With Newark, New Jersey still recovering from the latest Bomb Cyclone to hit this winter season Steve Winwood and company took the stage at the gorgeous NJPAC on Thursday night March 8th. The crowd was clearly on the gray-haired side of things and in a venue more apt to host Mozart’s Requiem than a rock concert, a subdued night was expected. It turns out those were not the bands (or the crowds to their credit) plan as things jammed right from the opening number.
“I’m A Man” released in 1966 started out easy but quickly hit a riveting pace highlighted by two saxophone solos from multi-instrumentalist Paul Booth. Drummer Richard Bailey lead the five-piece seamlessly into “Pearly Queen” from Winwood’s Traffic days which had a deep groove before flowing directly into “Them Changes”, the only song on the night not to originate from one of the many Winwood associated groups. The band, when locked in were world class but when it came time for guitarist Jose Neto’s solo things took an odd turn as the jazz player would go for overt flair, completely removing himself from the group.
The players coalesced when Neto played rhythm and Winwood stepped out from behind his organ to play lead. Two ripping examples of this came in back to back Blind Faith numbers, the soaring “Can’t Find My Way Home” and crunchy “Had to Cry Today”, which had the crowd jumping up in the aisles, bouncing along with its meaty riffs. The focal point of the night, Winwood thanked the crowd for attending his Greatest Hits Tour and promised to play songs from all eras of his career, he certainly delivered.
Dipping back into his Traffic time the group played “Empty Pages” which contained a glorious Hammond B-3 solo from Winwood while “Low Spark of High Heel Boys” got trippy, but again Neto’s solo interrupted the stoned vibe with a flashy finger tapping look-at-me moment.A newer Winwood tune worked better as “Domingo” contained a massive percussion break showcasing the excellent work of Edwin Sanz before Winwood’s daughter Lilly joined him on vocals to deliver a few of his eighties hits.
“Roll With It” and “Higher Love” both soared and had the crowd cheering as the main set closed. The encore found Winwood on acoustic guitar, Lilly on vocals and Booth on flute for “John Barleycorn (Must Die)” before a barn-burning version of “Dear Mr. Fantasy” and Winwood’s lead guitar skills on multiple solos was jaw-dropping.
Miraculously Steve Winwood still sings with the same voice he had when he was 15 years old. Sounding pristine and emotional, he closed the show with the first song that brought him to prominence, “Gimme Some Lovin’”; a world-class musician, who at 69 years old still manages to sound vibrant and on this night delivered multiple magical moments.
