|
| |
Winger with Enuff Z’nuff
|
 Entertainment
 Art
House of Blues
Chicago, Ill.
February 18, 2007
|
| |
|
|
Enuff Z’nuff, a sort of pop metal band, opened the show to a not quite sold-out audience. There were plenty of fans on the floor cheering on the three-piece veteran band, but not so many as there were when Winger took the stage. Opening with “Loosen Up,” Winger came out pretty well smokin’. Die hard Winger fans were apparent in the crowd, jumping, screaming, and throwing up metal hands every time Kip looked their way. As a bassist, Kip Winger was surprisingly good. Never looking at his hands, he played quite a few challenging basslines while singing all the tunes. Although it wasn’t obvious, Kip seemed to be having trouble with his voice because during the third song, “Down Incognito,” he yelled “Don’t worry. My voice will come back full force by the end of the show.”
In order to promote their new album, IV, Winger played a few tunes from last years release. With the song “Generica,” Winger has done something no other band has ever accomplished before: they used the words “Mcnuggets” and “crotch” in one song. Kip Winger showed a surprising amount of interest in his audience throughout the show. During their new song “Right Up Ahead,” a tribute to soldiers at war, also off the new album, Kip stopped the song in the middle to ask for a thumbs up or thumbs down consensus from the crowd. In general, the audience gave them the go ahead.
Winger obviously couldn’t finish the show without doing some of their major hits. Original member Paul Taylor came out to play keys only for the song “Heading for a Heartbreak,” monster ballad supreme. As their last song, Winger performed “She’s Only 17.” Kip, obviously realizing how old the seventeen year old in question would be by now, jokingly sang “She’s only 35” during one chorus.
Although Winger may have already seen their day, there was nothing lacking at this concert. Kip Winger owned the stage on vocals, bass, and keyboard and his natural affinity with the audience made him into a very likeable character for most likely anyone watching the show. The audience clearly enjoyed themselves, and even the lead singer from Enuff Z’nuff stood in the crowd watching. Winger proved themselves tonight as a live band still worthy of watching.
Powered by AkoComment 2.0!
