Hit It, CC! Poison in Birmingham, AL

There was no where this former 80s rocker wanted to be Saturday night but the Verizon Wireless Music Center in Pelham, AL outside Birmingham last weekend. On the bill was Sebastian Bach, Dokken, and Poison.

When I first saw Sebastian Bach live as lead singer of Skid Row, he was opening for Bon Jovi at Giants Stadium in 1989 and he was as Kerrang! once put “a swaggering one man tornado”. He hasn’t changed. I must admit, as soon as he stepped out onstage my heart skipped a little. Supporting his new album Angel Down, he opened strongly with a remake of Aerosmith’s Back in the Saddle and then hit us with classics like 18 and Life, I Remember You (which brought me right back to summer 1988), and Youth Gone Wild. Sebastian still has the pipes he had years ago and I could tell he didn’t want to leave the stage. It seemed wrong that he was the opener of the opener and I hated that the amphitheater was not sold out.

Dokken was pretty cool to see, but the absence of guitarist George Lynch and Don’s inability to hit the high notes was a disappointment for at least one fan, who I overheard say “Don needs to give it up”. Regardless, the band’s setlist included classics such as Kiss of Death, Tooth and Nail, Breaking the Chains, Alone Again, In My Dreams, and Just Got Lucky. Don did crack me up once, commenting on how hot and humid Birmingham was that night, saying “I haven’t sweat this much since the first time I had sex!”

Poison did a fantastic job connecting with the audience. Drummer Rikki Rocket hung a Bama jersey from his drum kit, CC Deville played Amazing Grace and Georgia on my Mind, and Bret Michaels gave a shout out to our Bama boys over in Iraq and sang Something to Believe In as a dedication to our Armed Forces overseas. Poison invited everyone to join them at the Iron Horse Cafe for an after party. The last song? Bret yelled out “give me some Sweet Home Alabama” and at his command Lynyrd Skynyrd blasted through the speakers. I once mentioned to a friend once that it was funny how Poison, probably due to the success of Rock of Love, had suddenly become the symbol of the hair metal era even though at the time a lot of us who were rockers in the 80s wouldn’t admit to liking these fluffy pop metallers. The set itself wasn’t jam-packed with music. In fact, a lot of the show was Bret talking (and a reference to CC every five minutes- even a “hit it CC” which had me rolling.) I think we’re all ready for a good time in these dark days in America. Maybe I’ve mellowed in my age, but I sang every fucking song they played Saturday night and I was not the only one. I must have been paying some attention back in the 80s... I give it an UNEXPECTED. -K



















By the way, does anyone know what happened to this guy? I saw him walking north on I-65 the next morning. You can’t forget seeing a shirt that reads “Warning: choking hazard” with an arrow pointing down.