Johnny Winter (with MARK EPSTEIN !!!) :)

Johnny Winter.  American Blues Guitarist.  Icon. 

The Coach House - San Juan Capistrano, CA - October 1, 2008 -   Our first Johnny Winter show. 

As we keep expanding our live show experiences, we decided we could not pass this show up.  Johnny did NOT disappoint.  I know, many of you told me that he is NOT the man he once was, but he WAS great, and, as is true of many of the greats, he is UNIQUE.  There is, after all, only ONE Johnny Winter. 

He seemed excited to be there......and there is a certain gentility about him....... perhaps a reflection of his Southern heritage........ he came on stage, with help nearby, but he was walking on his own..... he took his seat...... and began his show. 

On the downside, I must say this - it was LOUD - it was MUCH TOO LOUD.  Before Johnny even took the stage, after the first few notes came screaming into my ears from the other lead guitarist, I threw in my earplugs as quickly as possible, and it still wasn't soon enough.  I never took them out for the duration.  We watched a speaker hop forward a full foot from the start of the show to the end.  My ears were warm and buzzy for days.  Not good.  The venue later told me that both Johnny and his brother Edgar INSIST on having it be that loud.  Sorry, but I just don't get that.  I'm not sure ANYONE can be comfortable with it THAT loud.  I'll tell you this much.  It made me VERY happy and appreciative that Joe understands and CARES enough about his fans to use those baffles to protect us.  Bottom line is...... I am FAR from finished using my ears....... I don't WANT irreparable damage done to them.  Who would??  Okay - rant over.

For you gearheads - for the bulk of the evening it looked to me as if Johnny was playing a small white guitar, a Lightning Lazer made by Erlewine Guitars (Austin, TX) .  Here's their website: 
http://www.erlewineguitars.com/      Later, for the last few songs...... he switched over to a big ol' Firebird.

Even with the earplugs in - it was still great to hear him, and see him.  It was a MIGHTY fine set list....... Here you go:

Hideaway
Sugar Coated Love
Boogie Real Low
Miss Anne
Blackjack
Tore Down
Lone Wolf
Red House
Johnny Guitar  (w/special guest - see below)
It's All Over Now

Encore

Mojo Boogie
Highway 61

Now THIS is funny.  I remember that night Steve and I poking each other, as we kept seeing smoke coming from the stage.....rising up into the lights.......and then it would go away.......and come back again....... we kept wondering if SOMETHING was smoking..... if something was on fire...... and, since NO ONE seemed to move toward it...... or run out the door...... we decided it was probably just some sort of effect.  Here's the funny part....... it had all slipped my mind, until just a minute ago, when I popped in on a Wikipedia article about Johnny to see if I could determine the maker of the Lazer guitar.  While there, I stumbled upon THIS little tidbit  ......  which is from a show that was held about 3 days before we saw him......

"At a concert in Tracy, Calif., on Sept. 27, Johnny's guitar playing was so hot that it literally caused the amplifier to start smoking. Several times throughout the performance, roadies ran out to try to solve the problem. Johnny refused to leave the stage and just kept playing his scorching style of guitar playing. His current set does consist of many rockin' blues numbers, and he had a second guitarist come out to play with the power trio to ramp up "It's All Over Now." The guitar god can barely walk now, but his hands and fingers are as nimble and lightning-quick as ever."

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!!!  I never saw any roadies!!!!  So, it WAS SMOKING????  Good thing I know where all the exits are at the Coach House!!!  Sheeeeeeesh!!!!  Fire drill !!!  Fire drill !!!  Johnny's in the house!!!!

The UNEXPECTED HIGHLIGHT of the evening came when Johnny announced that an old friend was in the audience..... and he called him up on stage......to play......because he HAD been HIS bass player........ it was, none other than Mr. Mark Epstein.  Luckily, I captured that little episode on video, knowing how many fans Mark has here, and I promise to post it here as soon as possible.  How fun to see Mark there....... no chance to say hello though.....nor to Johnny, as the MOMENT the show was over, they whisked him off that stage, onto his R.V., and over to his hotel with lightning speed.  Alas....... next time perhaps.

Allow me to mention this too...... one of my FAVORITE all time blues albums is "Breakin' it Up, Breakin' it Down" with Muddy Waters, Johnny Winter, and James Cotton.  Johnny, beyond his fine performance on this joint effort, is the happy spirit heard throughout.  This is a FEEL good CD....one peek at the cover photo with all three super stars laughing hysterically should give you a clue as to the overall mood of this FINE piece of work!!!  Here's a link to a review:   http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/06/05/113133.php

Here's a link to Johnny's website:  http://www.johnnywinter.net/welcome/

Thanks Johnny, for making the effort to continue this life of bringing the music to the people.  (Can you imagine what life on the road is like for this man??)  We wish you continued good health and strength - we're rooting for you to keep on keepin' on!!!

  Libby 

P. S.  I should mention that this night was a blues guitar triple header - which opened with Shawn Jones (who we saw open for Joe at the Galaxy Theater in February ' 08, and also on the Main Stage at the Doheny Blues Festival in May ' 08) and Dennis Jones (no relation) (who Steve caught at a Blues Festival in the San Diego area this June while I was in Johio).  We have enjoyed both of these Southern California musicians and I'll include links to both of their websites in case you'd like to check them out......

http://www.shawnjonesmusic.com/home.html

http://www.dennisjonescentral.com/home.html