Poison-ous?
Though everything apparently went smoothly at Sunday night's concert featuring '80s hair band Poison at Little Rock's Riverfest Ampitheatre, things were not all hugs and kisses two nights before. At the band's Aug. 25 gig in Atlanta, lead singer Bret Michaels and bass player Bobby Dall nearly had an onstage throwdown, with shoving, shouting and a flung guitar and microphone before roadies rushed in to break it up. Afterward, Michaels reportedly told fans in attendance, "You may have just seen the last concert by Poison in its current formation."
Despite Michaels' misgivings about the future of the 20-year-old band, he and Dall had apparently patched it up enough to play together by the time they hit Little Rock. Though the stage show went off without a hitch, our man behind the scenes — Market Street Cinema owner and dedicated metal head Matt Smith — said that the atmosphere backstage was anything but hunky dory. Matt, who traveled to see Poison in Wisconsin and Chicago during their tour this summer, said that they're usually the friendliest band in music backstage, posing for photos and holding extended meet-and-greets with fans. In Little Rock, however, Smith said that only guitarist C.C. Deville and Dall showed up for a very limited post-show autograph session, telling those in attendance that Michaels was sick with the flu.
"They are known for being extremely nice backstage," Smith said. "And Little Rock was just not the love fest that [the show in] Wisconsin was." -- David Koon
