June 14, 2003

Poison/Vince Neil/Skid Row at the PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ

Well this was our first (and hopefully not only) show of the year this time. Unfortunately we didn't luck out with Ticketmaster like we had the two years before so we had 5th row off to the right. They were still great seats... I just got spoiled with having second row for the last two years. I will be posting pictures if any of them turned out.

It was really shitty weather-wise, one of those days where it's not raining but it might as well be because it's so damn humid and soupy.

 We unintentionally arrived late. Skid Row was already halfway through their set by the time we got to our seats. The new singer did OK I thought. Obviously he's not Sebastian but he sounded pretty good. The highlight for me was when Rachel Bolan sang Psychotherapy. I always loved the version they did of it on the B-Side Ourselves EP so it was really cool to hear it live. They did a new one Thick as the Skin (or something like that) which sounded good.  Other songs: Piece of Me, I Remember You, Slave to the Grind, 18 and Life, Monkey Business, Youth Gone Wild and a newer one that I didn't know. Most of the crowd was on their feet singing and clapping for them. Usually no one wants to stand for the first band so I was kind of surprised by the warm reception. That Scotti Hill sure makes some funny faces, he looked like he was really having fun.

We only had time to make a quick trip to the bathroom, get some drinks and go back to our seats before Vince started. The crowd went wild as soon as he stepped out on stage. Everyone was singing and pumping their fists to the music. He didn't have to coax the crowd at all into the many sing-a-longs there were. He looked genuinely happy to get such a good crowd response.  I've read that the previous night at Jones Beach the crowd was somewhat uninterested and he left without doing an encore. No need for that here.  When he introduced his only solo song You're Invited but Your Friend Can't Come he said something like "If you know this one sing along. If not just fake it and make me feel good!" He also did Shout at the Devil, Too Young to Fall in Love, Same Old Situation, All in the Name of Rock, Home Sweet Home, Looks That Kill, Dr. Feelgood, Wildside, and Girls, Girls, Girls. Teaser and Kickstart My Heart were the encores. The band sounded really good and so did Vince.

On to the main event. Someone on the Poison BBS pointed out that they always play the same three songs before they take the stage. I already knew that Highway to Hell was the last song but I didn't realize that Running With the Devil and Welcome to the Jungle directly precede it. Personally I like that they use the same songs so at least when I'm sitting there twiddling my thumbs between sets, I have a good idea of when they'll be coming out.

I will never get tired of the initial rush of adrenaline when they take the stage. This time they started playing with some fast paced intro music, I quickly recognized it to be the beginning of Let Me Go to the Show. I think I would have had a coronary if they'd actually played that one, but they changed over to LWTCDI as Bret came charging out on stage. If anyone associated with the band happens to read this (yeah, right) don't EVER change the first song to anything but LWTCDI! It is the absolute PERFECT song to start a show with. Don't mess with tradition! The set list was pretty much the same as it always is except for the addition of I Won't Forget You (one of my personal favorites) and a new souped up version of Stand. I was ecstatic to hear both of those. When the tour began, I was hoping they'd do something from Crack a Smile too since Bret had said in an interview they would, but I guess you can't have everything. I always enjoy myself thoroughly at  a Poison show no matter what they play anyway. Bret asked the crowd if they'd come see them again next year, what does he think they'll say.... "no thanks Bret, we've got toenails to clip"? :) Seriously though, I was under the impression that they were taking the year off next year. Maybe they changed their minds... at least that's what I'm hoping.  When the show was over , Bret came out and shook everyone's hand (including mine, hee hee) that he could reach. What a perfect way to end a such a kick ass show.