July 14, 2011 / 764 reads
Poison, performed a fun and energetic but rather unsurprising and at times perfunctory set. Highlights included a muscular rendition of "Fallen Angel" and a rousing version of "Nothin' But A Good Time" at the finale. That was offset by a rather dull cover of Grand Funk Railroad's "We're An American Band" that brought nothing new to the overplayed tune.
Poison lead singer -- and, like many of the band members, a former Mechanicsburg man -- Bret Michaels, initially clad in a lime-colored day-glo bandana (he changed his headgear with almost every song) seemed happy to be back in his old home town and frequently reminded concert-goers of his roots, dedicating "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" to his dad who apparently was in the audience.
Poison guitarist C.C. DeVille delivered his own bit of pyrotechnics during a guitar solo that underscored the band's showmanship and skills. While their brand of pop metal isn't to everyone's taste (I'll be honest -- I didn't care for "Unskinny Bop" back in 1990 and I don't really care for the song 20 years later), only a churl would fail to appreciate their eagerness to entertain and play, They know their strengths and stick to them, and that's probably why they've been able to maintain their success while many of their contemporaries have fallen to the wayside.
Review by Chris Mautner, pennlive.com
