BraveWords recently spoke to Poison singer Bret Michaels about his new single “Back In The Day” and the upcoming Parti-Gras tour for a Streaming For Vengeance interview that will air tomorrow (Wednesday, January 18th at 3:33 PM EST). Michaels was quite passionate reminiscing about the record-breaking Stadium Tour that also featured Def Leppard, Mötley Crüe, Joan Jett and Classless Act. Easily one of the greatest moments in rock concert history, it grossed nearly $180 Million US, playing 36 shows across North America. The venues were sold-out and packed from the first act!
"One million percent, you summed it up best,” Michaels agrees. “For me, it was truly one of the greatest tours in rock n' roll history for this reason. The fans were there early, they were ready to party, and from the moment we all hit the stage, and I'm including Joan Jett and Classless Act. Classless Act was amazing sounding, and I was friends with them, I told them, 'you guys need to use my dressing room, take it'. I said, 'I pretty much live on my bus', you know what I mean? I said, 'if you guys need anything from us, let me know, you're welcome to ask'. And I'd go up and check on them almost daily. And here's the truth - I walked out there and there's 60,000 people already there. When we played Toronto - I can't make this up, I still get chills. I get a photo and the place, they took all their lighters and they lit that place - I said 'lighters' I went old-school - they took their phone lighters, and it looked like you were in outer space. It was so awesome. And the energy that came back. And, I'm talking, listen every band, every band brought their special, what I call their special magic to that stage. Joan Jett are different from Poison, different from Mötley, different from Leppard. But all of us gave a thousand percent, and I think that's what made it incredible."
BraveWords: What do you learn and feed off of when you're actually sitting there watching your buds in Mötley Crüe and Def Leppard?
Michaels: "Oh, they were awesome. If you look at any of the pictures from the tour, the first thing I did was went up and said hello to everybody. I saw Vince, then I walked over and saw Joe and Phil, and all the guys, you know what I mean? I was playing baseball, I don't know if you every watched that TikTok of me and Joan Jett throwing a baseball? It was amazing. And, we were honestly all having a great time, and I thank them all for the opportunity. There's a picture of Tommy and me standing up, he'd come up to watch our show, and I'd just stepped off the stage, and C.C. (DeVille) was whaling on the guitar and doing a great job. He was whaling and I checked my blood sugar, you know what I mean? So I thanked him for giving me a moment just to make sure my diabetes is in check. And Tommy and I are just sitting there and talking, and pointing out to the crowd. How amazing it is. I think that, when you love what you're doing, like for me the passion and being out there and playing your hits and getting the opportunity to do it, it's a great feeling honestly. And I think that's what made the stadium tour so rockin', but what I felt I got, myself and Poison went out there, we knew we were given one hour in the afternoon, from six to seven, and we just brought everything, all the weapons, hit 'em with hits, and we would change out the set. One night we'd do ‘Something To Believe In’, then we'd change it up, put this song in do that song, and I think that kept it exciting for us, and exciting for the fans. But where Parti-Gras was truly born was the fact that I was bringing so many people up on stage, having a great time, and that's what Live Nation saw with me, I created and produced this thing called Parti-Gras Mardi Gras. And I said, 'I want to bring that back to the amphitheatres'. I mean, it was born before that, but that's where it truly got a chance for the twelve Live Nation dates we're getting ready to do, you know, kicking off in Detroit. Once they saw the concept, and now there's like 40 or 50 dates, but only the twelve-date music festival with Live Nation in this particular lineup that's going on out. And I think that's what they saw, what myself and Poison brought, was this high-energy, positive, nothing but a good time vibe to the stage, and the fans really reacted to it, it was amazing."
BraveWords: What do you think the biggest difference is between a Poison show and a Bret Michaels show?
Michaels: "Here's the thing. One thousand percent the energy is the same, the good thing is that it's the same. I get to play as a musician. You know, I get to go up there and I get to play the piano, I get to play the Congos, I get to play guitar a little more, but I think it's the same energy and the same feel. It just allows me to do a few different things thate would not necessarily do in Poison, you know what I'm getting at. It's one of those things. Poison has it's own unique energy and so does my solo band, but my solo band has - and again these guys are like my best buddies as well - we go up there and have that same energy, but just get to add a few different songs or perform them slightly differently than we would with Poison."
Stay tuned for the entire chat tomorrow (Wednesday, January 18th at 3:33 PM EST) on BraveWords’ Streaming For Vengeance interview that will air on the the BraveWords Facebook page and YouTube channel.
Hot off the heels of a massive stadium tour with Poison, for the first time ever, Bret Michaels is hitting the road for a limited run of live dates for his 2023 Parti Gras Tour. Michaels has created this tour with a Mardi Gras feel in celebration of his great fans and hit music. The renowned rockstar will bring a few of his rocker friends along for a mashup of all killer, no filler hits featuring special guests Night Ranger and Jefferson Starship with special appearances from Steve Augeri (former lead singer of Journey) and Mark McGrath (Sugar Ray), plus a nightly surprise guest to rock your world.
Presented by Live Nation, the 12-city limited date run kicks off on Thursday, July 13 at the one and only Pine Knob Music Theatre in Clarkston, MI; known for its epic concerts and parties, going on to make stops across the US including at The Pavilion at Star Lake, in his birthplace of Pittsburgh (PA), Holmdel (NJ), Tinley Park (IL), Tampa (FL), and more before wrapping up in Charlotte (NC) at PNC Music Pavilion on August 6. The tour promises to be a modern day throwback to epic tailgate parties, positive energy, and a much needed nothing but a good vibe.
“After seeing Bret bring the party in every market of The Stadium Tour, this past year, we are looking forward to more of his ‘nothing, but a good vibe, high-energy performing’ on The Parti-Gras Tour next summer,” said Rick Franks, Global Touring Live Nation.
Michaels states, “I created Parti-Gras as a sincere and grateful thank you to the fans, friends, and family who have rocked with me over the years. I promise to deliver positive energy, live, raw, real music, and all the bands will deliver sing-a-long hit after hit songs. Your voice will be hoarse after an epic, big, fun stage show.“
Tickets for the tour are on sale now at LiveNation.com. VIP Meet & Greet Tickets are available for Parti-Gras at BretMichaels.com.
Tour dates:
July
13 - Clarkston, MI - Pine Knob Music Theatre
15 - Burgettstown, PA - The Pavilion at Star Lake
16 - Holmdel, NJ - PNC Bank Arts Center
21 - Mansfield, MA - Xfinity Center
22 - Gilford, NH - Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion
23 - Camden, NJ - Freedom Mortgage Pavilion
28 - Maryland Heights, MO - Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
29 - Tinley Park, IL - Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
30 - Noblesville, IN - Ruoff Music Center
August
4 - Tampa, FL - MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre at the FL State Fairgrounds
5 - Alpharetta, GA - Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
6 - Charlotte, NC - PNC Music Pavilion
