Poison, Dokken, Sebastian Bach Concert in Madison, WI

Posted by matt on July 13, 2008

poison_ballad_madison_wi_willow_island_2008_tour.jpgCaught the Poison show last night in Madison, WI, with Sara and some friends.  Not a bad show–a decent, albeit strange crowd of blasted out 30 and 40+ year olds reliving their high-school years in the 80’s.  There was more than one real mullet in the crowd.  If I were to rank the music, it would look something like this:

1. Dokken – They rocked!  I was surprised at how good their sound was.  No George Lynch on guitar, but whomever they got to fill his shoes could really tear it up.

2. Guns ‘n Roses playing on the PA – Before Poison played, they played GNR on the sound system.  Yes, this was better than…

3. Poison – They aren’t known for their musicianship, and they proved that tonight.  But they can put on a good show, and everyone was having a good time, so it was fun.

4. Sebastian Bach – He has a good voice, but he didn’t prove it tonight.  His sound was terrible and his band awful.  Thank goodness I missed most of this.

Some pictures from the show, in order of how they played (Sebastian Bach, Dokken and  Poison):

sebastian_bach_madison_wi_willow_island.jpg  dokken_madison_wi_willow_island.jpg  poison_madison_wi_willow_island_2008_tour.jpg

I also shot some videos at the show.  Here’s Poison doing “Talk dirty to me”:

Posted under music, reviews, shows
  1. Quimby Said,

    Matteo – right on review!!!! DOKKEN ROCKED!!!!!! The most impressive thing was that Don realized his age and that he could not hit the high notes anymore, so he changed up the lyrics to be more in his range and it made the great old tunes somewhat fresh sounding and he hit everything SPOT ON!!! The guitarist is Barry Levens (I think) and he absolutely was phenomenal. If I was blind and couldn’t see the difference, he sounded like George!!!!

    Poison ALWAYS puts on a great show, top 3 of ALL TIME including Kiss and perhaps Metallica. Great energy and the boys haven’t lost a step.

    Sebastian better look up the old members of Skid Row and FIRE his sound man.

    As for the scenery???? It doesn’t matter if they are 20, 30 or 40….women dressing up for a top notch rock concert is ALWAYS good to be a part of! Love the slutty bitches!!!!! :-)

    Q

  2. jaimie Said,

    Thanks for some good pics, Ill post mine later on my myspace…I was in the 1st/2nd row right up by the gates.
    Great concert……Bach can still rock it out , Dokken gave us a “break” because it was showing thier age….comedy was funny & and Poison did a great show!

    From – Up near the Dells

  3. Melissa Said,

    I love that Brett self-promoted the tour by wearing a two different tour t-shirts! Of course, I was most impressed by Brett’s ability to incorporate “Madison” and/or
    “Wisconsin” into every song!
    Good times, good times.

  4. glenn Said,

    how bout a set list

  5. lovedtheshow Said,

    1. Sebastian Bach Rocked! But then I was there during his performance and watched and heard the whole set. His voice was clear and profoundly terrific! Better than I remember. Still hitting the high notes right ON! Metal Mike as always was at his best! Bobby Jarzombeck (sp?) (best drummer), tore it! Sebastian got the crowd going strong with his knock down performance (sound system aside, maybe I was closer to the stage than most?).

    2. Dokken. Pretty great set. Kept the crowd rev’ed up!

    3. Poison. Awesome… ha! everything was ‘awesome’

    Great night overall. Crowed rocked!

  6. TheHaig Said,

    This review is spot on! It was a great time, the only award Sebastian Bach wins is the most effenheimers per song. I’d have much preffered a longer set of Dokken, even it it cut out out Bach and cut into Poison’s time! The night ended with having a drunk 40- something walking through the parking lot with his unit out and pissing as he walked. Must have been in a hurry to get home, I guess.

