Bret Michaels Party-Gras Is Super Fun

The late seventies to the late nineties all on stage at once? Yeah. I can respect that.

Written by @ Belinda Reedy Hinton

Photos by: Sheila Clevender Special to Music Injection

If you’re looking for “Nothing But A Good Time” (Yes, I seriously went there) this may be the show to see. There isn’t anyone who hasn’t heard the classic artists on this tour. Unless you live under a rock, that is. From the original smash hits to the ones borrowed for the musical “Rock Of Ages” to the occasional MUZAK version you find yourself humming in an elevator, you have had some sort of contact with these songs.

Sometimes, you just have to get out of the house, and enjoy life. This show will do that for you. In these times where there is so much competition and rumors between artists, it’s nice to step away from that cacophony of media noise and just be in the moment. The Party-Gras does just that.

This show and tour is a personal project of Bret Micheals and has everything you would expect. He doesn’t just go through the motions. Quite frankly, Bret is savoring every moment like it’s his last, much as he has in past performances. He will leave everything on the stage and still come back. He’s been like this for quite some time and I love him for it. He surrounds himself with equally positive musicians and the entire show just has that good vibes feel.

Jefferson Starship opens the show. I know, not Airplane, and there have been a ton of personnel changes. That’s perfectly fine so long as they own the name, they do, and they do justice to the songs they perform, which they also do.

Any artists that have been performing for more than a few years is bound to go through changes. I can name at least ten bands that had bright futures when I began writing for this magazine who are completely defunct now, and probably over two hundred who have gone through the process of band mates leaving, forming new bands, and wishing they’d stayed. I try not to judge. People make choices. Ultimately, my opinion is worth about as much as a cup of coffee and not even fancy mermaid coffee either. Perhaps a hotel room blend is about accurate.

That being said, Cathy Richardson was fantastic. It was good to hear the hits and all in all a good time and performance.

Night Ranger followed, and for those keeping up, they continue to hold a special place in my heart. The first show I photographed professionally. It was shortly before Sister Christian became an anthem for the masses. Side note, I had the lavender prom dress first. Seeing them now is absolutely a trip back in time. They all still sound terrific. Their smiles are infectious and having so much fun. Jack Blades, Kelly Keagy, and Brad Gillis have been together nearly all the way. ( Blades didn’t perform on one album.)

Playing all of their billboard hits and Damn Yankees ( Jack Blades side project ) as well. Kelly Keagy who still amazes me had an epic drum solo that ended with band mates joining in. They ended the set with “Sister Christian” followed by, my personal favorite, “Don’t Tell Me You Love Me”.

All of this was just a work up to Bret Micheals and his guests. He highlighted not only his work, but others as well. His guests included Mark McGrath who performed “Fly” and “Every Morning”. A six degrees of separation when you think about it. Both have made appearances on The Masked Singer. Bret as a Banana and Mark as the Shark. Another guest that was a treat, Steve Augeri. He performed Journey hits “Separate Ways”, “Don’t Stop Believing”, and “Any Way You Want It”.

Bret then dedicated “Something To Believe In” to veterans and first responders. This is something he does at every show, even those with Poison. His encore was, of course, “Nothing But A Good Time”. The final song performed was Sweet Home Alabama with all of the performers. The perfect ending to a perfect night.