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- Here's a show by four bands I was really into back in high school. This show was like taking a trip through time back to the late '80s. This was only the third show of the Hollyweird tour. There's just too much nostalgia here to miss. I don't really listen to any of these bands much anymore, but oddly enough, right before the tickets for this show went on sale, I had gotten back into Faster Pussycat and Cinderella. I was a fan of Winger and especially Cinderella back when both bands had come out. In fact, I bought the debut albums by all four of these bands when they came out. So I was pumped up to see all four bands!!
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- Faster Pussycat (who I've had the misfortune of witnessing live before) started things off horribly with a cover of "These Boots." Their version was lifeless and stunk. You're probably thinking "Huh?" Yeah, I was too. The band came out dressed in what looked like World War II German officer (Nazi) uniforms (complete with the hats.) Again, "Huh?" Taime Downe even had his face painted white like he was trying to be Marilyn Manson or something. They actually did perform a few of their better songs like: "Cathouse" (which they sang as "Whorehouse"), "Where There's A Whip There's A Way" and "House Of Pain" (which got a decent applause.) They fucked around and played a new song and a cover of Betty Blowtorch's "Shut Up and Fuck." Why didn't they play "Poison Ivy" or "Bathroom Wall?" I have no idea. I was a fan of Faster Pusssycat's sleazy rock back in the day, but these guys don't have it anymore and should give it up. They are wasting people's time. At least this time they didn't rap!
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- Next up, Winger came on stage to a song that surprised me, "Blind Revolution Mad." Good song, but nobody bought the "Pull" album, Kip, so stick to the hits next time. They actually played another song off of "Pull" called "Down Incognito," which is good too, but again, no one in the audience knew the song, except me and maybe three other people. Not that I care. I'd rather a band play their best material anyway. Make no mistake, Kip Winger can sing. He came to rock and his band was very tight. There were no less than three guitarists in the band, all of whom could shred! It was cool to witness them jamming on song after song. Rod Morgenstein still plays drums for Winger, and he still has the skills to pay the bills. They were easily the best musicians that night and showed off to prove it. This was my first time seeing Winger live and I was impressed. Of course, they closed with "Seventeen." Here's their setlist, not in exact order:
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- Blind Revolution Mad
- Madalaine
- Miles Away
- Easy Come, Easy Go
- Can't Get Enough
- Down Incognito
- You Are The Saint, I Am The Sinner
- Headed For A Heartbreak
- Rainbow In The Rose
- Seventeen
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- Next up was Cinderella, who easily stole the show that night!! No surprise to me, these guys just rock! Cinderella was given more stage room, pyro and lighting, so it was almost like they were a headlining act. They came out to "Somebody Save Me," easily the best song performed all night. It was fucking loud, heavy and in your face. They went right into "Push Push," a crowd favorite and the second best song of the night. Let me tell you, Cinderella is still at the top of their game. They are just plain bad ass! Tom Keifer was in top form and sang his ass off. In their set, he played guitar, steel guitar, piano and saxophone! Amazing. They still have Jeff LaBar on guitar and Fred Coury on drums. The bassist had short black hair, so if that was Eric Brittingham, he's changed his look. This band really won the crowd over. The hits kept coming, and when they slowed things down on "Heartbreak Station," the entire place was singing along. Cinderella even got an encore of sorts, when they came back out to play "Don't Know What You've Got (Till It's Gone)" and "Shake Me." The place went nuts. Here's the Cinderella setlist:
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- Somebody Save Me
- Push Push
- Bad Seamstress Blues/Fallin' Apart At The Seams
- The Last Mile
- Heartbreak Station
- Night Songs
- Coming Home
- Shelter Me
- Nobody's Fool
- Gypsy Road
- Don't Know What You've Got (Till It's Gone)
- Shake Me
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- Finally, all the Poison fans got their fill of Bret Michaels. Poison came out to "Look What The Cat Dragged In." They followed with "Talk Dirty To Me" and "I Want Action." Poison had some cool pyro and lighting but it was nowhere near the magnitude of say, Kiss. No video screens or anything like that, but enough eye candy to keep you interested. The hits kept coming as the band played "Unskinny Bop" and "Fallen Angel," etc. Bret left the stage and CC Deville sang "I Hate Every Bone In Your Body But Mine." Wow, did the crowd look bored on that one! Poison dedicated "Something To Believe In" to the families of the victims of September 11, which was cool. In my opinion, the band wasn't as loud and full sounding as Cinderella. They could benefit by the addition of another guitarist. They played a couple of songs from their forthcoming album "Hollyweird," the cover of The Who's "Squeezebox" and the title track. It was a pretty standard performance until Bret Michaels announced that today was an especially shitty day for him, since his grandfather was coming to see them play that night but passed away unexpectedly. (Bret has family in the Greenville, SC area.) Bret said he was trying to keep it together and thanked the audience for keeping his spirits up. He had asked a singer to play a song for him and everyone there that night to ease his pain. My jaw hit the floor when he introduced local singer Edwin McCain, who came on stage and played "I'll Be," just him and his guitar. The entire place lit up and sang along. I'm no huge Edwin McCain fan, but it was pretty damn cool. Edwin stayed on stage to help perform "Every Rose Has Its Thorn." Of course, Poison performed most of the hits you wanted to hear. Personally, I wanted to hear more songs from the first album, but that didn't happen. I admit I was never that big of a Poison fan after the first album, but good time Rock 'N' Roll never goes out of style. It was a good show. Here's the setist, not in exact order:
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- Look What The Cat Dragged In
- Talk Dirty To Me
- I Want Action
- I Hate Every Bone In Your Body But Mine
- Your Mama Don't Dance
- Something To Believe In
- Every Rose Has It's Thorn
- Ride The Wind
- Squeezebox
- Fallen Angel
- Welcome To Hollyweird
- Rock N' Roll All Nite
- Nothin' But A Good Time
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- It's good to see bands selling enough tickets to play in a coliseum. But it amazed me that these four bands in one 4 hour package didn't even come close to the sellout crowd that Bon Jovi alone was able to play to a year ago. Hell, we had a great time. It was good to see some of these bands again and some of them for the first time. Those who scoff at the notion of seeing this show should think again. These bands are still pretty good and have something to offer, even if you've moved on to listening to heavier and better bands. If you want to take a trip back to good time '80s Metal, don't miss this show!
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