Aerosmith certainly knows how to throw a party.

Nobody knows that better than the capacity crowd of over 14,000 people who were on hand last Friday evening to witness the legendary group and its excellent opening act, the Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band.

Every one of these people was treated to a musical and visual smorgasbord.

Kenny Wayne Shepherd and his backing band rocked the house, providing a little bit of Hilton magic of their own.

Shepherd proved without a doubt that he is a guitar virtuoso, even if he is just a teenager. Despite his young age, Shepherd has all the talent of Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and Bo Diddley.

Speaking of Hendrix, Shepherd delivered a cover version of the guitar master’s “Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)” that was absolutely incredible. Other highlights of his set included “Blue On Black” and his radio hit “Slow Ride” (note: this is not a cover version of the Foghat song).

After Shepherd left, amidst a thunderous round of applause, the audience began to gear up for Aerosmith. Breasts were bared, beers were slammed and the crowd combusted into a spontaneous wave.

The lights were dimmed, giant banners were dropped to conceal the stage and the crowd started screaming. Then the group started playing “Nine Lives,” individual explosions dropped each banner, and the party began.

The group proceeded to play a variety of songs spanning their entire career, most of which could be found on either one of the group’s greatest hits compilations (“Greatest Hits” and “Big Ones”) or its latest release, “Nine Lives.”

Each song was matched by a phenomenal light show or larger-than-life stage props. There were explosions, fans to blow guitarist Joe Perry’s hair around, red cats’ heads stuck to poles of dynamite (which Tyler humped and kissed throughout the evening) and giant cobras with flashing eyes.

The crowd brought along its own props as well. Neon green rings could be seen floating through the air at the rate of at least two per song. There was also a giant beach ball that was passed around, which eventually made its way to the stage and was escorted away by a stage hand.

Each song went over well with the crowd, which seemed to know every word of every song. “Back In The Saddle,” “Draw The Line,” “Eat The Rich,” “Taste of India” and “Living On The Edge” were all delivered with furious energy and lots of posing and running around from Tyler and Perry.

Tyler was especially into working the crowd. He dashed around the stage like an Olympic runner on crystal meth, swinging the microphone in circles, slapping the hands of audience members lucky enough to be in the first couple of rows and throwing mementos out to the crowd (especially harmonicas).

Thousands of lighters were lit up for “Cryin'” and “Angel.” Thousands of tears were shed for “Dream On,” which was completely breathtaking (especially with the geysers of sparks that shot up from the back of the stage).

“Kiss Your Past Good-bye” and “Monkey On My Back” were also received pretty well (especially when Tyler alluded to his heroin addiction at the beginning of “Monkey…” by clawing at his veins).

But the biggest spectacles of the show were the songs that made Aerosmith the legendary group it is today, the songs that dominated the airwaves in the 1980s and 1990s, the songs with videos that were endlessly played on MTV.

“Walk This Way,” “Love In An Elevator,” “Rag Doll,” “Dude (Looks Like A Lady),” “Janie’s Got A Gun” and “Falling In Love (Is Hard on the Knees)” all fall into this category.

Every single one of these songs had the crowd standing up, singing along and dancing like ravers on crack.

The highlights of the show, however, the absolute cream of the crop, had to be “Pink” and the group’s encore of “What It Takes” and “Sweet Emotion.”

“Pink” also earned a plethora of lighters amongst the crowd. The song was marked by Tyler’s donning of pink fur and the pink lights that immersed the stage in a surreal, not-so-virginal glow.

The encore was kicked off by Tyler walking on the stage and pointing towards the crowd and saying “Hey, don’t I know you?” No doubt, some woman standing near the spot where he pointed fainted. Then the group brought out the biggest song in its arsenal.

Hearing “Sweet Emotion” at Hilton that night was a completely religious experience. The song sent the crowd into a frenzy that did not subside until its individual participants exited the building.

But wait a minute, it gets better. Not only did Aerosmith play an incredible version of “Sweet Emotion,” but the band threw the explosive guitar section from Led Zeppelin’s “Dazed and Confused” right into the middle of it.

Tyler probably said it best when he stated that “The newspaper headlines tomorrow are going to read that Aerosmith rocked Ames’ ass off.” That was absolutely no lie. Aerosmith’s concert delighted everybody, regardless of gender.

Friday night’s concert will be the best thing you see at Hilton all year — guaranteed.