Blimp Time-Hop: Poison’s 1st Civic Center Sellout
30 years ago this week (yeah, you read that right), Poison rocked the Cumberland County Civic Center on the Open Up and Say…Ahh! Tour. This was Bret, C.C., Bobby, and Rikki at the height of their glam-slam hair-metal powers.
Open Up and Say…Ahh! was a platinum record by the time Poison returned to Blimpville on February 17, 1989. With the strength of the singles Nothin’ but a Good Time, Fallen Angel, and the number one song Every Rose Has Its Thorn, Poison’s third time in Portland was their first sold-out show here.
We gotta believe it didn’t hurt ticket sales that the opener was Tesla! They had just released their second album, The Great Radio Controversy.
We remember hosting a pretty big after-show meet-n-greet for BLM winners with the band after the show. Don’t think any of us made it home before 1am. The guys in Poison were in a great mood and very friendly that night..especially with the ladies.
And, oh yeah! Don't forget that Tesla will be back in Portland on April 18th at Aura with WBLM!