Eric Clapton and his music

On 9 October, Eric Clapton and his band performed a two-hour set at Philadelphia's Wachovia Center. Helped by a great sound system and good acoustics, it was easy to hear some of the more subtle touches by the musicians. Doyle Bramhall stood out in this regard this particular this night, adding some lovely fills during numerous songs.

One fan at the venue commented to Where's Eric! that he was mesmerized by Doyle. Doyle is left-handed, strings his guitars with the E string at the top but some guitars have left handed necks and others right handed. If you're headed to a show, look at the tuning pegs on the strats and you'll notice this difference!

The setlist, after remaining static for the first few weeks of the tour, changed slightly this evening. "Anyday" remained in first half while "Further On Up The Road" returned. "Let It Rain" was dropped. "Further On Up The Road" allowed the show to flow better following "Little Queen of Spades". The short "sit-down set" included "Back Home", two Dominos' tracks: "Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out" and "I Am Yours", and a gorgeous "Running On Faith".

Eric took solos right out of the box, starting off with the evening's opener, "Pretending." His playing was more adventurous in the first half of the show. Robert Cray joined the band for "Old Love" and his extended solo edged out the other guitarists. "Motherless Child" featured Eric, Derek and Doyle all on slide guitar. Other highlights from the Wachovia Center were "Got To Get Better In A Little While" (with a terrific bass solo from Willie Weeks", "After Midnight" and "Little Queen of Spades" which featured jaw-dropping solos from both Derek Trucks (on slide) and Doyle Bramhall II.

Review #1

"I think I'm definitely on the decline." Those words, recently uttered by Eric Clapton, nearly leapt of the page and punched me in the face when I read them a few hours before EC's Oct. 9 concert in Philadelphia. I was stunned, demoralized even. How could this be true?

It was just two short years ago that I had the thrill of a lifetime, seeing Eric in person for the first time at the sold-out Wachovia Center. He hit notes that night that were clearly pulled from another world and another time. So how could he now be on the decline?

Turns out, in Eric's universe, the word "decline" actually means "better than ever." It's a odd translation, sure, but that's how it is when you're a virtuoso. And so Eric once again took the Wachovia Center by storm tonight, belting out his first notes before he even hit center stage. The crowd, of course, went wild.

He opened with a note-for-note rendition of Journeyman's "Pretending" and never looked back. "I Shot the Sheriff" was once again pushed to new heights. The Derek tunes, "Got to Get Better In a Little While" and "Anyday" were lean, mean and wonderful.

The real treat? How about a triple assault of slide guitars on "Motherless Children." The band found a wicked groove on that song that took the concert to a whole other place. "Little Queen of Spades" was a sonic delight and "After Midnight" got everyone moving again. The sit-down acoustic set was beautiful, with "Back Home," a hidden gem from Eric's last album, getting the respect and play it deserved.

It goes without saying that the band backing the man is out of sight. Willie Weeks plays a mean mother of a bass and Steve Jordan injects life into Eric's jams that honestly has been missing for quite some time. (This is not a knock on Eric's usual touring band, but honestly, the guys he has now are killer.)

The Philly crowd also went wild for Robert Cray, who opened the show with a blistering set and popped up throughout the concert, including the awesome encore, "Crossroads." The night, though began to Eric. For the second time in two years, he left me and thousands of others utterly beside ourselves. I sure as hell hope I'm "declining" like he is when I hit my 60s!

Review #2

Ah, theres Eric! Eric was on tonight and all I can say is WOW!
Eric and his band were hot tonight, Eric playing front and center, as it should be, with fierocity and fire and passion. The whole band sounded great... fresh, tight, knowledgeable, and very cohesive. Vocals, The Music, Everything jelled so well and flowed beautifully...solos by Eric and Derek were phenomenal!...I have no complaints...Love Ya, Eric Keep on Keepin' on...

Review #3

The band as a whole was nothing short of amazing. Seven band members jamming and having fun. That sort of thing feeds the crowd. I was 12 rows from the stage, and the whitest of white men couldn't keep themselves from jamming with the band. They opened up the set with "Pretending", "I Shot The Sheriff", and continued on, solo after jaw dropping solo. Eric seemed to enjoy himself more than any other time I've seen him, and it showed in the music. He played with a passion that was unmistakable Clapton.

I have always said that if you filled an arena, and kept the lights off, any guitar enthusiast would know when Eric Clapton hit a single note on the guitar. The man is a true legend, and he treated his fans tonight with a perfomance for the ages. I watched the show with my father, who has been an EC fan for over 40 years, and he was seeing him live for the first time. Sitting next to us was a group of kids that couldn't have been more than 20 years old. How's that for longevity? Watching my father enjoy the show was as much a treat as the show itself.

There is no doubt that "Motherless Children" was the kick ass hit of the night. Hearing the three guitars all playing slide was truly something I will never forget. "Old Love", "After Midnight", the sit down set, Robert Cray, "Crossroads", "Cocaine".... I could go on and on. There wasn't a single part of the show that was even a little disappointing. Something really special was the way they tied one song into the next.

Every song was played with a passion and emotion that was felt by all at the sold out show. One of the coolest nights of my life. Thanks Eric, and thanks to every member of the band for the effort! Absolutely awesome!!

