hijinks courtesy of the talented
threesome consisting of Richie
Kotzen, Billy Sheehan and Mike
Portnoy. The tantalizing trio return with an album full of bark
and a new bite that rocks hard
with only a melodic pause or
two along the way. On the title
track the band funks up their
approach just a bit while “Fire”
slowly smolders. Both these
tracks point to The Winery Dogs
as a band who are willing to
evolve beyond their successful
formula. The rest of the album is
a blistering showcase of these
musical masters and their exceptional skills. On “Captain Love”
we find Kotzen in the clutches
of love and lust while “Empire”
rises on a strong foundation from
the renowned rhythm section.
The Winery Dogs are clearly on
a hot streak and if they keep putting out albums as strong as this
one is that run of good fortune
should continue unabated...
NewJerseyStage.com
Marco Benevento is a charismatic, compelling and generous
performer known mostly for his
work in the modern jam scene.
Earlier in the year he played at
the Signal Kitchen in Burlington,
Vermont and now he’s made
that show available for free to his
fans as the bootleg style release,
Masquerade Ball. Marco dresses
up many of his favorites with the
help of bassist Dave Dreiwitz and
drummer Andy Borger. For years
Benevento remained ghost-like
(as in not really seen or heard) as
a vocalist; but with the release
of his last studio recording Swift
his singing talents were revealed.
In this live concert, with seven
months of touring under their
belts, you can hear that Marco has gained the confidence
and presence to move forward
with another skill in his toolkit.
Throughout, Benevento’s amped
up approach to his keyboard
remains 6F