"PLEASE, let me be your Rock of Love..."

[NOTE] Leading up to this concert, I couldn't find many reviews -- mostly because this was only the third or fourth stop of this tour -- so I hope this helps people going to future concerts get an idea of what's in store.

As I mentioned last week, my girlfriends are fantastic for supporting my love of Bret Michaels and this weekend only elevated my irrational obsession of the "seasoned" rocker.

My four friends and I journeyed down to the House of Blues in Showboat Casino Friday night (March 20) for Bret's Atlantic City stop on the "Rock of Love Bus Tour."

We made it down in good time, but our 20-minute check-in and dimly lit hotel room made getting ready for the show a frantic mess of high heels, eyeliner and lingerie (What? Did you think we would show up to a Bret Michaels concert and not dress the part?).

Doors opened at 8 and the show was set to begin at 9, but we unfortunately got in there a little later than I had hoped and fans were jammed tight up to the stage. My friends and I scooted through the crowd and landed about 20-25 rows of people away from the stage. I wanted to get closer, but we were essentially stonewalled by people much larger than we. (Rachel would later say we were blocked by the "fat fortress.")

In my opinion, Bret brought the house down. His voice is a little gruffer than it used to be and he didn't play long (little more than an hour?), but his and the BMB's energy had the crowd -- hardcore Poison fans, Bret Michaels solo enthusiasts and reality television lovers alike -- dancing, jumping and unskinnybopping all over the place.

Bret was smiling the entire time, doing some dancing in his skintight jeans and repeatedly reaching out to the extended hands of fans pouring over the railings. He told mildly insightful stories about his songs (like writing "Every Rose" in a laundromat), reminded us that "ROL" has been the highest rated show on VH1 for three seasons and directed cameramen around the stage as they filmed segments for the channel.

The music was a mix of old Poison, new Bret Michaels Band and cover songs. He opened with the again-popular "Talk Dirty to Me" (for all the Guitar Hero fans in the room), ripped through the "oldest of the oldschool Poison" with "Look What the Cat Dragged In," ended with "Fallen Angel" and encored with "Nothing But a Good Time" (which I called from a mile away -- video below).

Bret also went oldschool with covers of "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Knocking on Heaven's Door." Of his newer material, he played the theme to his hit reality show, "Go That Far," the corny-but-catchy "Bittersweet" and --my favorite-- "Driven."

Looking back, I'm a little disappointed we didn't work to get backstage, and while I didn't get to meet Bret, my friends and I did manage to meet and get a hug from Chuck Fanslau, the drummer from the Bret Michaels Band (and who infamously kissed Beverly in ROLB ep. 4 -- pictured below)!

So, overall, Bret Michaels' solo concert was nothing but a good time and my friends and I are already planning to see Poison (with Def Leppard and Cheap Trick) in June when they kick off their tour in NJ in June -- whoo! And you can bet your extension-wearing, silicone-loving butt I'm going to be front row next time Bret comes to town ;)

Bret: 'Bus,' birthday and a book?

During my blogging sabbatical, lots of exciting and offbeat stories made it to the forefront of every imaginable news outlet (excluding, of course, The Jerc Store). Among these were the "Octo Mom," a violent chimp attack, a crashing plane miraculously landing in the Hudson and Chris Brown allegedly beating girlfriend Rhianna.

I'm over all of these stories, and --frankly-- too lazy to write about them, so let's move on to more important things, like Bret Michaels.

Today is his 46th birthday -- rarrr.

A big thanks to my girlfriends for dignifying my irrational love of the Poison front man: A group of us is going to see Bret in concert next weekend at the House of Blues in Atlantic City. (And we're buying appropriate "Rock of Love" attire, to boot.)

But what really prompted this Bret lovefest post is the announcement this week that he will be penning a "tell-all" autobiography called "Roses and Thorns: The Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy to My Realty." Got a nice ring to it, eh?

The book, which hits shelves in June, will explore "every aspect" of Bret's life, including the sex, the drugs, the rock 'n' roll...and the diabetes? He'll also go into detail about his very public conflicts with Poison guitarist CeCe DeVille.

And speaking of the band, Poison will be touring with Def Leppard and Cheap Trick this summer. Hey, whaddya know? They kick off the tour June 23 in Camden. Hmm... Maybe I will get more miles out of my new hookerwear than I thought!

