by photojournalist Allison Davis
Friday night brought me back to Ferg’s Sports Bar & Grill which is fast becoming a second home for me these days, mostly because they just keep bringing amazing live shows to St. Pete! The lineup delivered a powerhouse night of hard rock featuring Steelheart and headliners Winger, with locals Pitbull Toddler kicking things off.
Going into the evening felt a bit like fate. I wasn’t originally scheduled to cover this show, but it worked out exactly the way it was supposed to. Just recently, a memory popped up on my phone showing a photo from a Winger show I attended nearly 15 years ago. The original caption read: “If only I had a real camera so I could properly shoot this show!” Fast forward to Friday, and there I was in the pit with full gear, coming ready to properly capture the night.
Locals Pitbull Toddler opened the show, warming up the early crowd with a set of classic covers that we all know, singing along and setting the tone for what was to come.
By the time Steelheart took the stage, the venue was packed and ready to surge. I even spotted a familiar face (there are so many these days) in the crowd a regular who shows up at almost every one of these shows decked out in an incredible custom leather vest with a massive Steelheart logo across the back. In a cool turn of events, vocalist Miljenko Matijevic ended up wearing that exact vest to finish out the set!
Matijevic’s vocal range remains absurdly impressive, soaring through fan favorites like “Angel Eyes.” And if you didn’t already know (and if you’ve never seen the 2001 film Rock Star, we need to have a serious talk), Matijevic provided the singing voice for Mark Wahlberg’s character in the fictional band Steel Dragon. Steelheart closed their set with “We All Die Young” the signature track from the movie which served as a fantastic bonus layer of nostalgia for the crowd.
Then came Winger. In an era where so many veteran 80s bands are swapping out members due to necessity or internal dynamics, Winger stands out with a rare badge of honor: every single original member is still in the lineup. This band is absolute wall-to-wall talent. If you’ve never watched guitarist Reb Beach bust out a solo live, you need to rectify that immediately.
Their mix was locked in, and as always, the ladies in the front row just couldn’t get enough of Kip Winger. The proof was in the pudding while I was down in the photo pit squeezed into the tight space between the stage barrier and the speakers nearly getting crushed by fans leaning over to try and catch his eye. Down in the trench, I ended up becoming the designated guitar pick collector as picks bounced off the stage and landed at my feet. Even as a fan, I always hand those straight back to the fans in the front row.
Winger gave the audience total satisfaction, running through a hit-heavy setlist including “Easy Come, Easy Go,” “Seventeen,” and “Miles Away.” By the time the final chord rang out, the crowd was buzzing and nowhere near ready to head home. Squeezing my way out of the pit was an event in itself as fans swarmed the barrier hoping to snag a setlist, a stray pick, or a drumstick to take home.
It had been a chaotic, exhausting week for me, and I was dog-tired heading into Friday night. But in the end, it was worth every single second. Live music always brings me back to life especially when it comes wrapped in this kind of nostalgia.
