At the end of Poison’s Wednesday night Innsbrook concert, Bret Michaels told the very sold-out crowd that he was sorry it took so long for the band to play a show in Richmond, and then ended with something along the lines of: “I’m gonna be hanging out at an after-show party at Sharky’s, which they tell me is real close to here. I think tickets are almost sold out, but c’mon down anyway and we’ll party in the streets!“

That sound you heard was not, in fact, the excited whoops of 6,500 people, but the wailing of every security guard who has ever had to police a concert or, worse, an after party.

Last week, it was announced that Michaels would hold an after party at Sharky’s in Innsbrook for $50 a person, limited to 150 people.

That’s manageable.

Inviting a slew of fans—many of them having pounded a few by this point—to hang out even without a ticket is just nuts!

For the heck of it, after filing my review, I drove by Sharky’s to see what kind of crowd showed up.

Michaels’ tour bus was parked in front of Mama Cucina, with a couple of police officers directing traffic around it. The parking lot was an overflowing zoo, with people parked along the curbs, random packs of girls wandering in front of moving vehicles…that kind of thing.

In front of Sharky’s, about 100 or so fans crowded the sidewalk and entrance to the bar/club, whose door was being guarded by a fairly intimidating-looking cop.

Ah well. Michaels may have inadvertently created a headache for the organizers of this thing, but I’m sure the folks at Capital Ale House and the new Beach House Bar & Grill were thrilled with the over-spillage.

Posted by Melissa Ruggieri in
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