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Steve Winwood played the American Theatre in Lancaster, PA on 01-22-2009 to a very appreciative audience.  Steve Winwood was on tour to promote his most recent solo album Nine Lives which showcases his first single off the album, ”Dirty City”.

Steve Winwood is a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and has a very impressive resume to say the least.  Steve Winwood has played in Spencer Davis Group, Blind Faith, Traffic, and has played keys on some of other band’s most iconic songs  history including  Joe Cocker’s “With a Little Help from My Friends” and Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo Chile”.

The night began with a fantastic version of “Different Light” off his last solo record titled About Time.  This is one of many songs from his recent solo albums that I was hoping to hear and was happy to hear it open the set.  All of new songs are great and “Dirty City” was an obvious stand out.  The song on the album features Eric Clapton on guitar and while he did an excellent job, Steve Winwood plays the guitar in live concerts and Mr. Winwood’s solo would have had Clapton’s jaw on the floor.  Everyone knows that Mr. Winwood is an amazing musician on the keys but that guy can flat out play the heck out of the guitar.  My guess is that he uses the same setup as what Clapton used on the recording because the grainy/slightly distorted overdriven amp sound was about identical to the recording.

The set also featured many of his that spanned his entire career including Blind Faith’s “Can’t Find My Way Home”, Spencer Davis Group’s “Gimme Some Lovin’ “, his big 80′s solo hit “Higher Love”, as well as Traffic’s “The Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys” and “Dear Mr. Fantasy”.  “Dear Mr. Fantasy” and “Can’t Find My Way Home” are such great classics that as soon as you hear the first note, you know what it is.  “Dear Mr. Fantasy” was another song that Steve Winwood was very impressive on the guitar, his knack for tone drenching sounds and melodic solos are still ringing in my ears.  I was personally so blown away by his guitar playing that I would love to see him on guitar for a full concert, or atleast half the time.

To close the night, the band played the fan favorite “Gimme Some Lovin’” which got people out of their seats and dancing to the iconic staccato bass lines that drive the song.  This was a great night of music, the full band was in the pocket all night and they played an incredible setlist.  You can not ask for anything more from these guys.  Go out and buy some of Steve Winwood CDs and find out why he is a part of history.  The saying goes, where there is smoke there is fire and I like to think of him as the smoke.  He has played with lots of rock and rock icons yet, he is the spark that sets them on fire yet and it is only the flashy fire that everyone notices.  Go see Steve Winwood and you will see what I am talking about. 

The setlist for the night was:
Different Light
I’m a man
Hungry man
Secrets
Can’t Find My Way Home
Dirty City
Fly
Pearly Queen
Light Up Or Leave Me Alone
The Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys/ Empty Pages
Higher Love

Encore:
Dear Mr. Fantasy
Gimme Some Lovin’