POP REVIEWS : POISON A GAS AT THE COUNTRY CLUB

In recent months, Poison has generated considerable hard-rock hoopla and a lot of Next Big Thing chatter. On Saturday, Los Angeles’ top-drawing club band sold out the Country Club again--then lived up to the hype, showing why the quartet may be another local success story in the making.

Staking out a territory somewhere between pop-metal and glam-rock, the group emphasized muscular rhythms, streamlined guitar riffing, sturdy melodies and lush vocal harmonies. For the most part, the lyrics are pretty pedestrian, but that’s a small flaw. Poison is a classic case of the triumph of style over content.

Speaking of style, front-man Bret Michaels has it in spades. A serviceable singer, Michaels is a hyperkinetic showman who knows how to charm an audience. Throughout the evening he talked with--not at --the crowd, at one point telling it that Saturday was “the fourth time you sold out the place.” Clever.

On the other hand, the Poison presentation doesn’t always ring true, and some of the “spontaneous” antics seem rehearsed. But given Poison’s prime intention--entertainment--that’s pretty much beside the point. It’s got the glam-rock goods, and it’s got charisma. In fact, it’s apparently so likable that some of the competition--members of Armoured Saint, Black ‘N’ Blue and Candy--joined Poison on stage for an encore jam of “Honky Tonk Woman.”