Sex down under

The Hollywood actor with the most pornstar-like name has been named People's 2008 Sexiest Man Alive.

Hugh Jackman, star of the upcoming "Australia," will be featured on the cover of this week's mag, which hits stands Friday.

The 6-foot-2 Wolverine likes to sing and make pancakes at his home, his wife of 12 years, Deborra-Lee Furness, told the magazine. Hmm... that kinda makes him seem a little less bad-ass.

Jackman beat out a number of hunks to win the sexy title. People gave us a sneak preview of the runners up before Friday's issue is out, including Daniel Craig, Twilight's Robert Pattinson, Zac Efron and Michael Phelps (um, are they just looking at pictures of his body?).

There were also a few blasts from the past, namely Mark-Paul Gosselaar and ex-Dawson Creek-er Joshua Jackson, who have both reinvented themselves in primetime dramas "Raising the Bar" and "Fringe," respectively. Hey, what about Mario Lopez?

Who else can we expect? Guess we'll have to wait for the issue to come out, but I'm hoping to see Chase Crawford (left, Nate, "Gossip Girl"), Ryan Kwaten (Jason, "True Blood") and of course, Bret Michaels! haaaa

RELATED LINKS
Sexy time

Whole lotta De La Hoya... but not that one

VH1 is at it again - Another "Love" loser will be getting her own show...

Enter former "Rock of Love II" bimbo Daisy De La Hoya (yes, she's related) in the network's upcoming show, "Daisy of Love." Do they not realize that the title of that makes absolutely no sense? Do they not have anyone at VH1 who come up with something--anything--better than that?

The show will air in Spring 2009, but I'm only watching it if Bret Michaels makes an appearance...Oh, who am I kidding? I will probably be mildly addicted to this, even though on-camera Daisy is close to braindead and sounds perptually stoned. She just be bi-sexual and go on "Shot at Love."

Casting for the show is apparently based on an Internet vote (ala "I Love New York" and "Real World Hollywood"), so if you're really interested in dating the Daisy Duck look-a-like, click here and upload your profile. Round 1 ends in 33 days. Let me know if you're doing it; I'll start a Jerc Store campaign and rally the readers behind you. It'll like, be totally, like awesome, ya knoowww?
RELATED LINKS
Giving me 'something to believe in'
Belting and blogging it out with Bret
"Surgery could make me hotter. Surgery couldn't make her smarter"
Bret leaves the ladies 'Charmed'
Open up and say, 'You're an idiot for getting my name tatooed on your neck'

Giving me 'something to believe in...'

So I just totally had a meltdown about five minutes ago when I found out that Bret Michaels and Rock of Love 2 winner Ambre Lake have officially split and VH1 will be rolling out a ROL3 next year.

No lie, I had a dream the other night that Bret and I were dating and we were at the grocery store picking up frozen food together. (I'm not kidding--my co-workers will vouch for me.) Perhaps I should try out for the show, ehh?

[click here to read and watch a recap of the ROL 2 finale]

Ambre had been posting on her MySpace page since the end of the show, detailing how hard the two were trying to make the relationship work. Apparently their schedules (his touring, her acting) just weren't working out so now it's splitsville, though they're still friends.

"Although I am deeply saddened by our breakup, our split was a mutual decision and we both tried hard to make it work. But, between his touring and my work schedule, we just didn't have the time to dedicate to our relationship." - Ambre via MySpace

VH1 issued a press release today: ROL3 will take place on a tour bus, or Bret's home away from home (or home away from swanky VH1-provided megamansion). They are taking another lot of strippers and wannabe actresses and cramming them on a tour bus for a month-long competition for Bret's heart.

"This time as the bus pulls into each new city, the girls will engage in challenges specifically revolving around Bret's life on the road. Whether it's greeting aggressive groupies with a smile, enduring grueling schedules, dodging the advances of the warm-up band or even stepping in last-minute to fill in for delinquent roadies – these girls will be put to the test." - VH1 release

So...I'm pumped. I was happy for Ambre and Bret, but this gives me a reason to put my Bret Michaels desktop wallpaper back up on my computer at work.

RELATED LINKS
Belting and blogging it out with Bret
"Surgery could make me hotter. Surgery couldn't make her smarter"
Bret leaves the ladies 'Charmed'
Open up and say, 'You're an idiot for getting my name tatooed on your neck'