Confession time. I was never really a big fan of Winger in their heyday. I saw them support Bon Jovi at the Astoria in the early 90's but at the time was only interested in the headliner. Oh how times have changed as now I'm really keen on seeing Winger especially having missed them at Download Festival the previous weekend.With a new album out 'Better days commin' getting good reviews, I revisited their back catalogue to reacquaint myself with their songs. It was good to see the Academy packed for their last date on their brief UK tour. Starting off with 'Midnight Driver of a Love Machine' from their new album, this was quickly followed by an old favourite 'Easy Come,Easy Go'. Their setlist consisted of a mixture of both old and new songs. Although the main focus was naturally on Kip himself, the band consisting of Reb Beach (guitar), Rod Morgenstein (drums) and now John Roth (guitar), all showed their music music prowess by each performing solo's. Unfortunately this stifled the show somewhat as a couple of extra songs could have been played. We even got a rendition of 'Happy Birthday' for Kip (53 if you're interested). Halfway through the set, Kip swapped bass for keyboard for 'Miles Away' and 'Headed for a Hartbreak'. Finally they finished their set with 'Madalaine', 'Seventeen' and finally with a cover of Van Halen's 'Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love'. Fabulous stuff. Kip will be back in September for a solo date at the Boarderline. Another chance to experience a fabulous night out.
Rating: 7/10
Setlist: 'Midnight Driver of a Love Machine', 'Easy Come,Easy Go', 'Hungry', 'Pull Me Under', 'Down Incognito', 'Deal With the Devil', 'Stone Cold Killer', 'Rat Race', 'Miles Away', 'Headed for a Heartbreak', 'Can't Get Enuff', 'Blind Revolution', 'Madalaine', 'Seventeen' and 'Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love'.
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| Kip Winger |
