Petty (Not Potty) Break

I'm going to be petty for just a minute.

I noticed an AXS TV post on Facebook last night of Bret Michaels and his band playing "Every Rose Has It's Thorn." Fine, I'm game. Give it a listen... and boy it's rough. Like, just... bad. I'm down for a Poison tour but Bret Michaels needs to step it up.

You know, you should never read the comments but I did on this post and it seems like just about everyone was agreeing with my sentiments. Thoughts?

Comments

[Kixchix]

Yes. He sounds like shite. But to take one of the top 5 ballads of the 80’s and “rock & mock it” is sad. The band is acting like it’s New Years, they’ve sped up the tempo and no one can discern that this song is an American Classic. Zero feeling.

[Metalboy!]

Exactly, Kixchix!

Breck Michaels is the king of phoning it in!

He seems, well, just bored. Everything’s so calculated and by that I mean, calculated toward the Lowest Common Denominator now, even his songwriting and most certainly, his whole stage schtick, as opposed to his more clever days with Poison.

I should know ... I had the displeasure of watching (point blank, natch) him headline and it was a regular sh*t show compared to when I saw him with Poison opening for Motlëy Crüe, just a few years prior.

In fact, at the conclusion of his M3 solo show, the promoter supposedly remarked he should have booked Poison, NOT Brett Michaels solo.

Too bad Michaels will probably NEVER get it. He’d rather phony it up, handshaking and fist bumping his way through his sets, thinking thst’s all he has to do, like some twisted idea that he’s actually “connecting” with the audience when all it really comes off as is INCINCERE!

Wake Up, Muckaels!

[GNR]

I cannot stand going to see BMB anymore. What once was a pretty good show to see has resulted in the "look at me" machine. Boring setlist, same COVER tunes, and schtick. Impress me Brett, make me see something new or is the same county fair and casino show each time. You have talented musicians in your band. They have to get tired of playing the same rinse and repeat stuff.

Bret, Dokken, Firehouse, and Lita are playing together at the end of January on the same night that Sammy Hagar is playing about an hour apart. We are going as a "group" to one of these shows and I got out voted. So I'll be seeing the first set of bands over possibly Sammy for the last time. :(

[Glamfly]

I've seen both BMB and Poison multiple times each, and I will not go see them again, unless he/they change the setlist. I follow him on Facebook, and posted "For the Love of God, will you please change your setlist?? -Sincerely any fan who has seen you more than once in the last few years.".....and he actually "LIKED" my comment on Facebook!! I could name 10-15 songs that he never does live, that I would rather hear than the same old setlist:
Cry Tough
I Want Action
I Won't Forget You
Want Some, Need Some
Love on the Rocks
Tearin' Down The Walls
Back to the Rocking Horse
Look but you Can't Touch
Valley of Lost Souls
Life Goes On
Don't Give Up an Inch
Life Loves a Tragedy

I would LOVE a setlist like this, but no thanks on the same ol shit.

[Gary]

So what we’re saying here is that perhaps he should stick to “secretly” mining Clydesdale’s for his hair “extensions”, instead of phoning in “Your Mama Don’t Dance” or “ We’re An American Band”???

PS @Glamfly great set list 👍

[Allyson]

Glamfly - "Tearin' Down the Walls" is a GREAT song. I'd love to hear that one, too! Same for "Love On the Rocks." -- Allyson

[fletch]

Glamfly:

Good song selection. In fairness though, BMB does do, at times, Cry Tough, Action and I won't forget you.

Want some/Need some is a lost gem as are back to the Rockin' Horse, Valley/Souls, and Life loves a tragedy. On a personal note about Life goes on...I've had two strokes due to a blood-clotting disorder. The first time I stroked out and was on my way to the hospital via ambulance, I didn't have an "out-of-body-experience", but my head was playing "Life Goes On" over and over. When I came to and during recovery and rehab, I got the chills just thinking about the experience, and for some reason, I can no longer play that song.

Other hidden or lost gems that I'd love to hear, IMHO:

Let it play (a personal favorite)
Come Hell or High Water
7 days over you
Stupid, Stoned and Dumb
Cover of a Rolling Stone (Dr. Hook cover) (another favorite- when I'm stupid, stoned and dumb)
Face the Hangman
Home (either version)

And, of course...
Sexy Back (I jest!)

[Him]

You can't fake motivation. You can rest, it seems, on your laurels. So long as fans reward him for phoning it in (as several of you noted), he won't have to answer to the message that the diehard are sending.

I suppose it is the duality of nostalgia, a trap that all of us are likely to fall into depending on the artist or band in question. Reliving your past can obscure a host of sins if you desperately want the artist on stage to remain a part of your 'good time' memories. I know I am guilty of this (DLR, etc.). And it is also clear that a lot of people are still willing to pay to see people like BM and VN, and care not a bit if the mess on stage continues.

[Jeff]

Just watched this whole show on AXS. In all fairness, it wasn’t as bad as the above clip. The standout in the show was Look What The Cat Dragged In. Also seeing Eric Brittingham from Cinderella on Bass was a treat. Bret introduced him as a full-time member of BMB now. Would rather see him back with Tom though. Overall, not a bad performance considering where Bret is at nowadays. Nothing groundbreaking in the set list. Let’s just be thankful he is still out there performing. I’ll take that any day.

[Dj]

I don't think I'd go see Bret solo as long as Poison is still around. The clips I've seen of him solo just look lazy and uninspired, and even though Poison plays the same set list year after year you can tell there's energy on stage and that they're having fun. That being said I've complained in the past about their set list, because I've seen em twice with the same one, but in reality if they decided to tour for the next ten years without changing it up id still go, just because of the energy and the fact they look like they are having fun. But they really should do like a special event or a special tour where they do play all the deep cuts or play an album in its entirety and advertise it at that so the diehard fans can come see and and they're not pissing off the people who only know the greatest hits. Maybe a Vegas residency or touring smaller theaters could be perfect for that.