tickets may disagree, but the worst portion of the show was Aerosmith's four-song set on the second stage placed in the lawn.

        They opened with an unremarkable version of the Stones' “Honky Tonk Woman,” which did nothing else but acknowledge the band that set the template for Aerosmith to follow. Then came “Same Old Song and Dance,” a classic that shouldn't be considered a classic. It was a lifeless, lumbering song when they cut it, and it will always be just that. “Dream On” and “Toys in the Attic,” the last two songs of the mini-set, were both better choices.

Every piece tells a story
Aging Aerosmith still packs a wallop
Plants thrive in fall's cool air and warm soil
Things to do this week
This garden is therapy for the soul
Toil with soil for well-fed bed
We tested it: Tools easy on wrists
Gerald at Dance Theatre of Harlem
Smothers Brothers add fizz to Pops opener
Circle this
In the know
Get to it