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Rock of Love Bus Tour 2009 |
Bret Michaels Band
First Council Casino
Newkirk, Ok
April 17, 2009
By Jeb Wright
Bret Michaels used to be best known for being the singer for the
band Poison. Now an entire new audience knows him as the star
of his own television show. Bret's quest for true love has been
well documented over the past three seasons on VH1's Rock of
Love and Rock of Love Bus. Hopefully, his latest
choice, a Penthouse Pet of the Year, will be the woman of his
dreams. I wouldn't bet on it, but, then again, love can do
strange things to a man. Still, my money is on Season IV
coming to a television screen near you.
Despite his newfound stature as a television star, Michaels has
not been able to transfer his fame into selling out arenas.
Instead of playing to 15,000 people a night, as he does with
Poison, he is content to play to crowds of only three to five
thousand. Bret also brings his solo show to smaller towns than
Poison is accustomed to playing to, as he did this night, when
he played in a tent behind a casino outside of Newkirk,
Oklahoma.
The doors, or tent flaps rather, opened late as the event staff
seemed overwhelmed at the amount of people lining up to see
Michaels. People were still streaming in during the band's
opening number, "Talk Dirty to Me." The song started with only
the band onstage. When the blonde haired rock god joined them,
a deafening shriek filled the giant tent.
The show featured a couple of songs from Bret's latest effort,
Rock My World, the best being the song "Bittersweet," a
tune recycled from his Songs of Life release. Michaels
also played the theme song from his television show Rock of
Love, claiming it was the first time the band had ever performed
the song live in concert. Among the Poison classics brought out
were "Unskinny Bop," "Something to Believe In," "Every Rose Has
It's Thorn" and "Your Mama Don't Dance." The band surprised the
crowd by playing three cover tunes, the weakest being "Sweet
Home Alabama" and the best being an amazing rocked up version of
"Drift Away." The band also performed the classic Bob Dylan
penned "Knockin' on Heaven's Door."
The crowd was rowdy, boarding, at times, on unruly. The small
town residents were hyped to have a major star in their midst,
and many celebrated by becoming inebriated and obnoxious.
Before the show even started, two twenty-something's were being
loud and jumping around,
disturbing those around them. They were warned by the police to
calm down, to which they responded, "Fuck off." The men in
uniform quickly escorted them away. I also witnessed a woman
from the most expensive seating area of the tent being
handcuffed and thrown out as well. Even Michaels witnessed the
mayhem when he had to stop in the middle of "Every Rose Has Its
Thorn" to confront two young women who were fist fighting in
front of the stage. The police had broken up the fight and were
getting ready to escort the girls out when Michaels stepped in.
He told the police to break it up but not to throw the girls
out. He said, "I am all for a rowdy crowd but nobody wants to
get their ass kicked." He then laughed and admitted, "Hey, at
least you know we are not running tapes up here. This is
totally live." The regular set ended with the Poison classic
"Fallen Angel." The infectious rhythm had people moving,
shaking and singing along. The band returned for an encore and
performed "Nothin' But A Good Time."
It was obvious to all in attendance that Bret Michaels truly
loves what he does for a living. Halfway through the set,
however, it was clear that he was in a battle with his vocal
chords. The trouble he was having was a side effect from trying
to give too much. Bret needs to slow down and realize he can't
play every show that people want him to play. Often times, the
mind
is willing but the body does not cooperate. Losing his voice,
at this stage of the game, would be detrimental to the Cheap
Trick, Poison and Def Leppard shows coming up this summer.
Despite these warnings, which I am sure Michaels has heard from
his own people, he pushed ahead and kept the party going
strong.
Whether Bret Michaels is playing Madison Square Garden, or a
tent in Newkirk, Oklahoma, he remains dedicated to his fans and
gives everything he has to give to his audience. Aside from
being a rock star, a TV icon and a sex symbol, he remains a
music fan who has never forgotten where he came from. While some
may not like his music, and others may loathe his dating
show, no one can question his loyalty, perseverance and undying
love of rock n' roll.
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