Poison - Thieves or Geniuses?

Sometimes, you hear or read stories that just seem a little to absurd to be true. You hear the same tale told time and time again, and it seems as if it is more folklore than fact.

For years, I have read various people online state that "Poison stole their stage show from Kix." To be honest, I never quite believed it, but the story was that Poison used to open for Kix before relocating to Los Angeles, and that when they moved, they essentially incorporated the Kix stage show into their own. It seemed a little bit too much of a stretch for me. I mean, a stage show is a stage show, as far as I was concerned, and I just thought that some bands put more energy into their shows than others. But then something happened last month...I saw Kix live.

I had never seen Kix live before, but they were on the M3 bill, and based upon all the hype I had heard about their live performances, I made sure I was in my seat when they started. I was amazed at what I saw! From the choreographed moves placed perfectly into the songs, to the funky walk that Steve Whiteman does across the stage, to the confetti-filled balloons at the end of the show... I felt like I was watching the "I Want Action" video, but with a different song playing! The resemblance was uncanny and it really made me wonder if the stories I have read over the past few years were just stories... or if there was some fact behind them.

I cannot expressly say this is true, but would it shock anyone to think that the guys in Poison are not 100% creative geniuses? I do give Poison credit, as they are (and were) extremely hard workers and they do put on a great show. Poison made it big and they continue to force some form of relevance in today's changed music scene. That said, I cannot get the recurring thought out of my head, "Did Poison become successful musicians based upon someone else's tried and tested stage show?"

Do any readers know more about this, or have I just been too influenced on random online posts by misinformed people? Help a brother out and leave a comment.

Kix, live in 1989

Poison live in 1991