Tag Archives: kip winger

Winger @ B.B. King Blues Club (2/20/2008)

Logo - Winger

Artist: Winger
Venue: B.B. King Blues Club (New York, NY)
Opener: Sonic Bliss
Date: 2/20/2008
Label: Shrapnel Records

In the heyday of the big eighties Kip Winger always managed to have some catchy material and the singing bassist was a staple on the MTV network with songs like “Headed For A Heartbreak”, “Miles Away”, Madalaine” and of course his blockbuster number “17”. I liked the music he did back then but was never more than the casual fan so when a show was announced at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill, I was determined to get myself down there to bring the Hard Rock community the inside scoop. The show would be an early one and I didn’t even make note of the opening act Sonic Bliss because for this particular show it would be all about listening for the hits that I fondly remembered and enjoying some of the bands latest album “Winger IV” as well. The venue had set up their usual tables are various sections but the floor was open so the Winger fans could convene and get really close to the stage. The typical photo pit barrier was not set up tonight and instead a small cordoned off section allowed those who needed to take photos do their thing for a couple of numbers while the rest of the audience rocked and rolled. Winger would open up with a heavy intro from the album “Pull” in “Blind Revolution Mad”, and you could tell by the reaction on the audience in attendance faces that they were quite eager to be there. While “Pull” is considered a strong album from the band it is also the one that performed the least in the market so it was interesting to find one of its tunes kicking off the set. Joining Kip in the band would be original members Reb Beach on guitar, Rod Morgenstein on drums and newcomer John Roth who worked on the bands latest album with them on second guitar. The playing was tight this evening and I expected this right away from players such as Beach and Morgenstein most specifically. I don’t say this with a slight to Kip or John in any sense of the imagination but Morgenstein is a machine on the drums and proved his technical ability with The Dixie Dregs night after night and as far as Beach was concerned, a lot of his Winger downtime had been spent in a rebuilt Whitesnake who toured regularly and one does not lose their chops very easily given this circumstance.
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“The Nightmare Returns” by Alice Cooper

Artist: Alice Cooper
Title: “The Nightmare Returns”
Label: Universal Music
Release Date: 8/14/2006
Genre: Heavy Metal
Rating: 5/5

In 1986, Alice Cooper would reinvent and rise from the fallings he had found himself in the middle of. He was both unable to get attention for his latest music and also was recovering from the pains of alcohol addictions. Despite these turn of events Alice would rise like a phoenix and take hold of the power of Shock Rock that he helped create so many years ago once again. The DVD filmed in 1987 was shot on a very appropriate Halloween night in front of a sold-out crowd in Detroit. Alice’s return would also show a new and very Metal side to his brand of Rock for a change; this would be a welcome format for the classic numbers that suddenly seemed to have so much more attitude and life than they ever had before. The eerie opening of “Welcome To My Nightmare” would set the pace as Alice emerged from under the stage to a blast of Metal power from his new band. The legendary performer was smart to bring on a truly kick ass Metal band for this tour whose lineup consisted of the Rambo-esque Kane Roberts (lead guitar), Devlin 7 (rhythm), Kip Winger III (bass), Ken Mary (drums) and Paul Horrors (keyboards). Most know that Winger and Roberts went on to solo careers with Kip being the one who found the most success of the two. The Alice Cooper set for the show would be chocked full of fear-filled hits and over the top stage dramatics for every one of them. “Billion Dollar Babies” finds Alice performing with a baby doll on a sword as he throws play money around while “Only Women Bleed” finds him singing to an apparently lifeless dummy, which is not as it seems for the whole song. “I Love The Dead” is among the truly terrifying moments in the show as Alice meets the Grand Executioner and let’s just say heads will roll with this one. It is not a scene for the timid, and Alice and company pull it off without a margin of error. The overall choices in the songs for the show would satisfy the most ardent of Alice supporters, but better still serves as a great new take on his classics for those who might not have enough knowledge of his work. My personal favorites are too numerous to list, but the best example to describe this is as a live Greatest Hits concert video. Everything you expect and more is there to enjoy.
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“Subdivisions: A Tribute To Rush” by Various Artists

Artist: Various Artists
Title: “Subdivisions: A Tribute To Rush”
Label: Magna Carta Records
Release Date: 3/15/2005
Genre: Progressive Rock
Rating: 4/5

Magna Carta Records follows up their Rush tribute “Working Man” with “Subdivisions” and while there is nothing quite like the original, this album continues to showcase the other side of some Progressive and Rock greats it makes for a nice companion to the first release. The original “Working Man” found Mike Portnoy on most of the drumming, and he is clearly a monster talent capable of all things Peart; his adventures in Dream Theater have allowed him to take drumming to the next level. “Subdivisions” however lets all the drumming be handled by Steve Vai and Annihilator skin basher Mike Mangini. Mike is a killer player who does the album justice. Vinny Moore and Stu Hamm handle the rhythm guitars and bass on the whole recording as well and that makes the key focus be on the vocal talent this time around. Sebastian Bach is once again present on the album and he does a great considering his level of expertise. As a result “Tom Sawyer” and “Lakeside Park” have a new heaviness to them. Yet despite Bach’s presence I was more interested this time around in the contributions of the other singers and I feel many listeners could enjoy this as well. Joining the talented folks who put this together is Randy Jackson (Zebra), Kip Winger (Winger) and Jani Lane (Warrant).
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