After nearly a 10 year hiatus, the Winery Dogs made a triumphant return to our
area, to play the world famous, Cleveland Agora. Supporting their newest
release, III, they did not disappoint anyone in attendance. Mike Portnoy on drums,
Billy Sheehan on bass, and Richie Kotzen on guitar and vocals...all on the same
stage...let that soak in for a minute. These three are as professional as they
come, and they tore the roof off of the Agora. What a great show!

The good sized crowd was ready to rock from the very beginning. Opening the
show with a brand new song, "Gaslight," complete with it's searing guitar, you
knew these dogs came to perform.

This supergroup, formed in 2012, has definitely stood the test of time. From the
very beginning, you could tell these guys love what they are doing, and they
wanted to share that with their fans. Everyone knew they were in for a special
night of music.

Highlights included the song "Stars," complete with it soaring gutar, "Captain
Love," "Mad World," and an incredible bass solo by Sheehan. Closing out the
night was a magnificent encore of "Regret" with Kotzen on keys, and "Elevate"
from their first release. Hopefully these guys will be back to Cleveland soon, so
we don't have to wait another 10 years to see them again!

Opening the night was a 5 piece, local band, led by frontman Shawn Perry. Their
six-song set was just enough for the crowd. The diverse set had a little of
everything, from a hard rock sound, to the set closing "Hard Rock Hillbilly," which
sounded very similiar to Loverboy's, "Lovin' Every Minute Of It." Watch for their release this summer.

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Review and photos by Dave Whitman

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