Dave Rubin: Johnny Winter sets the Beacon ablaze...

If you weren't at New York City's Beacon Theater on Sunday night, well... we can only say that we're truly sorry. Johnny Winter, his remarkable return to prominence in full bloom, sat in with the headlining Allman Brothers Band, and what resulted was a spectacular three-song cameo that left the room shaking -- and fans shaking their heads in amazement. Guitarist, educator and writer Dave Rubin, the musical director on an upcoming blues instructional video from Cherry Lane Music featuring Johnny, saw it all and files this report.

(Above photo, from left: Warren Haynes, Johnny (seated), Derek Trucks, Oteil Burbridge. Below, Derek Trucks pays Johnny a visit after the gig.)

By Dave Rubin

Certifiable blues guitar legend Johnny Winter sat in with the certifiably legendary Allman Brothers Band at the Beacon Theater on Manhattan's Upper West Side on Sunday, April 8. It was a historic encounter on several fronts and an occasion to remember and celebrate.

Winter had not jammed with the Brothers since his guest appearance on "Mountain Jam," which was recorded at the Atlanta Pop Festival in 1970. With Duane Allman and Berry Oakley long deceased and Dickey Betts now off on his own, the ABB is a different group as Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks ably carry on the tradition of great blues and blues-rock guitarists in conjunction with surviving original members Gregg Allman, Butch Trucks and Jaimoe.

Like the Allmans, Winter has also endured ups and downs during the past 35 plus years, but he's been on the rise again of late through the considerable efforts of second guitarist Paul Nelson. If there was any question as to how far Johnny has come, it was answered conclusively with his three-song performance. Johnny Winter is back!

On "Mojo Boogie," "Blackjack" and "I'm Tore Down" (with Haynes providing the lead vocal), Winter turned back the clock with his patented vocal growl, scorching slide and whiplash leads every bit as awesome as his epochal playing from the early 1970s. Derek Trucks, the nephew of drummer Butch and the spiritual and musical heir to slide-meister Duane, looked on in wonder as Winter elicited the entire history of slide guitar out of his '63 Gibson Firebird, simultaneously trumping all with his own style.

Based on his idols Robert Johnson, Elmore James and Muddy Waters, Winter's style combines the deepest blues expression with impeccable intonation and virtuosic speed. As Winter slowed it down with Ray Charles' "Blackjack," it became clear that he was operating on a whole other plane. The audience, which erupted uproariously upon Winter's introduction, responded with spontaneous applause as he demonstrated why the blues is a "feeling." Lightning flashed and thunder crashed from Winter's Erlewine Lazer guitar and vintage Music Man amp in a mesmerizing display that cut to the souls of those who saw him.

An advanced blues guitar seminar commenced with the Sonny Thompson-penned "I'm Tore Down," Winter's last number and the closer of the Allmans' first set. Haynes took the vocal lead, and both he and Trucks soloed during the extended-play version of the Freddie King classic. Accepting the friendly musical challenge, Winter bore down even harder and "tore the roof off the sucka." His serpentine phrasing made "time stand still" while his rich, thick tone cut through the big shuffling band like a Texas twister through the Panhandle.

As he left the stage to a standing ovation, one couldn't help but think back to Mike Bloomfield's introduction for the then-unknown Johnny's debut at the Fillmore East in 1968: "Man, this is the baddest motherfucker!"

Still is.