Confessions At A Bret Michaels Concert In Davenport

WOW!! This was almost as good as seeing Poison live! Bret rocked! But I have to start at the beginning...

I knew I'd find a way to go, but it was up until the last few minutes that everything worked out for my greater good. My afternoon at work got hectic and I was sending a flurry of e-mails to Michelle and Steph as well as trying to reach my roommates about going to Davenport. My roommates and I had to work today so staying out late last night was quite the sacrifice.

During the course of the day, Steph called and said she couldn't go. Michelle e-mailed and said her husband found out she was going and that caused problems so she couldn't go. Derek said he wasn't going. Pete said Tuesday night that he was going, but sounded reluctant. I got a call from Pete at 5:30pm saying that he and Derek were going and on their way to meet me at work downtown. That was good news. Michelle called and said that she couldn't go, but would loan me some cash to make the trip and get tickets since I don't get paid until Friday. She said she'd meet me at work, too. Steph finally called back and said she had another sitter. It worked out great for everyone but Michelle. She will try to go another time. Talk about a close call! I took my car, which I wasn't planning on doing, but Steph said that we could meet up with her in Iowa City and she'd drive from there. It was just like it was meant to be, but really caused me some doubt!

I knew that leaving from my work would still cut things close, but we got out just shortly after 6pm. Our assumption was that Bret would hit the stage about 9:30pm. We got behind a fast moving white van and followed it all the way to Iowa City and pulled up at Steph's two minutes after 8pm. She was outside smoking and wondering impatiently if we were gonna make it. I had told her about 8pm so we were within our time limit. We tried to hurry and get switched from our car to hers and still made pretty good time until we found out that Steph needed to backtrack through town to get cigarettes from Hy-Vee and her Bret Michaels ticket. She save 25 cents getting the ticket there as opposed to the show. I didn't give her a hard time about this because we had made good time, BUT when we got to the place where she was having her daughter stay overnight, we did give her a hard time about lingering there. We were just kidding because there are usually several instructions you must leave with any sitter about your child. Of course, we also had to give Derek and Pete a hard time since they had to practically sit on each other's laps to make this part of the trip due to the car seat. Glenda was very quiet and had fallen asleep on this short ride, but I did try talking to her. I guess I scared her just by the way I look. She did look pretty excited to be at the sitter's.

We finally got out of the sitter's driveway shortly after Pete threatened to hop out of the car just so he could pee in the bushes. Steph wanted to find a gravel road that took us back to the highway and her sense of direction paid off after a short detour. It didn't take us too far off the beaten path and may have saved us a minute or two. Her sense of deja vu or direction also paid off when we arrived in Davenport as she found a shorter jaunt than I had mapped out to get to Quad City Live. We listened to her traveling music, Queen and Skid Row, on the way. Of course, we timidly reenacted the Wayne's World scene to Bohemian Rhapsody. We had fun even though we thought we were now running about 15 minutes late. I was hoping that Bret would start late because this was Pete's first time seeing him or Poison and Pete likes the song Bittersweet that Bret did on Songs Of Life.

Fortunately, we got there in plenty of time as Bret wasn't hitting the stage until 10:35pm. The first thing I did was spy someone familiar at the front of the bus parked outside. The closer I got the better I could see who it was. It was Big John, Poison's longtime security manager and Bret's tour manager. Big John is a fun guy to hang out with and always very kind. I first met him at a Poison show in KC while walking with a cane and then met him again in November at a Bret Michaels show in Cedar Rapids and then at Waterstock. We stopped to say hello and I introduced my friends to John. We went inside and saw a pretty decent local band opening up, but Steph had a migraine and so we walked outside while Derek and Pete stayed in to watch the opener.

Now, this may come as a small surprise to Steph, but I have to be honest here. She already knows that I have what could be considered a bit of a crush on her. That's not the surprising part. When Steph and I went outside so she could clear her head, we walked over to the Mississippi River and sat at a park bench. There was a half moon in the sky with a few stars that could be seen between some sparse clouds. There were lights around the bridge that goes into Illinois. There were lights up the river from casinos. There was a boat on the water anchored off to the left in front of us. The weather was at a wonderful temperature with a very light breeze coming off the river. It was a wonderfully romantic setting. I leaned back on the bench and Steph sat a foot or so away and we just visited. I know we visited about Glenda, her ex and his family, Steph's family, laughed a couple of times and just relaxed. It was very nice. BUT running through my head the whole time was that I wished I was brave enough to scoot over to her and put my arm around her and just have her lean her head on my shoulder. Sappy? Yes. Was I thinking anything at all more than that? Not in the least. It was just that type of setting. There were a few couples sitting on park benches like we were, but they were couples, not friends, and they were sitting like that. I'm not that brave, though, for a reason. Well, several reasons, but one in particular. At Waterstock there was a song played that brought Steph to tears because of a certain past event in her life that you can read about on her blog. When I see a female friend in tears, my first instinct is to offer solace through a hug. Sometimes we all just need a hug. Well, that isn't what Steph needed and I had a slightly awkward moment where I started to offer that and she just stood there with tears in her eyes trying to say something to Anne. I was embarrassed, but Steph didn't say anything and it was just a quick awkwardness. So I was a bit afraid of acting on impulse and embarrassing myself or Steph when we were visiting by the river last night. It was quite the setting, though, and Steph is quite the young woman.

