Poison Concert Review - Live in Detroit - August 9, 2008

A couple of notable things happen at tonight's show when it comes to the two main members of Poison, Bret Michaels & C.C. DeVille. First it’s announced to us by Michaels' VH-1 minder “Big John” that against doctor's orders, Bret is going to go ahead and do the show, defying the medical recommendation that he give his throat a rest. As for Michaels himself, the singer first addresses the crowd this way: “Come on, this is Detroit, man. There was no way I was going to blow you guys off. Detroit rocks!”.

Then we have DeVille, who - some people already know - has recently become a born-again Christian... of sorts, anyway. During the set, he takes five to 10 minutes to tell us all about how, when he’s faced difficulties, he’s always found that he can turn to God for help and guidance. He then goes on to perform "Be Still & Know That I Am God" acoustically. That’s something to behold, especially when they have all the strippers on the huge video screens behind, getting naked!

Hmmm, I have a notion this will be C.C.’s last tour with the band, unless A) He goes back to the way he was, B) the band accepts the new DeVille and tones down its shows a bit, or C) the rest of the band become Christians! I guess there’s an open spot in Stryper now that Michael Sweet is fronting Boston, alongside Tom Scholz!

Enough of my speculation, though, as the band opens with an excellent "Look What The Cat Dragged In," on which they are cooking from the start. This is the third time I’ve seen Poison live, and early on it looks like another entertaining show! Flashbombs away as they come out to play, and I think their pyro show is second only to Kiss!

"I Want Action" follows before they slow things down with "I Won’t Forget You." Then I guess they figure while in Detroit, they'll do their version of "What I Like About You," a cover of one of the most well-known tunes from Detroit band the Romantics, which first appeared on the all-covers release Poison released in 2007.

It’s time for a guitar solo spot now for DeVille, and it’s clear he can play a little more than just the simple chord structures and leads that Poison uses in its regular song makeup. He also takes the opportunity to remind the crowd that Michaels should be applauded for going ahead with the show and what a guy he is!

At this point DeVille references his newfound Christianity and then presents his aforementioned song of faith. All said and done, it feels admirable and genuine, and the crowd seems to back him up, judging from the ample applause.

Perhaps appropriately, when the band returns to the stage, Michaels dedicates the next song to "all our troops out there fighting the good fight and keeping this world a free world.” He goes on to say that he was honored to go to the Middle East to play for the troops and up on the video screens are images of him posing with the Armed Forces.

The band then plays an excellent version of "Something To Believe In," which shows that for all the bubblegum songs these guys do, they can do a pretty reasonable power ballad or two along the way!

Back to fun rock & roll with another cover, "Your Mama Don’t Dance," and the crowd is really lapping it all up. It would seem that Poison can do no wrong!

A Rikki Rockett drum solo follows, and in true copycat Kiss show style, the drum podium rises up as he’s pounding away, and then it moves forward to the front of the stage. Rockett then steps down and sits on the front of the stage with some kind of electronic beat box and some bongos and proceeds to entertain us some more. Fun stuff!

"Unskinny Bop" comes next, accompanied by flamethrowers blasting out from various parts of the stage along with other pyrotechnic effects. Slowing it down again for Every Rose Has Its Thorn, the band could’ve just let the crowd sing it, to be honest. It’s a winner for sure here, and the crowd is clearly loving this show!

"Fallen Angel" is next, and you sense it’s got to be coming to an end soon, after which they close with a rip-roaring version of "Talk Dirty To Me." And boy, do these guys love their pyros! Go to a Poison show, and you will be entertained!

Back out again one last time to close the evening with "Nothin’ But A Good Time," the band lets fly toward the end of the tune with a confetti bomb. Hmmm... I seem to recall that Kiss typically does the same thing with "Rock & Roll All Nite" at the close of its show! But who can blame Poison for following this template? Not me!

Overall, it's been a great show, very entertaining. And yeah, Michaels' voice was a little raw in places, but hey, this is Poison! I know people say these guys are cheesy, but there's no question they know how to entertain!