15 Years ago I went to see Winger (arguably one of the 3 top bands of all time to influence my musical life alongside Giant and Damn Yankees) on that hot May night in Sunrise, FL I was with my closest long haired buddies of the day and the love of my life, Mary. After the show that night Mary and I broke up, it was literally our last date(sigh)...As for my friends,ironically enough, only one of my long haired buddies from back then remains in my life today here in Miami, that one friend is Julio (the others are either in Nashville or no longer in my life)...so last night Julio, myself and our buddy Dave attended the show in Ft. Lauderdale...ironically enough though, at the show last night, I met next to me in the front row of the concert, a very friendly and outgoing total stranger with the most beautiful eyes I've seen in a long time, she was a flirt (harmlessly) and we danced (banged our heads really) next to each other during the show, we also sang just about every word of every song they played at full volume so much so that I lost my voice..............her name? believe it or not...........she said Mary.............spooooooky. (It really wasnt Mary, I'm sure it was something else but that's what she said)
The show was at a tiny Ft. Lauderdale concert hall called The Culture Room, very small venue, yet the best possible place for a band to do their comeback show here in Miami...2 opening acts, Crooked Hat was the first and then there was the second one (I don't remember the name of it but they really warmed up the crowd)....then Winger came out....
So much has changed since the last show of theirs that I went to back in 91...the median age in that show back then was probably 23........last night, I'd say was probably 35...regardless, it was still rock and roll all the way...........I'll tell you one thing, the one thing has not changed in the least bit....Winger's ability to rock our faces off...the show started with Blind Revolution Mad from the Pull record (in my opinion their best record, completely eclipsed by Nirvana and Pearl Jam's success to all but the loyal fan base)...for the next one and a half hours they would proceed to do all of their hits and only played 3 songs from the new record...The body of the set consisted of Blind Revolution Mad, Can't Get Enough, Easy Come Easy Go, Rainbow In The Rose (Julio's answered prayer), You are the Saint I am the Sinner, Miles Away, Junkyard Dog (no Tears on Stone), Down Incognito (with Reb shredding the harmonica solo),
As I look back at all the years of being a Winger fan, I can't help but to think that one of the biggest absurdities of life is that these talented guys were cursed with being good looking guys and great entertainers, this made them the butt of many jokes back in the Beavis and Butthead days thanks in part to an idiot called Lars Ulrich who in all unbiased honesty could really use about 6 months of daily lessons from Berkley PROFFESSOR and University of Miami GRADUATE...Rod Morgenstein who is not only a drummer's drummer and dare is say? virtuoso but one of the humblest people you'll ever meet...He shredded a drum solo which not only featured his prowes as an incredible drummer but showed his versatility by playing a fusion tune from a project with educated musicians who have only mentioned Lars Ulrich while having ADT installing a home security system. These guys are musicians through and through, the kind of musicians that in all actuality were probably slumming by getting into the hair metal scene being that they are all legitimately trained MUSICIANS not HEADBANGERS.
Kip went back and forth between keyboards and bass guitar the whole evening...filling-in the large workboots that Paul Taylor left behind oh-so-long-ago...the boots he left on the stage the last night that I kissed Mary. I did notice something very cool, something that I had thought about for a long time..........the last time I saw them, my concert seats were not that good, and I always wondered if Kip could really play those very intricate and complicated bass lines live while singing at the same time...........well, last night I found out.....yes, he can. The other thing about Kip, his live voice has not left him in 15 years....he sounded incredible and hit all of the high notes at the right times (though I noticed that John Roth did help him out a couple of times on some crucial screams.........no harm in that......I'll take that over pre recorded vocals any day...)
Reb, what can I say? WOW...I'm convinced that he can play all of those RIDICULOUS riffs in his sleep...after all we're talking about the guy who during his life away from Winger, successfully filled the shoes of George Lynch in Dokken and those of Steve Vai and John Sykes in Whitesnake...the guy stood there looking like he was having the time of his life while he proceeded to put on an absolute clinic. Something that might have helped Kirk Hammet with his very stiff and boring guitar playing had he attended and paid attention....and without being drunk....
Though I don't know much about John Roth, he did fill in the gaps sonically and seemed to have a very strong voice...ok dude, I accept you as a Winger....he did a great job too.
The show was closed (encore) with what in my opinion are their 3 best songs ever, Seventeen, Madelaine, and Who's The One?....they high-fived all of us on the front row...and said good night.
Up to about 5 years ago, I had a hard time letting go of the hair metal genre and hair metal years, (many of my friends used to tease me about this) but more than anything I guess, I've just always resented the 90s on many levels, musically and personally...when the 2000s rolled around, and I turned 30, life took on a different perspective... I've embraced and celebrated my 30s, and have let go of those days... which is what made last night so special. Though I could obviously tell that the Winger guys are no longer "kids" they have such a youthful demeanor to them which gives me the insipiration to never lose mine...After the concert, out in the parking lot where their large tour bus was parked, they came out one by one starting with Reb Beach who was stilled drenched in sweat from the show, and not only took the time to stand around and take pictures and sign autographs with the fans, but they took the time to hang and chat, sure there was security present but it wasnt a bunch of meatheads creating a chasm between the band and he fans (kudos to the Culture Room on this)...out came Kip, out came Rod, who mentioned to some of the people there that being in the South Florida night air brought back so many memories of going to school at the University of Miami...."Something in the Air" he said...you really have to spend time here to know what he's talking about....and he's right....the coming out and hanging with the fans after the show...this was, in my opinion, the coolest and most unassuming thing that I have seen a band do in a long, long time...it was as if to say, thanks for sticking around after the show...and for the last 15 years...
As Julio and I turned to leave, after Julio got his last picture taken with Rod, I saw last night's "Mary" walking with her friends out of the parking lot and into the night and like that ended another terrific Winger show and another "Mary" walked out of my life...
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