Thursday, August 10, 2006

Not so Poisonous

What does it say about the folks who frequent the Dodge Music Center that a pint of Bud Light costs $8, while the same amount of Guinness is only $7? I'm not sure I know the answer.

My colleague Jim Shelton theorized that it must be younger people going to shows, implying that the unsophisticated palette would like the inferior beer better. But aren't middle-aged men supposedly the biggest concert draw? Aren't classic rockers the only ones able to play big sheds like the Dodge nowadays?

Well, I didn't get to sample either beers last night when I hit Poison's 20th anniversary tour. It seems the vendors at the Dodge like to serve the pricey alcohol to underage kids, which meant the venue was penalized by not being able to sell alcohol last night.

Let me tell you, Poison fans looked like they were ready to drink. I saw more than one cry and crumble into a ball when they realized they couldn't buy a cold, $10 Hurricane or something.

And Poison fans are a weird bunch. It seems cliche to brand them as folks who never left the '80s, but, man, that's the only way to describe it. I saw some fashion choices that just make your head shake. Poofy hair, sleeveless shirts, leather pants, bandanas ... all quite amazing, really.

What was more amazing was that Poison sounded pretty good. Besides the ridiculousness of still performing six-minute drum solos and seven-minute guitar solos instead just playing another song or two, the quartet was tight and performed a hit-heavy set.

And you know what? They actually enjoyed performing ... a lot. It's something missing in a lot of bands and that's kind of sad. Bret Michaels and company wanted to be up there and that energy made the crowd react. It was a good show, really. And I say that in a slightly embarrassed way.

Here's the setlist:

"Look What The Cat Dragged In" / "I Want Action" / "We're An American Band" / "I Won't Forget You" / "Ride The Wind" / Guitar solo / "I Hate Every Bone In Your Body But Mine" / "Cry Tough" / "Something to Believe In" / "Your Mama Don't Dance" / "Fallen Angel" / Drum solo / "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" / "Unskinny Bop" / Nothin' But A Good Time" / "Talk Dirty To Me"

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

How did CC look, and was his buddy Kemo there?

Anonymous said...

did the house of horror become the house of whores?

Pat Ferrucci said...

CC looked like a million bucks. He even played a song originally written for his other band, The Stepmothers, which he performs with while Bret makes movies.