Concert Review: Kip Winger

Let's jump right into this one OK?

The show was not being held at your typical theater setting. It was in a place called The Loft which is a smaller room/bar portion of a larger complex which includes a theater where larger shows are held. I arrived there shortly after 7pm and after climbing the stairs to the room, found that it was still being setup, a few people were milling around with their first beers. Then the first musician took the knee high stage.

Clint Lucas. Never heard of this guy before, and even now, don't really care to follow up on his work. He wasn't really bad, but it wasn't all that great either. The music was a laid back folk style, just Clint and an acoustic guitar. I think the biggest problem with the performance was that the guitar was out of tune, and really didn't sound that great. It was decent though, and Clint had a great attitude, playing with the audience. He played for approximately a half hour before relinquishing the stage.

Sonic Lords. This was a real change of pace. Following on the heels of an acoustic folk artist, comes a very rough around the edges hardcore band called Sonic Lords. They were rather non-descript, straightforward riffing, merciless drumming, basic bass rhythms, and a singer who just barks the lyrics at the listener. The rhythms were pretty easy to get into, but there really wasn't anything to like about this band. Just didn't really do much of anything. Much like Lucas, they played about a half hour and then left.

Kip Winger. This is who we all came to see, it was a small crowd, maybe 40 or 50 strong, but we were all there for the same reason. Before going to far, I should impart a bit of history regarding me and Kip's former band, Winger. Way back in 1991, I went to my first concert, it was a month before my 16th birthday, the band was Winger. They were one of the bands that I waws really into in my early days of music fandom, and they were huge at the time, touring in support of their second album, In the Heart of the Young. It was a great show, they performed almost every song from their two albums, and the crowd was really into it. Now, years later I get to see Kip perform solo. I must admit that back in the day, for as much as I liked the band, I really didn't think much of Kip as a bass player. I know he had played previously with Alice Cooper, so I knew he had to be good, other artists wouldn't surround themselves with bad musicians. At the same time, the music didn't really require much from the bass, or at least their brand didn't. Years pass, the band breaks up after an excellent third album that was released during the grunge era and was sadly ignored. Jump ahead to 2002, having released a solo album in 1996, Winger reunited and was back on the road. I was fortunate to be able to see them again. This is where I was exposed to how good Kip was as a guitar player. He opened up their set playing some of his solo songs on a 12 string acoustic, by himself, onstage. I was impressed, excellent playing, great sound. Jump ahead to 2004 and Kip is touring, playing solo acoustic shows, needless to say, I made a point to be there. Before his set, Kip was walking around the room, graciously talking to the fans, signing autographs, posing for pictures, he seemed to be a really nice guy. OK, Sonic Lords have removed their equipment and Kip was preparing to take the stage. The show was on the intimate side, everyone was close enough to have one on one conversations with Kip. Playing a mix of his solo work and plenty of Winger material, the crowd was grooving right along with him. It was great, Kip was funny and personable, cracking jokes, taking crowd requests. At one point even asking for a spray bottle of perfume, once in hand, he began spraying the microphone, commenting on the stench coming from it. Even stopping to converse with the sound guy regarding some of the settings on the mic and guitar. It was friendly banter, but you could tell the guy was screwing with the settings. Anyway, his playing was fantastic, I love the sound of a 12 string acoustic. The bad thing about the set was that it seemed a bit rushed, as Kip had to be off-stage by 10pm to make room for the dance club it was about to turn into. Fortunately we got about a 75 minute set. After leaving the stage, Kip hung out with the fans, selling some CD's and t-shirts, signing autographs, posing for pictures. It was great being able to tell him about my first concert experience so many years before. Shortly after this, I left, I hope to get the chance to see him again and I recommend any of you do the same. On-Stage 1, On-Stage 2, On-Stage 3