by mrsromek » Tue Nov 08, 2011 12:16 pm
Well, no takers on my free ticket, so I flew solo to this one. I'd seen the types of bands this place has booked since it opened, so I had an overall good feeling.
After arriving upstairs, I would summarize it best as being an upscale bar/restaurant (then again, it's located in Lincolnshire) that happens to book bands as well. The tables were set up right to the stage for this show, cabaret style, but in all honesty, for an acoustic show, I thought it would be perfect. And it was.
The opener, a guy by the name of Andrew Blake, played about an hour's worth of some solid covers-and one original. He's the frontman for the Spazmatics. He nailed it on Wanted Dead or Alive, as well as a deep Warrant track from Ultraphobic, 'Stronger Now'.
Kip came out before Andrew was done playing and said that he's worried since Andrews sings his ass off. Priceless.
Kip then came out and did his thing for a good hour and a half plus. I've liked Winger since their debut and finally saw them live (as a band) at MRF2. I saw Kip on the Metal Mania Stripped Tour about 6 years ago, and he was great then for the 5-6 songs he played. I knew he wouldn't disappoint, and man, was I right. The Winger hits were played as well as some other Winger tunes; he also threw in a bunch of his solo songs. He had a guy from WI come up and play a large bongo on a few solo tracks, and then Andrew accompanied him on Miles Away. If I had to pick some favorites, I would have to say 'Who's the One' and 'Blue Suede Shoes'.
He did say that when Reb gets back from his Whitesnake commitments that they are going to start writing again. I really hope so, as I feel Karma is their best album yet!