Open Up And Say…..Blah!

Just a small write up from the show. Actually a highlight was after a 9 hr bus trip from Tbay to Winnipeg the fact that some dude passed out on the party bus after consuming a ton of booze to awaken to only one eyebrow  as the other one was shaved(courtesy of his friends)

 

Poison/Don Dokken/Jan 26 1991/Winnipeg Arena

So the Poison/Warrant tour of 90/91 are selling tickets like hotcakes but when it comes  to the Canadian part of the Poison tour Warrant gets the boot. Word on the street was due to issues,i.e. stage space,blowing off the headliner, maybe egos being hurt. Who knows what the deal is but when me,Tbone and his brother Rugg and a buddy named Oinks boarded the party bus to the Peg in Jan 91 I’m glad to hear that Don Dokken and his solo band are the opening act.

Don you know along with the rest of  Dokken  basically self destructed after a good run so Don put out Up From The Ashes and assembled a hot-shot band with two guitarists in John Norum (Europe) and Billy White( have no idea) along with bassist Peter Baltes (Accept) and Mikkey Dee(Motörhead)  and man as far as I’m concerned this band destroyed the headliner  that night.

You want proof well Don and the boys sauntered and ripped into The Hunter! Hell yeah man my fav Dokken tune and yep they plugged the album Give It Up,Crash N Burn,When Some Nights,Stay and the Hunger. Course some ol Dokken tracks from yesteryear like Breaking The Chains, In My Dreams and an acoustic  version of Alone Again.  Dokken as in Don and the fellas showed up and rocked it well for me anyways the crowd was so so I mean it was Poisons crowd but man this is a better band musically.

This was for me  and TBone our second crack at seeing Poison. The first time was gonna be on the Open Up and Say Ah tour in Duluth with Tesla opening but Bret Michael’s was sick or sumthin and the show was scrapped.

Anyways…..

So the Flesh & Blood tour is here and here they come out on stage one by one Bobby,Ricki, CC and then the one and only Mr Bandana himself Bret and were off to see Look What The Cat Dragged In. Interesting choice as it was the Open Up tour opener as well. Look But You Can’t Touch and Good Love are now numbers 2&3 played and are we at the wrong tour is this the Open Up show? Ahhh ok current single Ride Like The Wind is played followed by Let Em Play. I Want Action is next and of course Bret works the crowd like he’s working the counter at Burger King like asking the customers instead of wanting fries,ya want some Action….the girls in the crowd shriek…..

Something To Believe in and if memory serves me correct Poison dedicates this to the Canadian Troops fighting in the Gulf War. In other news Bobby Dall has no idea he is on stage in Winnipeg Manitoba Canada at this time! (Will explain later)

Now an oddball track is played and that’s Poor Boy Blues?? Why I have no idea oh yeah so B Michael’s can play the harmonica and tell us all that even though Bret is as glam looking as the lady selling makeup at Shoppers Drug Mart He knows  the blues? Uhhh ok pal if ya say so!

The place goes bonkers for Unskinny Bop and haha…..and than the song of the night for me is next with Love On The Rocks with the all time classic 80s line….quote “She goes down slow like a shot of gin!” end quote. Love it,that my friends is rock 101 literature at its finest and hell I’m ok with it!

Wait for it here it is….Every Rose is played and the place lights up like a Xmas Tree! Lighter anyone? And now it’s Fallen Angel…and now a cover of Y&T’s (haha) of Your Mama Don’t Dance followed by Nuthin But A Good Time shows over kinda….

Poison come back out like champs and give us Talk Dirty To Me..night is over and I’m relieved and let me tell you why….

I won’t lie. At the time  I liked em and so did you! So don’t try to bullshit your way out of this one. This show for me was a letdown for a few reasons….

15 tracks were played yep that’s 15 tracks (17 tracks if you include drum and guitar solo)in a 75 minute show.

7 of which were from Open Up And Say Ahh from there 1988 album 3 from Look What The Cat Dragged In and 5 from their current release Flesh & Blood.

Bobby’s Dall was well,basically he laid around on a ramp for a good while before B Michael’s helped him up.  The dude was in another zone that night. Basically if I want to see people inebriated and lying around smashed out I will just spend a night drinking with the Erickson brothers. Nuff said!

A good 20 minutes was bogged down in solos(10 for Rikki,10 for CC)

But we did have a good time as we were about 10 rows back in our seats and then Michael’s told the crowd early in the show were all too far back and the floor went chaotic and next thing you were pushed almost 2 rows from the stage. During CC Devilles  solo he started nicking EVH’s Eruption so me,Oinks and the brothers chanted Eddie.Eddie,Eddie not that he heard us…but it was fun….

Flesh & Blood sold tons and not to plug said current release? Bizarro move ….