Kip Winger Brings House Down In Bangor Thursday Night

In its first big show since obtaining its new "Special Amusement" license from the City of Bangor late last month, G-Force Entertainment in the Bangor Mall hosted rock legend Kip Winger Thursday evening.

It was Winger's first stop on his solo tour.

Crowds of folks began to pour into G-Force by 7 PM, when the opening band, Black Orange (from Maine) hit the stage to warm up the crowd with a number of original songs.

Taking to the stage with the band was another Maine-based visual performance artist, Lexi Go Go, who mesmerized the audience with some amazing hula-hoop work.

Ready to bump things up a notch, with folks now filling the seats and dance floor, the second band of the evening, local rockers Dakota, launched into their performance and got the crowd riled up with some driving classic rock covers.

After a quick break to break down some gear, the man of the hour, Kip Winger came out with percussionist Robbie Rothschild and began to jam.

Kip did a fair number of songs from his solo albums. There was exceptional ease between Winger and Rothschild, and for it being just the two of them on stage, the sound was enormous.

The crowd was incredibly receptive to Winger and spent most of the evening singing his songs back to him.

At one point Winger invited Rick Gustin who had traveled down from Caribou to join him on stage to sing "Miles Away."

Much to everyone's surprise and delight, Gustin killed it.

Singing his Winger hits, "Seventeen" and "Headed For A Heart Break", the crowd ate up every minute of Kip Winger's set, even calling for an encore when he left the stage, which he graciously obliged to.

Winger praised the venue for supporting live music, being a great place to see a show, and even having good food. He mentioned that he'd even throw a couple of axes after the sound check, earlier in the evening.

He also mentioned that he'd be back, as the crowd was so welcoming, and he had a great time performing for everyone.

We hope he does return.