Concert Review: Poison/Cinderella - July 14, 2002

Prior to the days of M3, Rock on the Range, or other hair metal festivals, the only way an 80’s rocker could get their live hair metal fix was when the Poison tour would come through town. Poison started touring in 1999 with the Glam Slam Metal Jam tour, taking other 80’s hair bands out with them. There were usually 3 other bands on the bill performing prior to Poison. That particular year saw Cinderella, Faster Pussycat, and Winger as the acts prior to Poison.

As I have mentioned in some previous concert reviews, sometimes recollections can be a little fuzzy, or nonexistent. This is one such case. I vaguely remember seeing Faster Pussycat’s performance. I don’t recall anything about Winger’s set. That’s not to say they were bad performances, it’s just that I can’t remember much, if anything, about them. By 2002, I was seeing Poison for the fourth year in a row and all of their concerts from that time period seem to blend together. It’s hard to recall what the opening acts performed. Heck, I can barely remember who they were, let alone what they sounded like or played.

Cinderella was the co-headliner that year. It was the second time that I was seeing them perform, the first being in 2000 when they went outon the road with Poison. Cinderella gave a solid performance and I was impressed by how great they sounded. Tom Keifer’s vocals were in fine shape and the rest of the band was tight. Their set included the mega hits that we had all hoped and expected. Cinderella did not disappoint. “Night Songs,” “Comin’ Home,” “Shelter Me,” and the power ballad “Don’t Know What You’ve Got (Til It’s Gone)” were all played to the delight of myself and the crowd. Most of the audience would say that Cinderella had the best performance of the night and it was hard to argue that. However, being a huge Poison fan, I was anticipating nothing but excellence from them.

Poison had recently released a new album, Hollyweird, and I was interested in hearing some of those songs in the live setting. Hollyweird wasn’t their best album, but I thought it was a solid record and there were some songs that were going to be great live. Unfortunately, Poison decided that their cover of “Squeeze Box” and the worst song on the album (the CC Deville led “Emperor’s New Clothes”) were the songs to perform. That was a bad decision on their part. I never thought that CC Deville was a great singer and I think the decision to let him perform a song where he sang lead vocals was meant to serve his ego. CC is a great guitarist, but he is not a front man. Leave the vocals to Bret Michaels, please!

Poison did mix up the set a bit by performing “Talk Dirty To Me” as the second song of the night instead of at the end of the set. That was a nice surprise. The rest of the set was filled with all of the hits. “I Want Action,” “Your Mama Don’t Dance,” “Something To Believe In,” and of course, “Every Rose Has It’s Thorn.” In the slot normally reserved for “Talk Dirty To Me,” Poison closed with their fantastic cover of the classic KISS song, “Rock And Roll All Nite.” They even pulled fans onstage with them to dance and sing the song. That was quite a cool moment to witness.

The one song encore was the expected “Nothing But A Good Time” and it was fabulous! I absolutely loved seeing this band in concert and they gave another wonderful performance. New songs, classic hits, and a shakeup of the setlist led to a wonderful evening of hard rock.

Unfortunately Poison no longer tours and that’s a real shame. I would love to have the opportunity to see these guys live again. I would especially love it if they would headline the M3 rock festival. I know that Bret Michaels did a solo performance there a few years ago, but it just wasn’t the same. I want to see Poison in all their glory. Until that happens, I will have to relive the memories of nights like this one.

Cinderella Setlist

Somebody Save Me

Push Push

The Last Mile

Night Songs

Fallin’ Apart At The Seams

Heartbreak Station

Comin’ Home

Shelter Me

Don’t Know What You Got Til It’s Gone

Nobody’s Fool

Encore

Shake Me

Poison Setlist

Look What The Cat Dragged In

Talk Dirty To Me

Ride The Wind

Squeeze Box

I Want Action

Emperor’s New Clothes

Something To Believe In

Your Mama Don’t Dance

Every Rose Has Its Thorn

Unskinny Bop

Fallen Angel

Rock And Roll All Nite

Encore

Nothin’ Bit A Good Time

Poison/Warrant - July 8, 2001

The Glam Slam Metal Jam. That was how the third Poison concert I ever attended was billed. And what a metal jam it was. With Poison headlining the night, they took Warrant, Quiet Riot, and Enuff Z’Nuff out on the road with them for one heck of a rock and roll party. I was seeing the concert with Tommy once again and we looked forward to a day of rock and roll in the hair metal vein.

Our seats were not as good as they had been the last two years we saw Poison in 1999 and 2000 but they were still pretty decent. We were in section 301, with a solid view of the stage. It was a warm July afternoon and sitting in the amphitheater with a cool breeze rolling through, set everything up for a perfect day.

Although I had not seen any of these acts live (with the exception of Poison), I was most looking forward to seeing Warrant. I had worshipped them as a teenager and to finally have the opportunity to see them live in concert was like a dream come true. Add in the fact that they were on the road with Poison and it made for a blissful double bill.

Enuff Z’Nuff took the stage first, and the thing I remember most about their performance was when lead singer Donnie Vie told us that the band had just released their tenth album. I was shocked and somewhat dumbfounded. I remember looking at Tommy and asking if five of those albums were “greatest hits.” How could Enuff Z’Nuff have ten albums?

