By David Schultz

Classic rock dinosaurs rarely become extinct. Rather, it's become quite commonplace for aging rock bands to stave off the death rattle of irrelevancy with reunion tours replete with bombastic explosions of staged grandeur. Opting to open his 2005 fall tour at New York City's Bowery Ballroom, Steve Winwood, a lesser deity in the classic rock pantheon, has chosen a more understated manner of preserving his legacy. Exhibiting a demeanor in line with the coziness of the 500+ occupancy Ballroom, Winwood displays none of the egotistic excesses you might expect from someone who has jammed with Hendrix and earned equal billing with Clapton.

Reconstructing archetypal Traffic songs and resurrecting other lost classics, Winwood created the type of Traffic jam guaranteed to please any New Yorker. Although focusing primarily on Traffic-era tunes, Winwood covered material from his entire forty year career. Opening both sets with songs from his most recent album About Time, Winwood quickly moved on to crowd-pleasers like Empty Pages, Light Up Or Leave Me Alone and Low Spark of High Heeled Boys, a song that will always be inextricably linked to Winwood. The intimate surroundings provided a perfect setting for lesser-known favorites like 40,000 Headmen, Rainmaker and the rollicking Medicated Goo, which closed the first set.

Remaining seated at his keyboards for the majority of the show, Winwood allowed his band, featuring flautist/saxophonist Jay Davidson, to remain center stage. Though Winwood gave his band every opportunity to shine, practically handing Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys to them in its entirety, they failed to captivate the audience. While blame can partially be attributed to the sound difficulties that plagued the band early on, a failed microphone completely muted Davidson's sax solo on Light Up Or Leave Me Alone, the band's weaknesses were too apparent to ignore. Winwood's supporting musicians did not shine on their own but they did not detract from the show and were extremely competent in complimenting Winwood while he touched on music from all phases of his career.

Over the years, Winwood has become so closely associated with the keyboards, his proficiency with the guitar is oftentimes overlooked. Stepping out from behind his organ, Winwood fronted a scorching version of Blind Faith's Can't Find My Way Home as well as an absolutely transcendent version of Dear Mr. Fantasy. His jaw-dropping guitar solos during Fantasy should convince any doubters of whether Winwood deserves his status as a rock icon. Worth the ticket price alone, Winwood's version of Dear Mr. Fantasy has clearly become the centerpiece of the show. Winwood even made the mandolin cool, tacking a surprising eyebrow-raising solo onto the end of Back In The High Life Again that bandoliers of old surely never contemplated.

To close the show, Winwood delved deep into his past with the Spencer Davis Group chestnut I'm A Man and remained there for his encore. After running through the blues classic Crossroads, a song on which he famously jammed with Clapton at 1973's Rainbow Concert, Winwood returned to his origins, delivering Gimme Some Lovin, with an authenticity few others can legitimately muster. Throughout the fall, the Rolling Stones and Eagles will continue to tour the country filling stadiums and arenas with overpriced extravaganzas of nostalgia. While his colleagues milk every last penny out of their adoring fans, Steve Winwood, one of the most unassuming rock Gods on the planet, will be offering a more reasonably priced alternative and delivering a show worth more than the ticket price.

Labels: Steve Winwood