Poison
w/ Cheap Trick & Pop Evil
June 5, 2018
Atlanta, GA – Verizon Amphitheater
I will never forget the first time I heard Poison. It was 1986 and I saw the video for their song “Talk Dirty to Me.” I remember loving this song so much. There was just something about this band that just seemed to click with me. It was stupid, it was cheeky, but most importantly it was fun. I was 13 years old, girls were starting to be interesting in me (not to be confused with “interested” in me), and I just loved the over all feel good vibe of it. Poison was just fun and there’s really no other way to describe it.
Aside from not being able to see them on their first tour, I saw Poison at least twice on ever tour (sometimes three times) from their Open Up and Say Ahh tour to their Native Tongue tour with Richie Kotzen and then back to their 2000 reunion tours. Even after all of the years, the trials, the arguments, and whatever internal drama had split them up, two things brought them back together: the fans and the music.
32 years after the release of Look What the Cat Dragged In, Poison reunited with all four original members for their 2018 Nothin But a Good Time tour and this time around they brought along the legendary Cheap Trick and some band called Pop Evil. I was super excited to have been given the opportunity to cover this show (thanks, Amanda!) and I was really looking forward to seeing Poison again.
Pop Evil kicked things off and luckily we missed them because what I heard of them on Spotify, I could tell that they were definitely a band I was not going to be enjoying. We got to our seats just as Cheap Trick was taking the stage. Opening with “Hello There”, the band sounded absolutely amazing. I have never been a huge Cheap Trick fan but all I did know is that they have always been known for great live shows and that I loved “Dream Police” and “Surrender.” I didn’t know most of the band’s set but I really enjoyed watching them.
Lead vocalist Robin Zander’s voice was in top notch form and legendary guitarist Rick Nielson is without a doubt the best front man that’s not a frontman. All eyes are on that guy as he plays his insane guitars and showers the crowd with guitar picks. Bassist Tom Peterson took over vocals for a great version of the Velvet Underground’s “Waiting for the Man” which really impressed the hell out of me. I never realized the kind of Detroit/New York style of punk infused into their sound but it really comes across live in a huge way. Closing out with “Dream Police”, “Surrender”, and “Goodnight Now” definitely whipped the crowd into a frenzy. Seeing them live definitely intrigued me and it’s definitely a band that I would check out again.
When the house lights went down, the nearly sold out amphitheater erupted with a roar that gave me goosebumps. I suddenly was whisked back to the old days. Seeing Poison in 88 headlining with Lita Ford and Britny Fox, seeing them with Tesla, seeing them with Slaughter and Bullet Boys; it all came rushing back to me. There was a full animation that was hilarious. It had a cartoon of the band cruisin’ through their 32 year career ending with the band walking into a bright light. Just as the band walked through the light the band kicked into the “Valley of Lost Souls” intro like they have ever since Flesh and Blood and then straight into “Look What the Cat Dragged In.” The energy on stage was no less than it was back in 1988 which really added to the fun of this show. To come out guns blazing like that I just knew that I was going to be in for a really fun show.
The band’s stage production was a bit on the modest side in comparison to former tours. While the show was still great I missed the ramps, the stairs, the pyro, and all the glitz and glamour of the old school 80’s Poison shows. Even as much as I thought they were killing musically, steam cannons just don’t pack the same amount of punch that good old fashioned pyrotechnics have. The band’s 1 hour and some change show consisted of all the hits such as “Talk Dirty to Me”, “Fallen Angel”, and “Unskinny Bop.” “Ride the Wind” was definitely the show stopper for me. That song has aged like a fine wine and it’s still one of my favorites. “Your Momma Don’t Dance” was fun as it always has been but “Something to Believe In” is where things got a little dragging for me.
During “Something to Believe In”, Bret paid his respects to the men and women of our military before the song and while I totally respect and appreciate his sentiment but he took it so over the top and stretched out for so long that it almost seems to lack sincerity. I’ve been told that when you say something too much over and over again that sometimes it can lack sincerity and this just seemed to be the case for me and seemed to take away from what could’ve been a truly powerful statement.
I also feel that Bret’s stage banter just seemed to lack any kind of real sincerity in general. Now I have no doubt at all that he loves his fans and to be honest, in the level of performance that he delivers and the way he interacts with them, there is definitely a connection there but when he says things like, “I don’t want to leave, I wanna stay and rock all night”, well, why don’t you? Poison’s set clocks in at just a hair over an hour and that’s including a drum, bass, and guitar solo.
I just think of how when Paul Stanley or Bruce Dickinson addresses an audience you feel like they’re talking to you directly. Bret’s banter just sounded staged and the girl behind me even told me that he said the same banter almost word for word on his solo tour. So Bret, if you’re reading this. Just be yourself, man. Be honest, be transparent and open yourself up to your fans. You used to have no problem doing this in the 80’s and it’s one of the things I loved about seeing Poison. That aside, I was still having a great time and the music was pretty much a souped up Delorean that took me back to my younger days.
Poison drew the evening to a close with “Nothin’ But a Good Time” which kicked everything up a notch. There wasn’t a face in the venue that wasn’t smiling ear to ear as we all sang along with one of the 80’s greatest glam rock anthems. I always thought that “Nothin’ But a Good Time” was pretty much their “Rock N’ Roll All Nite” which is a funny observation because the band returned for their encore to play, you guessed it, “Rock N’ Roll All Nite.”
Poison invited Collective Soul guitarist Joel Kosche and Pop Evil vocalist Leigh Kakaty to join in on the jam. Here’s where I had a problem. Kosche was killing it on the guitar. It was cool to see him up there ripping out leads with CC DeVille but Pop Evil dude did not know the lyrics to “Rock N’ Roll All Nite.” At one point, Bret turns to homeboy to sing a verse and dude doesn’t know a single word. My wife could’ve got up there and pulled that shit off better than he did. Bret could’ve at least pulled up Robin Zander or something. All I can say is that if you are a rock singer and you don’t know the words to “Rock N’ Roll All Nite,” you pretty much need to just go away.
At the end of the night, I have to say that it was a great time. I walked away with a whole new respect for Cheap Trick and I walked away still a Poison fan. Personally, I would love to see the not play it so safe with their setlists. C’mon boys. “Love on the Rocks”? “Back to the Rocking Horse”? “Play Dirty”? Hell, why not actually play “Valley of Lost Souls” for once? I know, I know, I’m old and cranky and yeah, I’d love to hear some deep cuts. Hell, I’d love to actually write up their set list for them but at the end it all, I left that venue with a smile on my face and as corny and punny as it is, I truly did have nothin’ but a good time. 32 years later and they’re still doing it but hey boys, dig a little deeper. You’ve still got it and even better than ever. Challenge yourselves and surprise us! We know you can do it!
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