(photo:www.winternet.us/Fansite)
This photo isn't from last night's show, but it depicts the classic Tobacco Road scat-dual section of every Edgar Winter concert.Current EWB guitarist and Stratoblogster pal, Doug Rappoport (pictured), got us on the guest list for the Feb. 8 show in Portland, Oregon.
I was honored to meet EW after the show and hang with Doug & band for awhile. They played Vancouver BC the previous nite and are headed back to LA today. In March, EWB will do some shows with Johnny Winter.
The band performed a few tunes from EW's recent "REBEL ROAD" release, along with standards including: Tobacco Road, Free Ride and a killer extended Frankenstein. Winter played a lot of great sax, as well as keyboards, timbales and that legendary voice of his. I honestly don't know how he does it. While many vocalists of the classic rock era, i.e. Daltrey, Plant, even Geddy Lee have lost much of their range, Edgar Winter still has no problems howlin' & wailin' the Blues as well as scatting guitar solo lines up & down the octaves.
If you've wondered "What ever happened to Edgar Winter?", the real questions are "What happened to you?" and/or "What happened to radio?". Edgar's been out there all along doin' his job, with no soap operas & no rock star dramas-- just takin' the music to the people and rockin' down the house night after night, year after year. And that's what it's really about!
EWB's current powerhouse rhythm section consists of bassist kOko Powell & drummer Jason Carpenter , both monster musicians with serious chops & resumes. Doug Rappoport's main Marshall & Strat infused solo spot took no prisoners; deftly interweaving a best of G3 moment into a single one man guitar package (he pays me to say this stuff). Seriously, Doug's guitar WILL kill your momma.
Opening the show was Love Trucker, a local based band of teenagers with an uncanny grasp of early 70's British Blues Rock. How does that happen? We don't know but thank God it does!
And perhaps the youngest spirit in the house was Edgar Winter!
So catch these folks when they come to your area!
JP Stratoblogster & Doug Rappoport 2/8/09
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