Review by bruce ellis gibbsboro,nj

just saw eric clapton in philly, great show!!! the band was excellent. derek trucks on top of his game playing sweet slide. eric is amazing.his voice sounds really good and his guitar playing is second to none. a real treat great, great show. you all look wonderful last night

Как-то, в начале 90-ых, попалась мне статья о Guns n'Roses где упамяналось что они перепели и Клаптона (Knocking on Heaven's Door). Журналист, видать, не знал про Дилана :-)
Отсель возник у меня 1-ый вопрос (это просто любопытство, без ехидства):
- а не знаете-ли какие-нибудь каверы на песни ЭК?
Вот здесь, на форуме, есть темка про каверы на Битлз. Тема необятнейшая. А вот каверы на ЭК мне не попадались :-( но я думаю, что онинаверняка есть.
Я имею в виду полноценные каверы, а не ремиксы типа Cream vs. The Hoxtons - Sunshine Of Your Love (DT's Radio Edit) или Forever Man. Хотя почему бы и нет?
- и ремиксы тоже интересны.
Есть, по крайней мере, 2 российских коллектива исполняющих и записывающих песни ЭК. Это Modern Blues Band и Сергей Кашин. Тоже можно было б заполучить их треклист каверов?
- а кто из российских музыкантов записывает ЭК?

Elicaster***
Этих каверов десятки,а может и больше (естественно,включая вещи групп Сливки,Слепая Вера,Дерек и Домино...).Есть не один трибьютный альбом.Есть даже джазовые и околоджазовые интепретации ,у Ларри Карлтона к примеру.

2Elicaster:
Эльдар, давай с такими вопросами сюда -
https://www.beatles.ru/postman/forum_messages.asp?cfrom=1&msg_id=13076&cpage=11&forum_id=0

Thursday, October 12, 2006; Page C08

Eric Clapton radiated professionalism rather than star power Tuesday night at Verizon Center during a two-hour set that stuck, for the most part, to the biggest hits from his Derek & the Dominos days and his subsequent solo career. "Journeyman" is the name of the 1989 album from which Clapton took three of the evening's 17 songs (playing nothing of more recent vintage save for the title track from last year's "Back Home" LP), and the title suits him.

In practice, this meant allowing guitarists Derek Trucks and Doyle Bramhall II not just to share his spotlight, but occasionally to upstage him, as on the showstopping medley of Robert Johnson's "Little Queen of Spades" and the Joe Medwick/Don Robey blues standard "Further on Up the Road" that provided the evening's high point. While Clapton, 61, dutifully served up the solos the crowd had paid for, he looked happiest when stepping back to admire collaborators like Robert Cray, who opened the show and returned during Clapton's headlining set to assist on the smoldering blues lament "Old Love" (which he wrote with Clapton) and again for the encore number, "Crossroads."


If some of the standards, particularly Bob Marley's "I Shot the Sheriff" and Clapton's own syrupy, deathless "Wonderful Tonight," sounded phoned in, other concert staples, most notably "Motherless Children," "Got to Get Better in a Little While" and J.J. Cale's "Cocaine," were shot through with a new vigor, thanks mostly to drummer Steve Jordan. Unfortunately, the presence of so many aces in Clapton's eight-piece band contributed to the sense of anonymity from the evening's nominal star.

College and University concerts in the United States were the norm for Eric Clapton when he was in Cream and Derek and the Dominos. Back then, school venues tended towards small, intimate theaters. On 12 October, Eric played a university gig for the first time in decades. Much has changed. The University of Virginia's John Paul Jones Arena was far from intimate, seating 16,000. But, thanks to the state of the art sound system, fans throughout the building heard every note. Eric, however, gave a nod to the past with the setlist continuing to perform several songs from his Dominos Days and his 1974 blockbuster, 461 Ocean Boulevard. Fans in attendance reported that highlights included "I Shot The Sherifff", "Got To Get Better In A Little While", "Old Love" (with Robert Cray) and the three-way slide guitar duel on "Motherless Children".

The gig was the 55th of the 2006 / 2007 World Tour. The first leg of the U.S. Tour wraps up on 23 October in Miami before returning to the states next year.

Review #1

This was a great night, the twenty eighth time that I have seen EC with the first show being The Concert for Bangladesh. Tonight everyone was firing on all cylinders and from what I heard it was a flawless evening. The set list was same as DC two nights ago and this just works so well flowing from one song to the next. EC was smiling and truly enjoying himself and his playing was precise and he commanded the stage each time he stepped up to play some amazing solos.Eric was even on the talkative side for him, during the sit down set he told us how much he liked this part of Virginia being his first visit to the area and what a nice new arena to play. I believe that this band is the closest to the near perfection that was obtained during the interplay of the Derek and The Dominos at The Fillmore. Tonight Doyle was at the top of his game, having no equipment problems and putting out some gritty and soulful solo work. Derek Trucks is just an amazing young man, he hit the mark all night and made it look completely effortless. And the drumming of Steve Jordan is a force to be reckoned with and Willie Weeks is totally solid and soulful in his playing. The two keyboards players turning in some great work also, with Chris being as steady and consistent like every time I have seen him and Tim has improved his solos and is a fine addition to the band. Robert Cray and his band were superb as they always are. So overall after all of the shows that I have been at, this one ranks as number one.