Pointblank Records photo
Johnny Winter took the stage at sold-out Famous Dave's on Sunday night with small, halting steps. He was all hunched over and frail — like your aging grandpa looking for his walker. But the minute Winter started playing his electric guitar, it was obvious that he's still alive and well.
At 68, the blues guitar hero clearly has some health issues. He stood for only two songs (and sat for the others) during his 80-minute performance. But his guitar was as ferocious and exciting as ever.
Backed by a second guitarist, bassist and drummer, Winter liked to play it pretty much one way — in overdrive, with a sense of swing in his rockin' blues. "Got My Mojo Working" was all revved up. "Good Morning Little School Girl" was so fast Winter could have gotten arrested. He tore up "Boney Maroney." And his torrid slide guitar on "Highway 61 Revisited" broke the speed limit by a dangerous margin.
Winter did slow down just once, for Ray Charles' "Black Jack," which featured his most emotional guitar playing. As a singer, Winter was mostly serviceable. Only on "Dust My Broom" did he seem invested vocally, with his usual slightly gritty voice becoming downright raunchy to match his screechingly loud slide guitar work.
On this night at Famous Dave's Uptown, it was mostly about Winter and his smokin' guitar pyrotechnics. And the crowd couldn't have been more thrilled.
