As I
sit typing this review on my new keyboard a large percentage
of the HRH staff are recovering from debauchery at Firefest
IV. As things stood once again I could not make the show so,
instead, had to make do with the new live DVD from Firefest
III headliners Winger. Recorded some three months after that
appearance, on the American leg of the IV tour, Winger
himself describes the disc as "All the hits plus some new
stuff..." So what you get for your money is a stripped
down Winger rocking out at the Galaxy Theatre in Anaheim,
California.
Opening in fine style with Blind Revolution Mad, culled from
the Pull album and Loosen Up, the hits soon make their
presence felt. Easy Come Easy Go nestles seamlessly next to
the more recent Our Great Escape which, in turn sits
comfortably alongside Down Incognito. For You Are The Saint,
I Am The Sinner Kip takes over keyboard duties and, to an
extent, this spoils both the look and momentum the band had
built up. Ideally they should use a full time keyboard
player alongside the usual suspects to keep Winger himself
fronting the outfit. Other highlights though include Headed
For A Heartbreak, a fun take on Seventeen and a stunning
acoustic version of Who's The One, which leads into the
reworked take on Miles Away, an arrangement which is
actually preferable to the original.
One
thing that is noticeable during the early part of the set is
the lack of sampled sounds and sequenced parts that band
used to use a lot back in the day, however they return for
Can't Get Enough and Hungry and thus you lose the rawer edge
the band had without the help of this backing. Likewise, as
befits a band crammed full of such talented musicians each
gets a solo spot. Guitarist Reb Beach, the guitarist of
choice for many bands when not playing with Winger and
drummer extraordinaire Rod Morgenstein each take a solo, but
the beauty of DVD is that, thanks to the wonders of the skip
button, you only have to watch these once before getting
back to the "proper" songs.
All in
all the live sequences are very well filmed, but the
constant switch to black and white from colour, whilst
artistic, is a pain and the DVD extras aren't really
up to standard. Definitely a trick missed there, some band
interviews and the like would certainly have been more
memorable. The other slight annoyance is the fact that
alongside the DVD release is a CD version with a slightly
different track listing, so if you want to get the complete
package you end up buying two different items, at twice the
cost of course....
Dougie
