Clapton Concert - 2006

So the time has come and past… September 20th is behind me, so now I can talk about it.

At the United Center in Chicago was someone known as Slowhand by some, God to others.  Eric Clapton.  And what a show he put on.  All of it was lots better than the last time I saw him there.

Before he came out, Robert Cray opened up with his band.  They were on stage for about 40 minutes, enough time to show us what he had to offer.  When I think of good guitarists, Robert Cray is near the top of the list.  Although Robert Randolph had a good show last time (two years ago), I much rather preferred Cray’s band opening instead.  It seemed to compliment what was to come…

At around 8:30, it began.  The lights went down, the crowd started cheering, and the outlines of Doyle and Derek could be seen heading across the stage.  Now, I was sitting in the 300 level (section 301, to be precise), so I had a high vantage point (but not a close view, sadly).  The band seemed to be in position, and Eric could be clearly seen in the dark. (This wasn’t my first concert, so I knew how to tell him apart without the lights).  Eventually a light did come up, shining over Chris and the piano keyboard.  A few seconds of him playing and the concert was about to begin…

Pretending.  The opening moments of that song aren’t difficult to forget.  With Derek and Doyle playing along on guitar, I knew the night was going to be very entertaining.  The song played through (my first time hearing it live) and it just blew me away.  But I was about to get another shocker as the song came to an end…

Now, as a guitar player, I admire Clapton’s work.  And I have several concert DVDs that I review to try and pick up some guitar work.  One song that I have studied well was about to be played…and as Eric winded down from Pretending, I saw a familiar set of notes played that could only mean one song was about to come… and come it did, hitting like a ton of bricks (but in a good way).

I Shot the Sheriff.  WOW!  What a way to enter that song!  I had expected one song to open and Eric to slow it down…but he didn’t slow it at all.  In fact, that song just carried the same energy from the first and built on it.  Even the solo after the last verse just built and built.  And once again, as a guitar player, the solos are what do it for me.  Again, Eric pulled through with a great solo on that wonderful song.  Then an easy transition to ‘Got To Get Better In A Little While’ was good as well.  By then, I was starting to see how Derek was playing… and while I hadn’t noticed any big solos yet, I knew I would be hearing something good from everyone before the night was over.

Old Love is a song that I first came to enjoy on a DVD of Eric’s concert at Madison Square Garden (I believe).  I was highly anticipating this song, and having Robert Cray join the bunch on stage only made it better.  Yet again, another great song to have that night (though in the end, all of the songs were great).

Everybody Ought To Make A Change and Motherless Children rounded out the first set.  The quick transition between them seemed to reflect what I was seeing for the whole night.  Eric was keeping the energy rolling, and he did it very well.  And I also saw Derek and Doyle picking up more of the leads this time around.  I missed seeing Eric taking control as much as the last time he was in town, but at the same time, I appreciate how he let the other musicians get their time in as well.  Very professional.

I must make a confession: I don’t have Eric’s latest album.  But I still had heard Back Home and, while its not a very energetic song, it goes to show what Eric has to offer.  And of course, hearing it live was awesome.  I Am Yours was a song I wasn’t too familiar with, but I had a feeling some better songs were coming…and they did come.

‘Nobody Knows You When You’re Down And Out’ is another one of those songs that I have studied and can play on guitar, though not as well as ‘I Shot the Sheriff’.  It seemed to be a good crowd pleaser, and a me-pleaser, too.  And following it up with ‘Running On Faith’ made the middle set a joy to listen to.  Both of those songs were ones that I liked from Eric’s Unplugged concert, and having those played live last night was wonderful.

Well, Eric was quickly on his feet again.  At this point, I was noticing the guitar he had.  I was hoping to see his Crash guitars (if I am naming it properly).  But having straight black (I think it was black) was fine, too.  Its how he played it that matters, after all.

Just before Eric started playing, I heard someone in the row behind me say out loud something along the lines of: “He’s still got After Midnight.”  And thats just what started.  Another song that I had not heard live before.  I was blown away by this concert… and the solos that were being ripped out by the guitar players was just making this night worth more than the money I paid.

Little Queen of Spades started much like ‘Have You Ever Loved a Woman’, which threw me off at first.  But as I’ve come to expect from that song, this one would have loads of solo material.  And again, I was not disappointed.  I think almost everyone on stage had their chance to solo.  I could be mistaken, as some details have, sadly, faded since last night.

Wonderful Tonight started the closing set of songs.  Always sweet to listen to, it seems to be the song of every Clapton-listening couple.  During the song, they caught one or two women in the camera, which prompted a wolf-whistle from someone a section over.  The crowd cheered a bit, lifting the energy that came softly with that song.  The way it was played reminded me a bit of the album version.  The last verse wasn’t followed with a longer time of music playing.

Layla… Everyone knew it was coming.  I don’t think the guitar was as pronounced with Layla last night as I’ve heard it at other times, but it was still a great song that got the crowd on their feet.  Perhaps they knew, as I did, that the concert was coming to an end…soon.

I’ll note again that Wonderful Tonight, Layla, and Cocaine are three songs that are fun to play.  And as I heard last time Eric was in Chicago, the end of Layla and the quieting of the pianos only meant one thing…

The opening riff of Cocaine brought a loud cheer from the crowd.  Personally, I enjoy the ’silent’ transition to that song.  It catches people off guard (in a good way), and it just seems to carry the Layla energy to another level.  The solo work in that song, again, was phenomenal.  I will play that good some day… Especially like Derek.  He had such skill with that slide that I almost couldn’t believe it.  Eric found a good catch getting him to play with him this tour.

Eric headed off stage as Cocaine ended… and I knew he’d be back.  I took a few moments to look at the people around me.  They were hyped up, clapping, waiting for Eric to come back out.  We waited… we knew a good encore was coming and, for me, it was the greatest encore I’ve had the pleasure of seeing from Eric, live or on DVD.

Sunshine Of Your Love is a good song, but his concerts needed a change…and he provided it.  Once again, my guitar playing self loves Crossroads, so I was in eager expectation of that song.  And it came… with Robert Cray yet again.  From the opening drums from Steve Jordan to the strumming from Eric, I was excited and ready for this great song.  And then the curve ball came… Robert took a quick stride up to the mic and began singing!  A pleasant surprise, to be sure!  And as is expected from that song, the solo work from the guitarists was excellent.  Including Willie on bass, there were five guitar players on stage.  Now that is what I call a concert.

Unfortunately, it came to an end.  But it was a great concert… And I look forward to the next time Eric is in town, hopefully with a much better concert (though, in reality, such a thing would be difficult to achieve).

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