  7. Anna Said,

    I thought pretty much the opposite of what you did. Sebastian Bach and Poison ROCKED
    and Dokken really sucked… the singer was very obnoxious and I really did not enjoy Dokken. I think that Poison had a great show, as did Bach and they both looked sexy as ever

  8. matt Said,

    Not sure what your definition of “sexy” is, but in 2008, I think Sebastian Bach wouldn’t fall into that category for 75% of the people in the world. More importantly, he should seriously fire his sound guy…the sound was horrible (as Quimby notes above). Each has their own opinion though–Dokken is a little more deliberate and complex with their music and Poison plays a bunch of covers, but hey, whatever blows up your skirt. It was a fun show.

  9. Dirty Duck Said,

    Although I’m not set to see the show until weds july 30th at Jones Beach Theater on Long Island….I am truly psyched! This is the 8th summer in a row that i’ve seen POISON live and they never disappoint! The energy is off the wall and the set list is very impressive. EVERY song keeps you on your feet…dancing…rockin’,,,groovin’..whatever! It’s like one BIG party and everyone always has a good time. Just started hanging out with this new girl who’s father might be able to get us V.I.P passes and if thats the case it will probley be the BEST show i’ll see. Really looking foward to seeing DOKKEN (although disappointed that their will be no george lynch on guitar!) and SABASTIAN BACH. It’s gonna be a great show. It’s good to see the reviews are STILL positive about POISON. Thet truly put on a great show and its a good feeling knowing that rock n’ roll is still part of so many souls in a world of hip hop videos and wanna be young girls who think they’re down. Please! LONG LIVE ROCK BABY!@!!!!!!!!!!!

  10. Dirty Duck Said,

    Posted on 7/23/2008

  11. BG Razor Said,

    Just saw Poison, Dokken, and Bach! Dokken was the best band there! Don sounded great! Thank God the new guitar player fits in better than George Lynch. Sabastian should fire his sound man!

  12. Dirty Duck Said,

    Saw the show weds july 30 at Jones Beach Theater on longisland! As usual me and my friends had a blast! It truly is one big party and i’m glad we were invited! : )
    Eight of us got there about 6pm. I wasnt too happy with that cause i always make it a tradition to have some drinks and mingle with the rockers in the parking lot at least 2 hours before the show but whatever. I was on my 4th beer when this girl i knew texted me that Sabastian Bach had just come on. I was annoyed cause i thought if anything Dokken would be first but whatever. Downed the last of the hops and we hauled ass to our seats. Wow did he sound great! His vocals were stellar and his band was pretty damn tight! I was very impressed. Being a rocker I’ve always been down on the fact that i never saw him live. This was def a treat! Man were they LOUD! I loved it! Like KISS says: I LOVE IT LOUD! He played some songs from the Skid Row era ( 18 and life / Youth gone wild / and of course..need i say it? I remember you) he also played songs from his new album ANGEL DOWN…good shit. It was a great performance and I’m happy i saw him live!
    Dokken was a big suprise. i’ve never been a huge dokken fan but they sounded great! (even without lynch on guitar) Don’s vocals were VERY impressive and I enjoyed hearing every song. His stage raps were a little cheesy here and there but i could see he was happy to perform again. Good show don! See ya next year?
    POISON: what more can i say? I’ve been seeing these cats since 2000 and as usual the show ROCKED! My only problem? CHANGE THE SET LIST PLEEEEASE!!!!!!
    Every year its the same show…and 8 summers later i need some change man! The same songs (open with “cat dragged in” close with “Nuthin but a good time”) and i love ya brett..but the same stage raps too. Maybe i’ve just seen them too many times? Eiether way It was a GREAT show and we were all on our feet dancing and rockin out the whole time! No reason to get into the set list: listen to the greatest hits cd..thats pretty much it! But seriously…if you’ve never seen tham live…DO IT! Worth every penny and who doesnt like a little confetti to close a show? ; ) And the ladies? Maaaaan..the way i look at it is this. 1/2 of them are there to see brett due to that corny ass show rock of love….use you imagination…..beautiful girls everywhere! Mmmm! Mmmm! Mmmmmmmmmmmmm! Anyway here’s my review…now go out and see these boys will ya!