Marching to the beat of their own drum - Cinderella
photo taken by John Kindred
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Poison’s
musical road show contains all the exuberant trappings that have yielded
the band an immense popularity with their fans while the critics continue
to thumb their nose at the whimsical if not haughty band. Since their
pointed debut in ’85 with Look What the Cat Dragged In, the
band has played the shock card as well as anyone with their extravagantly
makeup-clad erogenous look. These days the makeup may not be may not
be as thick but the bands propensity to rock still carries the youthful
energy that the band carried forth during their heyday.
Twenty
years after they hit Hollywood and took over the airwaves with their
pop-metal chops and party hard lifestyle, the band continues to ramble
from city to city, selling out venues across the globe. Their trip
to Bonner Springs, Kan., yielded no less than another packed house
of eagerly, if not energetic fans whose allegiance to Poison has carried
over through the years. Let’s not forget the youth movement,
as a third generation of fans also filed in with the ranks of loyal
fans.
Cinderella's Eric Brittingham
photo taken by John Kindred
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Twenty
years of rock started of with a local Kansas City favorite band the
Baloney Ponyz. The band consist of front man and guitarist Curtis
Anderson, bassist Doug Kenworthy, guitarist Glen Bridger and Tommy
St. John on drums. The band took the stage at 7 p.m. and rocked through
their set list of original songs for an half an hour.
The music
was unfamiliar and new to the crowd and this left the opening to key
in on the musicianship of the band. Anderson held down the duties
as the band’s director with ease. Whether playing rhythm guitar,
along with singing or just manning the microphone it was easy to see
his level of conformability on stage. Bridger was a monster on lead
guitar. Both Kenworthy and St. John maintained the backbone rhythmic
pulse guiding each song. At one point they teased the audience with
the opening riff for Van Halen’s “Unchained” and
left a few fans disgruntled when they didn’t follow through
with the song.
Cinderella's Jeff Lebar
photo taken by John Kindred
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Cinderella
hit the stage at 8 p.m. As with their touring brothers, this was their
20th anniversary as well. Knocking the cobwebs off of some the ‘80s
classic rock songs, Cinderella bombarded the audience with their greatest
hits extravaganza, rockin’ out for an hour. MTV staples “Nobody’s
Fool,” “Save Me,” “Gypsy Road,” “Don’t
Know What You Got Till It’s Gone,” etc. filled the amphitheater
with raw energy and power.
Tom Keifer,
the consummate frontman, has lost none of his energy. His guitar playing,
including his slide guitar work, is still as great as ever. The only
pitfall was that his voice has not held up over the years. His Brian
Johnson approach to singing has left him somewhat hoarse and it was
apparent at times that Keifer was uncomfortable and struggling vocally.
From
a music standpoint, the band was spot on. Guitarist Jeff LaBarr, bassist
Eric Brittingham and drummer Fred Coury along with Keifer hammered
out their classic songs like days of old. The band still carries that
swagger that we all identified with during their heyday. Keifer tinkled
the ivories on “Last Train” and took up the sax on “Shelter.”
The fans ate it all up and there was a satisfying smile on most faces.
Cinderella's Tom Keifer
photo taken by John Kindred
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Cinderella's Tom Keifer
photo taken by John Kindred
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Cinderella's Fred Coury
photo taken by John Kindred
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