I obviously knew their debut album, having owned a copy since it was released. I also knew that they had a second album titled Strength. After that, I lost track of the band. I would believe that they had released albums since then, but 8 more…? I was skeptical. Needless to say, when I looked it up at home the next day, they did have ten albums out.

Enuff Z’Nuff started the night off with some great rock and roll. For Now, Fly High Michelle, and of course New Thing, were all performed. The band also performed some songs that I did not know from their vast catalog of records. Enuff Z’Nuff sounded great and of course New Thing was the beloved song of their set. As a warm up act, they served their purpose and warmed up the crowd with a quick, intense, 30-minute set.

Quiet Riot was up next and I had never seen them in concert before. Sadly, this would be my first and last time as Kevin Dubrow would pass away before I ever saw the band again. Quiet Riot came onstage with a vengeance, and you would have sworn they were the headliners. Rocking from the moment they appeared, this band brought the rock.

Powering through hits from Mental Health and Condition Critical, these boys were on fire! Mama, We’re All Crazy Now, Mental Health, Slick Black Cadillac, and the ballad Thunderbird were all performed with an intensity rarely seen in live performances. Of course, their big closer was Cum On Feel The Noise, which is funny to every fan of the band, because Quiet Riot never even wanted to record that song.

Overall, Quiet Riot was amazing and they really set the tone for the rest of the evening. It was going to be extremely hard for Warrant and Poison to follow Quiet Riot’s set – they had their work cut out for them.

Warrant followed and they were up for the challenge! By this time the sun was just starting to descend over the horizon. Warrant would start their set in daylight, but end it in darkness. The band came out to Down Boys, which whipped the crowd into a frenzy. I was surprised to see them open with that song, as I thought they would save it for a closer.

Dirty, Rotten, Filthy, Stinkin’, Rich came next and although I was never a huge fan of that song, it sounded great in concert. Jani Lane sold the song to the crowd and the rest of the band made it work. We were all singing along by the time the chorus hit.

Some gems from Dog Eat Dog were played, much to my delight. I’ve always been a huge fan of that album and thought that it never got the attention it deserved. Warrant delivered with Hole In My Wall and Machine Gun back to back. The required ballads showed up soon after. Heaven and I Saw Red were played and the crowd ate it up (especially the girls). It was nice to see that Jani Lane and the band hadn’t lost their touch over the years. They performed each ballad note perfect.

Jani Lane looked great and sounded even better. He appeared to be having the time of his life, enjoying every second of being on stage and performing for the crowd. Jani has always been a great front man, and being reunited with his band certainly helped to lift his spirits. His was fit physically, mentally, and vocally. It was quite impressive and a bit of an inspiration.

The band closed with Uncle Tom’s Cabin prior to hitting the stage for the encore of Cherry Pie. Of course the amphitheater and lawn went bananas once they heard the opening notes to Cherry Pie. Jani Lane may hate that song, but the crowd never gets tired of hearing it. I thought it was performed with passion and I was one happy man after seeing Warrant in concert.



That left the big headliners of the night. Although we were winded, we were still ready for more. Poison would come out and deliver. Prancing onto the stage with Look What The Cat Dragged In, Bret Michaels and the band were in peak physical condition. They came to party, rock, and deliver the goods.

This was my third year in a row seeing Poison live, so I sort of knew what to expect. Bret came onstage in his leopard fur with his cowboy hat and quickly tossed both to the side by the end of the song. Look What The Cat Dragged In led to I Want Action which led to Ride The Wind. A pretty awesome three-pack of songs to get the evening started!

Cry Tough was the first surprise of the night, and it was a welcome one. Cry Tough is Tommy’s favorite Poison song and a song we spent many, many hours listening to as teenagers. To hear it live (for the first time ever) was an incredible feeling.

The requisite ballads of Something To Believe In and Every Rose Has Its Thorn were played, of course. However, Poison had some additional surprises. The first was to let CC Deville step up to the microphone and sing lead vocals on his very own song. I Hate Every Bone In Your Body But Mine was a new studio song that Poison had released on their latest live record (Power To The People). It’s a fun, tongue-in-cheek, enjoyable tune that was more fun to hear in concert. CC and the band did a great job with it live.

The second surprise of the night came in the form of Rock Star a new Poison gem that had only been released as a single (at that point). It would later be included on HollyWeird (the last Poison studio album of original songs). A plethora of hits closed out the night. Fallen Angel, Let It Play, Every Rose, Unskinny Bop, and Nothing But A Good Time finished the main set. The encore, of course, was Talk Dirty To Me which got the loudest cheers of the evening.
Overall, Poison once again kicked ass. Adding new songs mixed in with the greatest hits was a nice touch and this was their strongest performance yet. The band was tight, the songs sounded great, and the setlist was near perfect. I don’t believe that Poison would play a better concert than this one and for that one night, I enjoyed every moment they were onstage.

Setlists

Warrant
Down Boys
Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinkin’ Rick
Hole In My Wall
Machine Gun
32 Pennies
Heaven
I Saw Red
AYM
So Damn Pretty
Bed Of Roses
Sub Human
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Encore
Cherry Pie

Poison
Look What The Cat Dragged In
I Want Action
Ride The Wind
Cry Tough
Something To Believe In
Your Mamma Don’t Dance
I Hate Every Bone In Your Body But Mine
Rock Star
Fallen Angel
Let It Play
Every Rose Has Its Thorn
Unskinny Bop
Nothin’ But A Good Time
Encore
Talk Dirty To Me