Last, but certainly not least, we have Richie Kotzen on guitar and lead vocals. I have listened to his solo material for a while now and his voice just keeps getting stronger and better. As a guitarist, I feel that he is one of the most underrated players out there. He has a great bluesy feel without overplaying it. Since blues music is very popular now, many guitarists almost force it but Kotzen just has a natural sound that really makes the songs come alive. Many people will remember him from Poison and Mr. Big but I suggest checking out The Winery Dogs to really catch him at his best.

As far as set lists for the show, you are pretty much going to get all the songs on their first (and only so far) disc. You also get the Japanese bonus track of “Criminal” which oddly was the second song of the set. Although Portnoy really didn’t get to bring in one of his tracks from his past (and let’s face it, his prog material wouldn’t fit within the confines of The Winery Dogs), both Sheehan and Kotzen brought along something from their respective histories. The band performed “High” from Kotzen’s solo career and the show closer of “Shy Boy” is from Sheehan’s Talas days. Along with those additions, they played a couple of covers, namely “Love Is Alive” and “Reach Out (I’ll Be There).”  As a special bonus, we also got to see them perform a new and unreleased track called “Oblivion.” All in all, it was everything you could ask for from The Winery Dogs. One of the best aspects of the show was watching the band play off of one another and the general sense of camaraderie. They really looked like they were having fun on stage and that filtered down to the crowd because when the show was over, everyone left with a smile on their faces and ringing in their ears.