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.

SCHWINNNG. Rock of Love 2 Ends

I love “I Won’t Forget You” and “Talk Dirty To Me”, but I wasn’t into Poison. Their image back in the day consisted of a predictable mishmash of glam and debauchery and seemed believeable to a point since they were an LA-based hair metal band. This meant that they were obviously being supported by strippers and booze so there had to be a healthy amount of debauchery. But, they also seemed too ambitious to lose themselves in the lifestyle TOO much. At least Bret Michaels did. CC, I know had issues with drugs later in life, but the rest seemed very clear headed. Bret always seemed like a doer. He spent his time after hair metal died becoming a director and resisting becoming a cliched has been. I wasn’t that surprised then, to see him jumpstart his career with Rock of Love and then later with Rock of Love 2, which has become VH1s most successful celebreality show, apparently. Coworkers that didn’t feel they knew him like I did as a tween LOVED that show. How could you not? Bret, who my friends and I considered a poseur back in the 80s, suddenly was likeable. Every Sunday our DVRs or Tivos would record the latest episode in which there would be a stripping contest, a girl on girl football mud bowl, and a drinking contest (which might be every episode). You would think this would get old, but it didn’t. In every episode Bret never pretended that he wasn’t turned on by crazy chicks, thought about sex a lot, or had a sense of humor. He was an open book, self-deprecating, and ready to help out when the girls would drink far too much and puke on everything. There was something refreshingly simple and honest about it.

This season, I loved the volatile superfan named Destiny who almost made it to the end. During the first episode she told him in a drunken stupor that meeting him was a lifelong dream, that she had his photo on her wall, etc. I immediately became engaged. If I was in the position to do it, I would SO try to be Nikki Sixx’s Rock of Love, though I would probably not have the courage to say that I fantasized about him during his heroin-addicted heyday dressed up as a harlequin. Anyway, the episode where the parents came to visit was very heartwarming. Destiny’s dad, a biker, revealed during the episode that he had cancer. Knowing that Destiny’s father loved Harleys so much, he gave her dad a bike and they spent the day riding. During the reunion, after Destiny discussed the fact that everyone considered her a groupie (which pisses me off!), there was a segment about her dad, who passed away two weeks before the taping. During the clip in which her dad is shown riding with Bret down the streets of LA Destiny, Bret, the girls, and I were in tears. What really touched me was the fact that Destiny thanked Bret for giving her dad such a wonderful day before he succumbed to the cancer. Anyone who would have walked into the room seeing me folding my laundry and crying would have thought I had finally lost it. But no, was just watching Rock of Love 2’s Reunion. WHat I liked about her was that she was so freaking up front about everything. First, she did admit that she is and always will be a fan. Second, when asked during the season if she loved Bret Michaels she admitted that she didn’t, but that if given the chance to get to know the man behind the persona she might. Bless her. Who else had the balls to admit something like that?

I was telling J that I thought it ironic that I spent my teen years unimpressed by Poison, only to now feel that Bret Michaels symbolizes everything about that era that I loved: fun times, electric guitars, skipping school, getting loaded (when I could handle it), and hair. I’m even going to see them play down in B’ham this summer (along with Dokken, another band I ignored back in the day). I may never know what lies beneath those hats and those doo rags (perhaps it’s best left undiscovered) and perhaps the show was more for him to reveal his solo career. Who cares. It was hilarious TV. Recently I read this quote from him in an article after season 2 ended. When asked what he took away from doing these shows he said "one good lesson that I have learned is patience.  Even if you are not listening, act like you are listening". (Shh. Hear that? That’s the sound of every man that may be reading this nodding their heads.) -K

Nürnberg, Germany 1988. I'm on the left in my 80s rocker uniform: skinny jeans tucked into ankle boots, permed hair, and jeans jacket. I refuse to be embarrassed by this look.

The Vanishing

A friend of mine once quoted a song lyric to me. It had something to do with knowing how one's night went by the state of the ashtray the morning after. This lyric is haunting me tonight because my night is already starting to show. August is turning out to be a helluva month. Having moved from proper Kleenexes to toilet paper, I felt it best to focus on the one thing that never leaves me- the ever-present morphing melody in my head. So here is my latest playlist aptly titled The Vanishing. -K

Silver Springs - Fleetwood Mac
I was just reading Jancee Dunn's But Enough About Me, wherein she talks about interviewing Stevie Nicks and the lyrical perfection in describing a lover's waning affections.
Don’t Walk Away - ELO (Xanadu soundtrack)
J gave me her copy of Xanadu before she left. Mock us if you will, but it has a stellar soundtrack.
Suspended In Time - Olivia Newton-John
Watch me add another Xanadu song to this playlist! Doing it!
I Won't Forget You - Poison
CC's guitar solo is what kills me in this song. I was never a huge Poison fan back in my hair band days, but this song has always been a favorite.
Think About You - Guns N Roses
Appetite for Destruction is 20 years old this month. That seems insane.
I Just Don't Think That I'll Get Over You - Colin Hay
I drink good coffee every morning / Comes from a place that's far away / And when I'm done I feel like talking / Without you here there is less to say
A beautiful song on the still impressive Garden State soundtrack. Who knew the lead singer of Men At Work had such depth!
Angie - The Rolling Stones
ain't it time we said goodbye A song that Mick wrote for David Bowie's soon to be ex-wife. Funny, that such a beautiful song was written for a woman who would later claim to have caught the two men in bed together.
Crazy - Patsy Cline
This song is such a classic that I don't really need to write anything. It's pretty self-explanatory why it ended up on my list.
One Last Time - HIM
Ah, my old romantic, broken-hearted standby, HIM. There were about 20 of their songs that could have made this playlist. But, this one is simple and to the point. Nothing really gothic here. Just a man, standing before his woman, asking for one last chance at making it work. Alternately, it could be a man, standing before his woman, asking for one last romp before the inevitable end comes. You can choose your own interpretation. I found a live performance of this on Myspace once and it may be better than the recorded version.
Like We Never Loved Before - Tim McGraw and Faith Hill
I have always loved Faith Hill. Anyone who listens to these lyrics and feels the ache will understand.
Baby Hold On - Dixie Chicks
J and I listened to this song once on the way to a Foo Fighters show in Chicago. I noticed that we both had glistening eyes during it, though I'm sure it was for different reasons. Though the context doesn't apply to our friendship, it always reminds me of her.
(Our Love) Don't Throw It All Away - Andy Gibb
I remember my sister and her best friend P, who had a tiny little birth mark around her mouth, watching Andy on Solid Gold. We had one of those gigantic supercomputer-sized tvs that had no remote whatsoever. Back then, Saturday mornings meant American Bandstand and Saturday nights meant Solid Gold. Oh, how I dreamed of becoming a solid gold dancer: shimmying to my favorite hits, backing up my favorite artists as they awkwardly lip-synched through a song, and stretching out over those big cylindrical objects onstage.
You Don't Have to Say You Love Me - Dusty Springfield
Dusty's romantic bargain plea. Sometimes you'll take less than you deserve in the hopes of not losing someone you love entirely.
Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd
Sigh. I just don't know what to say here. How often did we send the title of this song to each other due to the number of miles between us? Only my cell phone carrier knows.
Bell Bottom Blues - Derek and the Dominos
The harmonies in this song are killer. There is such desperation in the questions Do you want to see me crawl across the floor to you / do you want to hear me beg you to take me back? This leads to a beautiful harmonized chorus: I don’t want to fade away. / In your heart I long to stay.

I think this one will take some time getting used to.

...msu