Originally published in
The Aquarian Weekly
STEVE
WINWOOD/Count Basie Theatre/Oct. 7
by Ken Shane
PHOTO BY LYN HARKEY
RED
BANK, NJ—Is there a more unassuming
legendary figure in the world of rock? Just
after 8
p.m. on Saturday night, with no fanfare and no
introduction of any sort, Steve Winwood, a rock and
roll hero by any measure of the word, strolled onto
the stage at the Count Basie
Theatre, waved sheepishly
to the crowd, and sat down behind his Hammond B3.
The
evening looked promising, especially when I
noticed that the stage was set up as if in preparation
for a performance by Winwood’s
great band Traffic.
The
backing quartet included guitar, woodwinds,
drums and percussion, with bass being supplied
by Winwood courtesy of the B3’s
foot pedals. The 57-
year-old Winwood, who first rose to
fame at the
age of 15 with The Spencer Davis Group, has lost
none of his boyish good looks or gentle charm.
The sold
out audience was comprised of appreciative
baby boomers, determined to relive the good times.
Although
the show couldn’t really be called an oldies
show, because the music remains innovative and
interesting, Winwood
pleased the crowd with a great
selection of songs from nearly every phase
of his
legendary career. His keyboard work was
dependably
brilliant, and his turns on guitar, particularly
on the
Traffic
classic “Mr. Fantasy,” and mandolin on “Back
In The
High Life Again” were roundly cheered.
It’s
worth stopping here to note that the Count Basie
Theatre
has problems with sound. I’ve seen a number
of shows there, and the sound has not been very
good. It’s a wonderful old theater, located in the heart
of a wealthy community, and it would be worth spending
the time and money to resolve the sound issues
permanently. The State Theatre in
a similar venue, with no such problems, should serve
as a model.
Getting
back to the show itself, sound problems
notwithstanding, the two-set show had a number of
highlights, but there were also problems
related to
the busy-ness of the rhythm section. The Winwood
classic “Higher Love” was rendered all but unlistenable
as the drummer and percussionist stepped all over
the chorus. They are both great players, we just
needed a little bit less of them at times. Hits like “Can’t
Find My
Way Home” from the Blind Faith era, and
Winwood’s cover of Timmy Thomas “Why Can’t
We
Live
Together” stood out. The band was given plenty
of time to stretch out, notably on the evening’s high
point, Traffic’s trance-like “Low Spark Of High-Heeled
Boys.” Winwood, ever humble, allowed
his band to
shine, and for their part, the band’s solos were never
self-indulgent and always served the music
properly.
This was
jam band music before there was a jam
band scene.
For the
encore, Winwood surprised the crowd, and
reminded them of his old Blind Faith bandmate
Eric
Clapton,
with a soulful version of the Robert Johnson
classic “Crossroads.” Somewhat more predictably,
he had the crowd on its feet for the evening’s finale,
a roaring version of the song that brought him to fame
in the first place, “Gimme Some Lovin’.”