On a sweltering August
Floridian evening modern L.A upstarts Endeverafter opened the nights festivities
with an outstanding combination of every great element about the 70’s and 80’s
ROCK era. Storming the stage with ‘I Wanna Be Your Man’ they prepared the crowd
for Cinderella’s ball with their energetic songs. Their set included ‘Bright
Lights, Big City’, ‘Poison’ and the anthemic, ‘Baby, Baby, Baby’. They could
possibly be L.A’s next best thing. It was pleasantly different to
have a happyendeverafter before Cinderella’s fairytale performance
had even begun!
With Disney World less than five miles away, Cinderella’s dream date was almost
dashed at the eleventh hour because lead vocals Tom Keifer was advised not to
attend the 20th Anniversary ball due to problems with his throat. He admitted
this to the Orlando crowd, “I decided to go ahead with the tour for the fans and
I promise to be back next year with a full recovery and I apologise that we
cannot perform our songs in the way we always have but it’ll be something new
for you and us tonight”.
Booted and suited for the occasion Cinderella graced the stage with their tailor
made song, ‘Falling Apart At The Seams’. The question for the fans was would
they, or could Tom Keifer hold it together?
It looked like the fairy godmother had waved her wand tonight as the audience
were carried on a magical rush of 80’s nostalgia with all the expected
night songs such as, ‘Save Me’, ‘Heartbreak Station’, ‘ Comin’ Home’,
‘Nobody’s Fool’ and the tale of ‘Gypsy Road’.
The clock strikes encore time and Tom proves himself to be the majestic prince
charming of Rock by wooing the female fans with an acoustic version of the
classic ballad, ‘Don’t Know What You’ve Got Till It’s Gone’. As Cinderella’s
chariot raced along the last mile of the ball, they closed the set with the
sublime, ‘Shake Me’.
In fairness Tom’s voice was noticeably strained at times but Cinderella held it
together. Make no mistake Poison knew Cinderella would be a hard act to follow.
Throughout the twenty years that Poison have been making music they have
entranced audiences worldwide. Their live renditions are never tiresome and
their music always remains vibrant, allowing fans to reminisce the early days of
a glitzy ROCK era. Could Poison live up to the acclaim tonight?
The American Band was in no mood to pussyfoot around, bounding on
stage in true Poison panache to the classic hair metal anthem ‘Look What The Cat
Dragged In’. Bret Michaels’ voice was still solid, strong and true delivering
the ballads, ‘I Won’t Forget You’ and the heart rendering song that everyone
could relate to, ‘Every Rose Has Its Thorn’. Michaels proved himself the
consummate frontman wasting no time indulging the Poison faithful to relive
their high school memories with his breathtaking vocals. The crowd had already
opened up and said…ahh!
‘Something To Believe In’ was yet another memorable moment of the night,
dedicated to the American troops. Poignantly patriotic Bret spoke eloquently,
from the heart, about the tragic events of 9/11 and their global repercussions.
The crowd sang their hearts out, making it to the second verse before allowing a
humbled but proud Michaels an input. The intense moment caused the hairs on the
back of everyone’s necks to stand on end. Despite the additional lyrics, “Pray
the Lord have mercy on me”, the fans truly believed in Poison.
Bret, forever the focal point for the female fans, and not being one to
disappoint, worked them magnificently. His polished showmanship performance,
incorporating provocative stage strutting, singing, band interaction, harmonica
and guitar solos had the ladies, and some of the men! screaming, smiling and
flashing their ample talents at the frontman. The euphoric audience, already
riding on a high from Cinderella, were now overdosing on pure Poison.
Halfway through the set, ever animated guitar god C.C Deville elevated himself
to band personality. His finger breaking guitar solo was spectacular but C.C
became a stratospheric shooting star when he took over lead vocals, belting out,
‘I Hate Every Bone In Your Body But Mine’.
With bassist Bobby Dall playing it up and drummer Rikki Rockett enthralling the
fans, as he thrashed out a heart thumping solo from a raised platform, the crowd
well and truly had Poison flowing through their veins.
From start to finish Poison had commanded the fans attention, keeping them on
their feet the entire show with a selection of their greatest hits, which also
included, ‘Fallen Angel’, ‘Unskinny Bop’, ‘Cry Tough’ and ‘Your Mama Don’t
Dance’.
In a firework storming, confetti raining, pomp and pageantry grand finale, the
last song of the night was inevitably, ‘Talk Dirty To Me’.
As Poison took their final bow, Bret saluted the adoring fans and announced,
“Here’s to another twenty!”
The bottom line says it all…Everyone truly had nothin’ but a good time.
