While there’s plenty to do on a Saturday night in Buffalo, The Tralf was the place to be. The Winery Dogs, featuring Buffalo’s own Billy Sheehan (Talas, David Lee Roth, Mr. Big, Steve Vai) on bass, played a sold-out show with a solid 100 minute set in support of the band’s self-titled debut album. The album was played in its entirety with its order mixed up and a few well placed cover tunes added for good measure. Drummer Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater, Avenged Sevenfold, Adrenaline Mob) and guitarist Richie Kotzen (Poison, Mr. Big) complete this power trio. These three musicians are each phenomenal on their own and seeing them perform together was a jaw-dropping experience. They opened with the instrumental “Elevate” and their musical prowess dominated the show. This was clearly a rock concert but improvisational stretches took the songs down a winding road of progressive jazz with some metal, blues and soul turns keeping the soundscape very interesting from beginning to end.
Billy Sheehan plays bass like a lead guitarist. He played fast and furious throughout the show. He and Richie Kotzen traded off with blazing solos and Mike Portnoy was ferocious on the drums. He also kept swinging his vocal mic away from his mouth and a stagehand stayed behind him to put it back in place. In a recent interview with Sheehan, he told BackstageAxxess that he loves to perform. It was very apparent the Sheehan, Kotzen and Portnoy enjoy playing for an audience. They looked like they were having fun and they transferred that mood to the capacity crowd. They played an extended cover of “Hey Joe” and the already loud cheers became even louder.
Kotzen’s bluesy and soulful voice was a perfect fit with the instrumentation of the evening. Like Sheehan, I noticed that Kotzen did not use a guitar pick. I’ve seen many bass players who strictly use their fingers to play, but a lead guitarist without a pick has a different, slightly muted sound. Sheehan and Kotzen also used some very cool finger tapping techniques and Sheehan puts out the best bass harmonics that I’ve ever heard. Sheehan’s bass solo was the highlight of the concert for me. Watching him play was fascinating. Kotzen’s solo acoustic performance of “Doin’ What the Devil Says to Do” was another highlight of the evening. He was absolutely enchanting. The Winery Dogs finished up their set with “Desire” and Sheehan sincerely thanked the audience for a thunderous response. A three song encore followed, including Kotzen playing piano during “Regret” and Sheehan covering lead vocals on the Talas tune “Shy Boy.” Portnoy kept the crowd going as he ripped apart his drum kit and tossed out some drumsticks. Based on my familiarity with these three musicians, I was expecting a lot from this performance. I’m happy to report that The Winery Dogs concert at the Tralf exceeded my expectations.
Setlist:
Elevate
Criminal
We Are One
One More Time
Time Machine
Damaged
Six Feet Deeper
Hey Joe (The Leaves cover)
The Other Side
Bass Solo
You Saved Me
Not Hopeless
Doin’ What the Devil Says to Do (Richie Kotzen song)
I’m No Angel
The Dying
Desire
Encore:
Love Is Alive (Gary Wright cover)
Regret
We would like to thank Amanda Cagan from ABC Public Relations for the credentials to cover the show.
