Edgar Winter, Joe Bonamassa, Kenny Wayne Shepherd

Sunday night Susan and I had tickets for Joe Bonamassa Kenny Wayne Shepherd at Freedom Hill. Edgar Winter opened up the show, which turned out to be a pleasant surprise. He played a couple of his classic monster hits, and displayed his big musical talents. Despite his odd physical appearance and strange demeanor, he was a real crowd pleaser, getting a couple of standing O's through his five or six song set. He has a massively talented lead guitarist, who showed just a glimmer of his talents by keeping up with Edgar in a guitar duel of sorts. Edgar would vocalize an 'impromptu' guitar riff, then his guitarist would duplicate the riff with his guitar. As the jam session built, Edgar kicked off a mind numbingly long and complex set of vocal rhythms. It appeared the guitarist was defeated, as he watched in disbelief. After a long and dramatic pause, the guitarist set out to replicate Edgars vocalizing, slowly growing in intensity until it reached an all out shred, taking it totally over the top to the crowds amazement. It's hard to tell if the jam session was all rehearsed or improvisational, but it gave the impression of spontaneity, and there was no denying the raw talent of his guitarist. Wow, what else can you say about Edgar besides a true rock pioneer.

Joe B was next. As he was not the headlining artist, he played a very limited set, just starting to settle in. The playing was outstanding, just disappointing it was not longer. It appeared he was really holding back, perhaps not wanting to steal the show. I guess you could say he kinda called this one in. No real highlights, just very solid playing.

In very efficient fashion, KWS was up next. They started by playing some of the older singles. The show started out a bit slow, raising fear that the routine of the road was wearing on him. He finally turned it up about half way through the show, revealing he's as exciting as ever to see live, just pouring music out of his hands in a very cool and effortless manner. Tonight Susan and I decided the lead Singer Noah is a bit cheesy, using dramatic hand gestures, microphone stand spinning and crowd pointing as excessive flair in the absence of a guitar in his hands. Highlight for me was a slow blues tune near the end of his set. I was disappointed that Joe B did not come out on stage and play a song with KWS.

As many times as I've heard KWS close the show with Voodoo Child, it always leaves me in complete awe. His command of the guitar and ability to crank hard driving straight ahead Jimi Hendrix into the crowd is a sight you have to experience to appreciate. It was really a special evening of music, my only regret is not sharing it with some friends that have never been exposed to these artists or this particular brand of music. Susan and I had a great night.