Is this heaven? No, it's Iowa, and unfortunately, Johnny has left the building. As promised, I said I would share a few more thoughts about Johnny Winter's June 26, 1997, gig at Big Dogs in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
On the
Johnny Winter Story webpage
, there is a very detailed description of Johnny's concert two nights earlier in Pontiac, Michigan. The show in Cedar Rapids followed that format very closely. It started about 10:30, and twice during the show, Johnny checked his watch, leaving the stage at about 11:45, only to come back and play another 20 minutes, with Johnny Guitar leading the encore. A little over 1 ½ hours of assault with a 6-string.
No one in music—and I mean no one—puts more licks into a unit of time than Johnny. I have read other reviewers discussing his ill health and feebleness, but I agree with the Pontiac reviewer that Johnny Winter can barely see. Is he the picture of health? Absolutely not. But this is the first time, in the last three times I’ve seen Johnny Winter (dating back five years), that he stood and played for the entire show.
The show opened with the instrumental "Hideaway." Johnny Winter's first attempt at vocals was almost inaudible, and I felt his voice may have lost its sting forever. However, it grew stronger with each tune, and I thought "Sick and Tired" sounded anything but that vocally.
Being from Beaumont, Texas (Johnny Winter's hometown) originally, it's hard to be objective when you love the man for the way his guitar can transcend you. But for those people who say Johnny Winter is a shell of the musician he once was, I say, get a life. Johnny Winter at half speed would be about twice as good as the second-best guitarist on the planet. And trust me, he was far from half speed.
With all due respect, Johnny Winter can sleepwalk through any licks ever laid down by Clapton, Beck, Page, Eddie V, Satriani, etc. This was a great show! Tom Compton (drums) and Mark Epstein (bass) created a most excellent musical canvas to work with, and Johnny Winter's masterful strokes painted a picture that was worth a thousand words—all superlatives.
My guess is that most people who have been hung up on Johnny Winter missing a note in a warp-speed run must be on the verge of signing major record deals themselves because, although I am no musician, I feel I have a keen ear, and his fingerwork is as clean as anyone I've seen in years. And if you factor in the Johnny Winter degree of difficulty, I'd give him a 9.95 on a 10 scale.
If you don't believe me, go to the show, and when the Illustrated Man cranks up the opening notes of "Boogie Real Low," look at the crowd, not Johnny. The 15-person deep dance floor in front of the stage looked like a mosh pit for the 40-somethings. The smiles on the faces and a groove that even I could shake with are hard to describe. The ambiance was electric.
The band even played a sampler from the Average White Band's "Cut The Cake," and I have never seen a more diverse group of people (ages 20–60+), or hairstyles (long hairs to no hairs), or hair colors (grey hairs to blonde hairs), that were totally synchronized by one guitar. That's when you know it's special.
Leave the cameras at home—security had a zero-tolerance policy for the shutterbugs. Johnny Winter is selling 8x10 glossy black and white photos, and after the show, if you go to the tour bus, Johnny Winter's manager will collect items, take them on the bus for Johnny to autograph, and then hand them back out. I was a bit disappointed with the T-shirt design, but that was the only downer of the day.
I also had the privilege of chatting with bassist Mark Epstein from New York. He's been with Johnny Winter for the last couple of years and, hopefully, for many more. As an interesting side note, he also played in tennis player John McEnroe's band and spoke highly of his lyrical abilities. Tennis anyone? Mark’s a down-to-earth cat and, on stage, has an uncanny ability to follow the direction set by the Guitar Slinger.
Mark Epstein on bass and Tom Compton on skins laid down a backbeat that even this 42-year-old white boy could find. Add Johnny Winter's still smokin' lightning runs on top of that, and what you have is what I hope heaven is all about!
To summarize the show using internet lingo, when Johnny Guitar comes to your town, "GO THERE!"
As Johnny Winter said to finish the evening, "Thank you an awful lot, and GOD bless you!"
