The crowd parted Saturday at Frankenmuth's Black Forest Brew Haus and Grill, making way for a legend to pass.
Johnny Winter was in the house—a whisper of a man, led to a chair on stage and handed his signature guitar. His manager said the growl was back, that Winter was playing some of the best music of his career—and considering what came before, that was promising a lot.
Could this frail Texas bluesman deliver?
You had to hear it to believe it.
True, it was drummer Wayne June who did most of the growling Saturday. But when it came to the guitar, Winter had the standing-room-only audience held speechless.
His hands deftly coaxed out the blues, his guitar lacing the classic sound with electric rock. He turned his vocals loose on a cover of Ray Charles' "Blackjack" and paid tribute to others who inspired him, with a style that explains why Muddy Waters once called him "my adopted son."
With Scott Spray on bass, Winter offered new works like "Let's Start Over Again" and "Lone Wolf," proving he isn't just sitting on past successes.
Most of all, through "Hoochie Coochie Man," through "Hideaway," and through "She Likes To Boogie Real Low," came the promise of a talent that sent him, at 15, searching out the Black musicians in his Texas hometown—and the realization that he's still enthralled with the music, keeping it alive.
His brother Edgar might have more of a mainstream presence, but Johnny Winter stands tall, giving back the musical lifeblood that still races through his veins.
Winter drew an interesting mix of musicians, bikers, and people looking for an excuse to party. And Black Forest is a promising venue, with dinner offered downstairs for those who want to make an evening of the show, and wait staff keeping the drinks flowing upstairs.
The room is massive, and the acoustics are amazingly solid. If there’s one drawback, it’s the number of visual obstructions: support poles and a huge, boxed-in brewery.
While there’s not much the club could or should do to eliminate those (since it functions as a restaurant and banquet hall most days), how about hanging the speakers so the towers don’t block even more sight lines?
It also looked as if a stage in the center, with artists performing in the round, might offer a wider expanse of prime seating than the current corner stage.
In any case, when Bobby "Blue" Bland comes Saturday, June 10, you’ll want to arrive early, as soon as the doors open, to secure a good spot. Tickets are general admission, and Bland is sure to draw a standing-room-only crowd as well.
Saturday night opened with Frank Bang’s Secret Stash, who brought a blend of hard rock and blues to the stage. The trio would roll through a long, lazy phrase before hitting back with jackhammer intensity, a style that had the rockers in the crowd keeping pace with fists punching the air.
But when it came to drawing fans to their feet, dancing and shouting their approval, the night belonged to a giant among musicians: Johnny Winter.
Sue White covers entertainment for The Saginaw News .
