Well, I finally got to see Johnny Winter last night for the first time. He played at the "Seventh House" in Pontiac, Michigan. The "Seventh House" is a fairly small, intimate setting for a concert. The stage is set in one corner of the room with rows of seats arranged in a semi-circle around the rest of the room. There is also an upstairs balcony that curves around in front of the stage. There is also a bar. The seating capacity is 400. Tickets were $25.00, all general admission. So we got there about an hour before the doors opened and managed to get seats right in front. The place was packed. The seats were all taken, plus many people were standing.
An opening band called "Motorjam" (rock with a HARD edge) came on at 9:00 and played until 10:00. The stage was then set up for Johnny Winter. Johnny came out at 10:30 and played until midnight.
I have been a little concerned recently because I have occasionally heard some people say that he looks bad and appears to be sick. I was very close to him during this concert, and I didn't think he looked bad or sick. However, his voice isn't as powerful. That familiar growl is gone, and he doesn't seem to be able to project much volume with his voice. It is also very obvious that he is going blind. He had to be pretty much guided onto the stage and to the microphone by one of his aides, who shined a flashlight on the floor in front of Johnny Winter while they walked. Johnny appeared to follow the circle of light in front of his feet. The guy was also pretty much rubbing shoulders with Johnny Winter as he guided him to the mic. It was obvious that Johnny could not have gotten on stage and found the microphone by himself; his eyesight is that bad. This blindness may be what some people are interpreting as feebleness. He is unsure of his footing because he simply can't see where he is going.
He already had his guitar on him, and when he got to the mic, he was handed his guitar cord. He held it up right in front of his face while he adjusted it in his fingers so he could plug it in. His eyes never focused on anything throughout the concert. It's so obvious that he's going blind...I'm surprised I've never heard anyone mention it.
He started the show with an instrumental, "Hideaway." He doesn't play as fast anymore, but his playing was clean. Extremely clean. I could have listened to him all night. To the best of my ability, here's his setlist:
- 1) Hideaway
- 2) Got My Mojo Working
- 3) She Likes To Boogie Real Low
- 4) Sick and Tired (almost 10 minutes long!)
- 5) Blackjack
- 6) Not really sure about the name of this one, it had lyrics about "sunshine on both sides of the street" and "we can really, really rock and roll." (15 minutes long!)
- 7) The Sky Is Crying
- 8) Just A Little Bit
- 9) Johnny Guitar
He then left the stage and was called back for an encore. He then did two more songs:
- 10) A long instrumental. Not sure, but I believe it was an instrumental version of "Got To Find My Baby" from the Let Me In CD.
- 11) His final song was one that I didn't recognize at all, and I can't really remember any of the lyrics.
He played some fairly long versions of most of the tunes.
He then thanked everyone for coming and said, "God bless you." His aide then walked up next to him, shined the flashlight on the floor in front of him, and guided him off-stage.
As I said, his voice is not strong anymore, and his playing has slowed down. It is definitely evident that years of indulging in certain vices have taken their toll on him. However, the perceived feebleness, sickliness, and "glazed over" look on his face that some people have described can be attributed, I believe, to his inability to see where he is going or to see much of anything for that matter.
All in all, it was a good concert. I'm really glad I got to see him live (and up so close!). As I said, I could have listened to him all night. He still has that inimitable Johnny Winter style, and his playing was so clean.
I brought the booklet from the CD Nothin' But The Blues with me, and after the concert, I went around the back of the building in the alley and saw his tour bus. I waited there with about 25 other people who had albums, ticket stubs, etc. His manager came out of the bus and gathered everything from us and took it in for Johnny to sign. So, I now have a CD of Nothin' But The Blues with Johnny Winter's signature across the front of it.
Good show. The audience was very enthusiastic. Everybody seemed to really enjoy it, and Johnny got a LOT of applause after each song. He really seemed to be having fun playing and entertaining the crowd.
I'll definitely be back next time he comes to town.
Gregory A. Conn
