Steve Winwood

07 Oct 2008

Before I launch into Steve Winwood I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed The Sage (Gateshead). What a fantastic venue

This was a late edition to my end of year gig-fest but I wasn’t disappointed. Steve Winwood and his 4 piece band were fantastic. I’m not that familiar with his back catalogue (pre 80’’s) so it’s difficult for me to comment on his song selection. He has a new album out and his tour was to promote that album and I guess he did a number of tracks from that album. He did play a few numbers I recognised namely “Gimme Some Lovin”, “Higher Love” and “I’m A Man”. There was an encore where 2 further songs were performed. At the end, after almost 2 hours, Steve and the band were given a standing ovation which lasted a good 5 minutes. The audience was predominantly the older generation but that didn’t stop us from clapping, cheering and dancing (not me btw) which added to the great atmosphere. One or two people on the way out did comment that they wished he’d done more of his hits but when you’re promoting new material it’s that you want to do rather than older stuff.

The whole experience was a bit strange given my regular attendance at the Carling Academy. No drunk teenagers or students, no flying plastic glasses or lager etc. It was all a bit to squeaky clean but not in a bad way, maybe I’m just not used to it. BUT I thought it was brilliant nevertheless, the sound quality was excellent and you could actually hear Steve singing and speaking. To be honest the band looked a bit lost on the stage it was so big.

Next up we have the complete opposite end of the scale. It’s Dragonforce at the Carling Academy Wed 08 Oct 2008.