By Mark E. Waterbury

Some may raise an eyebrow about how a show can be labeled as "rock" when all the acts are acoustic. When you have two of rock's top vocalists and a guitar phenom who has a lot of rock and roll in his soul sharing the stage together, you can make anyone rock. That is what Kip Winger, Kelly Keeling and Dominic Gaudious did to the crowd at Atlanta's Vinyl on Saturday, October 25th. The event was called Right to Rock, which germinated from a seed planted by M4Radio.com's Banzai. The idea was to bring anyone who does not want to see their civil liberties and freedoms threatened together with a night of great music. No matter what anyone's views that night may be on politics or civil liberties, their right to rock was upheld in supreme fashion by three astounding performances.

Atlanta's guitar virtuoso Dominic Gaudious opened the show, joined on stage by bassist Preston Ashworth and other guests including electric guitarist Caspar McCloud. Known more for instrumental music that borders on new age to the nod of Leo Kottke and Pierre Bensusan, Dominic took his more upbeat songs and jolted them with a little extra injection of Van Halen. Formerly a guitarist for an Iron Maiden inspired rock band, he made the guitar work just that much phatter without compromising the incredibly intricate picking that he is highly regarded for. Songs like "Naked Arabians," "Sharpening the Saw" and "Acoustic Captivity" took on a new dimension of intensity. Preston's gutsy bass licks and Carlos' frenetic bongo thumping added even more flavor to the music, as Dominic's finger's whipped up tasty delights throughout the forty-five minute set. His shows are known to be intense solely on the virtue of his guitar prowess. On this night along with his expected talents, Dominic and his friends flat out smoked.

Kelly Keeling took the stage for the second slot, presiding over a keyboard and twelve-string guitar. Although Kelly is quite talented at both instruments, they are basically accompaniments for his stunning vocals, which were displayed in a unique way on that Saturday night. Admitting that he had a cold, Kelly's voice none the less shined like a midday sun, perhaps one reason being his incredible range afforded him the opportunity to drop down an octave when he had to, keeping the music in key and the vocals powerful in a situation where some singers will try to over sing off-key. The Coldplay sounding "Perfect Day" was a great example of how he could mix lush lower voiced harmonics with a soaring high range that could make Ian Gillan turn his head. Only a week from Halloween, "Beware the Vampire" infused a rocking drive into haunting piano and a sonic vocal power like a banshee returning from choir practice. "Morning Song" was a ballad with emotive intensity that awed the audience, who then were also given a hearty dose of Kelly's more rocking edge with "Believe" which was co-written with Don Dokken. In an almost too brief seeming hour, Kelly not only proved that you can get up on stage no matter what condition and still sound fantastic, but that he is one of the top weavers of frontman power and charisma with stellar instrumental abilities.

Kip Winger has had more than his share of unkind remarks made about him in the past. Whoever has slammed Kip should have been in the crowd that night in Atlanta because Kip's show would have stifled even the staunchest critics. His voice has not lost any of its power. In fact it is even more prominent accompanied just by the frenetic strumming of his rich-sounding Alvarez acoustic guitar. Winger fave's like "Miles Away" and "Headed for a Heartbreak" actually seem more potent in the stripped down acoustic atmosphere than they did with the full band. Although the fans loved hearing the older songs, they also raved over the rousing renditions of "Blind Revolution Mad" and "Down Incognito" from the excellent but sadly overlooked third Winger album "Pull." "Daniel" from Kip's first solo album "This Conversation Seems Like a Dream" was seething with emotive power, nudged even further over the top by the appearance of Kelly Keeling who was invited onstage to sing harmonies. Throughout the set, Kip's energy level and interaction with the audience prove again why he is a consummate frontman, always able to entertain whether in a band in front of tens of thousands or by himself in an intimate club setting. From the soaring ballad "Who's The One" to his rowdy acoustic takes on "Madalaine" and the smash Winger hit "Seventeen", Kip was more than on his game. He looked to be enjoying himself immensely, and after he told the audience in all sincerity that this was the best show he had ever done, and the way he gave his all throughout the performance, there was no one who doubted those words. Add to that a Fender guitar donated by Guitar Center given away by event emcee SeanRox of RockSocial.com and autographed by Winger and Keeling, it was an excellent way to top off what had been a great evening for everyone at Vinyl - performers and fans alike, who exercised their right to rock to the fullest extent.