June 29, 2009 / 738 reads
At 8 p.m., Poison took to the stage amid lightning and screams from the appreciative audience. Pyrotechnics flaring, lead singer Bret Michaels ran to the forefront, clad in his trademark straw cowboy hat, tight jeans and a Poison tank top, and jumped into "Look What the Cat Dragged In." "Do you want action?" he yelled to the audience, as "I Want Action" began. "Sing it along with me," Mr. Michaels encouraged - which they did, at ear-shattering levels. "Its awesome to be back in Scranton. ... We want to kick this whole thing off and thank you for 22 years of doing what we love," he said between songs. "I promise you I will try not to hit and knock myself out with any moving objects," Mr. Michaels joked, referring to a clumsy stunt during a performance at the Tony Awards on June 7. Next up was the single "Ride the Wind."
Michaels next dedicated the iconic ballad "Somethin' to Believe In" to members of the armed forces, which elicited more than a few cheers from the audience. Without skipping a beat, the band tore into a cover of "Your Mama Don't Dance," which got almost everybody in the house dancing. Guitarist CC DeVille entertained the crowd with a lively guitar solo on his flying "V" before he launched into the hit "Fallen Angel."
Flames erupted from behind the massive drum set, and the band thrilled long-time fans with "Unskinny Bop," after which drummer Rikki Rockett, a Mechnicsburg native, had his turn at a solo.
Mr. Michaels took center stage with an acoustic guitar and explained that he considered the next number, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn," to be the greatest love song he's ever written, and shared an anecdote about penning the tune in the bathroom of a laundromat in Dallas.
Poison finished out their hourlong set with perennial party hits "Talk Dirty to Me" and "Nothin' But a Good Time."
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