Eric Clapton

[MikeA]

*G* Cool!! there you are!! You look a little confused, Mike. *G* Kinna like "I thought this was the line for the mens room.." JUST kidding hehehehehe

Confused? Prolly! Brain Melt! It was like 110 to 120 and NO SHADE while walking around on aluminum panels in an arena (the Cottonbowl) where there was no possibility of any wind circulating because of the seating. We survived that day by using squirt bottles of water and battery operated fans given out the day before by several vendors.

I never saw numbers posted of fans carried out on stretchers from heat stroke that day.

Ironically, a massive storm blew in before the scheduled end of the concert. They had huge fabric prints (35 or 40 feet tall and 15 or 20 feet wide) hiding the backstage area at the sides of the stage. The winds that night were ripping those fabric walls to shreads!

As we drove home the next day, I-35 and surrounding areas were flooded. Our windshield wipers quit working. Here we were flying up I-35 heading back to Kansas, hydroplaning (!!) with Verna leaning out the passenger window manually "working" the windshield wipers!

That's Texas for you! The weather gods down there must not like rock concerts!

Clapton Rocked! So did Jimmy Vaughan, John Mayer, Johnny Lang, Steve Vai, Joe Walsh, BB King, Robert Randolf, Buddy Guy, James Taylor, ZZ-Top, and more that I can't even remember off-hand. Unbelievable gig.

[Just Another Hired Hand]

I was sitting in the best seats you could imagine for a concert. My wife and I were in the 4th row, center stage. Clapton sat down in front of us twice. We got some unbelievable pictures (the camera Nazis were nowhere to be found at the Clapton show. One of his web sites actually encourages attendees to send in their pictures and reviews.The show itself was fantastic. As promised earlier, here is the SET List:

Motherless Children/ Key to the Highway/ Hoochie Coochie Man/ Little Wing/ Outside Woman Blues/ Double Trouble/ Don't Knock My Love/ Drifting/ Rocking Chair*/ Motherless Child/ Travelin' Riverside Blues/ Running on Faith/ Tellthe Truth/ Little Queen of Spades/ Before You Accuse Me/ Wonderful Tonight/ Layla/ Cocaine/ (encore) I Got My MoJo Working (performed with Robert Randolph and the Family Band).

Robert Randolph also performed at Crossroads. He was great at the Borgata. I winder if Mike A saw him in Dallas?

The song "Rocking Chair" was originally recorded by Hoagie Carmichael in 1928. Clapton did a cover but he never recorded it. I can't find it anywhere (so much for putting the concert set list on my ipod). It was fantastic. And of course my wife melted when he did "Wonderful Tonight".

"Tell the Truth" was almost like a repeat from the 461 Ocean Blvd. recording that included the concert from 1974...yes I am a 50 something old head as my son refers to me. I won't do a complete review of the show here, but suffice it to say anyone who likes guitar music as much as I do would have been at "the ultimate show".

I didn't go to concerts for a lot of years because I was saving for my son's education. Since he graduated college last year I'm trying my best to make up for it. Clapton and the Eagles (three times), all in one year! Oh yeah, throw in John Fogarty and Hall and Oates.

[MikeA]

Okay, you've convinced me JAHH. How is it our friends across the Pond say it? A Clapton concert is in my Bucket! I almost took off and attended a Clapton concert in OK City a few years ago where he was gigging with Robert Randolf but something came up and I couldn't go. Have to rectify that!

To answer your question, Randolf WAS at Crossroads. He has been touring with Clapton for a long time. That guy does things with a steel guitar that you've never heard in Rock...or at least I haven't!

I read somewhere, and it stuck in my head, that Eric Clapton plays all of his fast work on guitar using nothing but Minor Pentatonic Scales. But he KNOWS those scales really well and plays them REALLY FAST. Well why not? That's what Blues is based on!

And Blues is what Clapton has been a disciple of from the beginning. He has given a lot back in tribute to the old masters too!

I've been really working on the Pentatonic Scales a lot lately. Trying to recognize which pattern of which key each fret and string is anywhere on the neck at any time and know which strings and frets are the "root notes" in that key. Sounds easy, but to me it is a challenge that is very difficult.

[Ive always been a dreamer]

Mike - just wanted to butt in here and say how cool it is that you got in on that DVD. I always wondered if those were real people on those things.

[Just Another Hired Hand]

I have seen Clapton one other time, when he toured the U.S. in 2006. At that time he was touring with Robert Cray. They did "Crossroads" as the encore song together. They out did the version Clapton did for the Cream Reunion DVD in 2005.

I strongly urge you to take in a Clapton show the next time he tours the states (and he will). Unlike Joe Walsh, I think he only uses 3 maybe 4 guitars for the entire show. He uses a strat to pick, another one to slide, and his Martin accoustic for the "sit down set". Even thouh he uses super light Music Man strings, his guitar never seems to go out of tune. As an experienced guitar player you will never forget the experience.

[Freypower]

I will be seeing him here in Sydney next March, the first time since the 80s when I saw him twice.

[wsccg]

I got to see him in the summer of 04 when he was doing a lot of songs from the Me And Mr. Johnson album and it was an amazing show. He had Robert Randolf opening which also blew me away. He also had Billy Preston playing with him and I am so grateful to be able to have seen him play live. Clapton is definitely one of those artists that just keep getting better - and although he does some fan favorites, he relies on his never ending push to keep his music fresh and new. I like that.

[Just Another Hired Hand]

You know it's funny you posted this. I've just booked to see Eric next March here in Sydney. I've seen him twice before, but that was back in the 80s. I'm surprised you didn't find the Australian dates listed. Like Jackson Browne, he's playing one of these vineyard shows.

When you see him in Sydney he will probably use a set list similar to the one I saw at his Atlantic City show in May 2008. I have already posted the set list else whare on this site.

He is big into Robert Johnson songs and old blues songs these days. This was fine with me but my wife was a little disappointed...she was expecting some of his more well known work. Clapton is always a great show. The Australian dates are listed at www.whereseric.com. If yoour show is 1/2 as good as the one I saw it will be a night to remember.

[Troubadour]

I saw Eric Clapton at a charity show at the Royal Albert Hall in 2004. He was on with lots of other performers, including Zucchero, Clannad, Brian May, Tori Amos, Paul Young and Pavarotti. He was fantastic. My only complaint was that, due to the amount of performers, his slot was far too brief.

[MikeA]

He was like that at Crossroads too Troub. He was very considerate of all the other performers. He could so easily have dominated the entire show! The show was mainly the Eric Clapton Show...I mean it was his name and his charity on the bill. But he did not make any attempt to detract any whatsoever from the other performers...even during the big Blues Jam where Clapton, Cray, BB King, Booker T, John Mayer, Jimmy Vaughan and Buddy Guy were all playing taking turns. Clapton tried to stay more in the background and throw the spotlight on Buddy Guy and especially BB King. He really does have utmost respect for the Blues Pioneers and King is well known and respected as being the "Ambassador" of the Blues. He's probably done more than anyone to popularize that musical genre...I'm talking about pure blues...not the morphed type blues that Rock cannibalized (that's not intended as a derogatory statement). Clapton seems to be carrying the torch now along with BB. And God Bless 'Em Both!!!!!