All Photos By George Dionne/@rockisgeorge
Fresh off the tour bus from the highly successful Stadium Tour featuring DEF LEPPARD, MOTLEY CRUE, POISON, and JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS, POISON frontman BRET MICHAELS wanted to keep the party going. Parties in a stadium are great, but there's a closeness and connection missing.
BRET MICHAELS PARTI-GRAS 2023 TOUR is taking on amphitheaters and similar style venues in a limited 12 city run from July 13th to August 6th. Joining Michaels for the party are NIGHT RANGER and JEFFERSON STARSHIP, plus special guests Mark McGrath (SUGAR RAY) and Steve Augeri (ex-JOURNEY). I caught the tour as it rolled into the Xfinity Center (formerly Great Woods) on July 21st.
JEFFERSON AIRPLANE, JEFFERSON STARSHIP, STARSHIP...who can keep up? Keeping up with who's in and out of the band can be challenging too, but you should probably stop focusing on such things and enjoy their great catalog of music. Led by vocal powerhouse Cathy Richardson, and longest tenured member and guitarist David Freiberg, JEFFERSON STARSHIP didn't have much time on stage, but they made the most of their seven song set.
The set spanned all three of their names and three decades. Richardson proved herself as the consummate front woman on the band's opening number "Find Your Way Back", and never wavered from there. Freiberg, who turns 85 this year, joined Richardson for "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now", proving that age is just a number.
While the band's music from the '60s is not really my thing, "White Rabbit" and "Somebody To Love" sounded great and true to form. Live or on recording, the guitar solo during "Jane" is hands-down the best rock solo ever (in my opinion). Guitarist Jude Gold performed it honorably.
Setlist
- "Find Your Way Back"
- "Sara"
- "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now"
- "White Rabbit"
- "We Built This City"
- "Jane"
- "Somebody To Love"
I saw NIGHT RANGER open for THE CIRCLE in 2019 and I was not impressed. To me, it sounded like age was catching up with the band. I was a bit worried that with more years added, their performance could suffer some more.
NIGHT RANGER is currently celebrating its 40th anniversary, and tonight, they were on fire. From the opening pomp and circumstance that preceded their entrance, to the bombastic finale of "Don't Tell Me You Love Me", NIGHT RANGER kicked my ass for ever doubting them.
Jack Blades stood triumphantly onstage as the opening notes of "(You Can Still) Rock In America" rang out. Blades had recently recovered from a cardiac event, so there was cause to celebrate his recovery. Nothing was slowing Jack down on the microphone, nor his guitar. Guitarist Brad Gillis is always fun to watch on his signature ax. The techniques he uses are awe inspiring.
Their set was limited to eight songs, and they packed it with hits. They even covered "Coming of Age" and "High Enough" by Blades' late '80s side project DAMN YANKEES. Drummer Kelly Keagy and the audience collaborated for NIGHT RANGER's mega-hit "Sister Christian".
Setlist
- "(You Can Still) Rock in America"
- "Sing Me Away"
- "Coming of Age"
- "Night Ranger"
- "High Enough"
- "When You Close Your Eyes"
- "Sister Christian"
- "Don't Tell Me You Love Me"
BRET MICHAELS took the stage with palm trees, a yellow sunset, a tiki bar full of fans, and bright lights as far as the eye could see, to take the already epic party to the next level. He was introduced by Rick Harrison of the Pawn Stars television program. I was relieved that Michaels stuck to a POISON setlist. Bret's solo material just doesn't have the same appeal to me.
Now you're probably wondering what happened to special guests Mark McGrath and Steve Augeri. Well, they were a part of Bret's set. After Michaels performed "Talk Dirty To Me", "Ride The Wind", and "Look What The Cat Dragged In", McGrath took the stage to sing "Every Morning". Later in the set he performed "Fly".
While on stage Michaels was appreciative of the fans, thanking them several times, and wanting to bring the party to the Xfinity Center. Longtime BRET MICHAELS guitarist Pete Evick handled the POISON material with ease and was having a blast on stage himself.
When Steve Augeri took the stage, he led the crowd through three of JOURNEY's biggest hits. Sometimes it was hard to hear him over the enthusiastic crowd singing along on "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)", "Don't Stop Believin'", and "Any Way You Want It".
Michaels dedicated "Something To Believe In" to our military veterans. Nearly everyone lit up their phones, waved their arms, and sang along. In the middle of the song Bret brought up a group of veterans that were either from the crowd or on the venue staff to be acknowledged for their service.
Michaels and his cohorts delivered an extended version of "Unskinny Bop" and a close to the original version of "Every Rose Has Its Thorn". The night ended with a rousing version of "Sweet Home Alabama" featuring members from all the acts on the BRET MICHAELS PARTI-GRAS 2023 TOUR.
It was a great night of music from beginning to end. It's a shame that this is such a limited run as the bill appeals to a wide range of music fans and is well worth the price of admission. Michaels hinted this may be an annual thing, but only time will tell.
Setlist
- "Talk Dirty to Me"
- "Ride The Wind"
- "Look What the Cat Dragged In"
- "Every Morning" [Mark McGrath]
- "Your Mamma Don't Dance"
- "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" [Steve Augeri]
- "Something to Believe In"
- "Unskinny Bop"
- "Don't Stop Believin'" [Steve Augeri]
- "Anyway You Want It" [Steve Augeri]
- "Every Rose Has Its Thorn"
- "Fly" [Mark Mcgrath]
- "Nothing But a Good Time"
- "Sweet Home Alabama" [All-star jam]
Check out some more photos from the show!
All Photos By George Dionne/@rockisgeorge