After she felt better, we headed back to Quad City Live and got there in time to get a decent place in front of the stage to watch the show. Right before we walked in, we caught Pete Evick's attention through the side window and he waved hello. We started on the right side and she was up by Derek and Pete, but these two HUGE women formed a wall and were being a bit rigid in letting me stand with my friends. I talked Steph into moving with me to the other side where it seemed there was a lot less pushing.

Evick opened with a cover of Aerosmith's Walk This Way to get a quick overall soundcheck. It sounded great and had the crowd waiting with baited breath for what was about to occur.

Smoke filled the stage, the band started wtih some noise, and BOOM, Bret Michaels came out in full concert energetic mode. He knew he had a crowd to entertain and went to work like he was on an arena stage. He led off with Talk Dirty To Me and Evick sounded like they had played for Bret for years! It was evident from the very beginning that we were witnessing something special. Bret then launched in to Look What The Cat Dragged in which had me tossing my hair in time to the rhythm. That song is awesome live! Bret then played the only song of the night from one of my all-time favorite CD's, Songs Of Life. It was Pete's new favorite song, Bittersweet. That song went over very well live with many people singing along. He performed the new song New Breed Of American Cowboy from his forth coming CD and promised it would be out "this week", which I think meant next Tuesday, so I will be looking for it. He grabbed the acoustic for Something To Believe In before leading into Your Mama Don't Dance. There may have been another song in there, but for the life of me, I didn't write down the setlist, so I'm going off of a similar one that I saw and he did most of the same set. Sweet Home Alabama was up next and I was wanting to ask Pete Evick if he remembered the words, but of course, they were playing! The reason is that Bret had Pete start off a verse when they were at Waterstock and Pete started the wrong verse. Bret sang it all last night except for when the mic was pointed at the crowd to sing along. This order of songs just kept the energy level high the entire time. He launched into Driven next, which I was able to purchase after the show last night. This is the song I didn't know the title to at Waterstock. What a great song! The live version is so energetic. It has the stops and starts that I love in great rhythmic music. I will be playing that single for quite some time. Then Bret surprised me with my second favorite Poison tune, Let It Play. This song is just so laid back and fun! I'm hoping that if they choose a cover song to do sometime in the future that Poison records a cool version of Mama Let Him Play. It has a similar energy and it's a great song that needs to get back on the radio. Every Rose and Knockin' On Heaven's Door were up next with a drum solo to follow. Chuck (Evick) then put on a drum solo that was a huge improvement over Waterstock. Bret was trying to get him to use some symbols and steady beats for the solo at Waterstock, but I think Chuck was a bit surprised at that point in the tour. Last night Chuck just put on a nice double bass clinic as well as using some steady rhythms to wow the crowd. They then led right into Unskinny Bop, Fallen Angel, and instead of doing the typical encore thing, Bret went on in to Nothin' But A Good Time.

There was no drop in the energy whatsoever at this show. The band was tight. Bret was the consumate frontman and entertainer. Big John provided water and beer at Bret's request. It was just pure energy from start to finish. It was a warm club made hot by the show and everyone was glistening with sweat and matted hair and nobody cared because it was just so fun!

Afterwards, we hung out and visited with Evick, Big John, and got pictures and autographs from Bret. Derek and Pete had a blast hanging out and Steph was getting in plenty of time visiting, too.

Pete and I visited a little about a recent Metal Sludge rumor that was totally false and we thought of a way to put it to rest. Pete did say he had a response approved by Bret to post, but that they wanted to hold off to see if it blew over. I'm hoping that Steph putting a picture up of us all did the trick.

It turns out that Ray (Evick bass player) used to play in Circle Of Dust and Klank, a couple of Christian rock bands that I have heard. We talked about growing up on Christian rock and he has even made some connections over the years with guys in Living Sacrifice and DC Talk. I'm planning on seeing Tait in a couple of weeks and Ray gave me a phone number to pass on if I can. This was a conversation I didn't expect, but thouroughly.

We laughed, smuggled Ray a beer outside the club, took pictures, and had a great time until 2:30AM. Bret did sign my Songs Of Life CD and took pictures with each of us. We took a group photo with the four of us, Big John, and Evick. When we arrived back at Steph's to pick up my car we watched her post the group photo on Metal Sludge. (That thread has gotten several posts today.)

Pete fell asleep and Derek and I visited for quite a while before he dozed off, too. We got back to the house at 6AM in time for about 2 hours of sleep before I had to be to work.

I tell ya it was worth it, though. It was a great show with great friends and a great band fronted by my favorite frontman. Please go see this tour. You will not be disappointed!