Awesome, amazing, unbelievable,
but more importantly – influential. That’s the verdict on Clapton’s triumphant return to the British stage at Manchester’s Evening News Arena. He’s overcome drug and alcohol addiction, lost a son in tragic circumstances,
married three times and yet he still manages to soldier on. The world of Eric Clapp, aka Eric Clapton, hasn’t always been a happy one.
As he rapidly approaches 60 on March 30th next year, the guitar god is still fighting fit.
He may well have ‘ shot the sheriff ‘, and put on a few pounds, but he hasn’t
shot his deputy just yet. His new ‘deputy ‘, unknown protégé, is the sensational
American, Doyle Bramhall II. Pole position is something Eric Clapton has enjoyed
for almost four decades – but his crown is seriously under threat – he was clearly stirred but
not shaken by the young hot shot who’s snapping at his heels.
Maybe he was just impressed, and he had every right to be as he introduced him into the fold.
Having such competition at close proximity made the legend pull out all the stops in a performance that will go down in
history as one of the ‘ greatest guitar nights ever. ‘ The multi – Grammy winning
singer – guitarist and mega - grossing live performer was greeted by 15,000 people, who once
again had come to pay homage to the master axeman. The arena came to life as the
laid back legend grinned his way to centre stage, but privately, may have had the smile wiped
of his face by the end of the night.
The 17-song setlist delved into material from the 60’s, Cream's Badge and Sunshine Of Your Love,
JJCale's Cocaine and Bob Marley's I Shot The Sheriff from the 70's.
Nothing from the 80's and only one from the 90's – Wonderful Tonight.
Songs lifted from his recent CD, a tribute to Robert Johnson, Me And Mr. Jonhson impressed me the most.
They allowed ‘ Slow Hand ‘ or ‘ EC ‘ to dig deep into his technical repertoire, and he needed to. Bramhall,
left handed, wearing a Hendrix - style shirt, was more than a match for him in
every department, and at one time I thought he might steal the show.
He introduced the long forgotten Wah Wah sound, growling effects and some pretty stylish bottle – neck.
So, Clapton effectively reined him in with a masterclass display. When their counter and complimentary playing kicked – in it was quite stunning to
witness. Many times it felt like a Blues jam, and probably was, as they bounced off each other. When the
head tilts back, and shoulders rise, it’s time to look out, because he’s bound to unleash a powerhouse
display – and it’s always special.
His Stratocaster got a right old pounding, as he bent the strings into submission with his nimble fingers.
Of the three nights I’ve seen him, this was his definitive gig , proving that competition is always good.
The remainder of the band, Billy Preston on organ, Chris Stainton on piano provided lashings of Gospel, as did singers Sharon White and Michelle John.
Permanently smiling and long time cohort, bassist Nathan East was as solid as ever, forming a formidable partnership in the rhythm section with Steve Gadd's sticks.
Best bits were, a lengthy solo in Sheriff which turned the track on its head, the full version
of Layla which sent everybody into raptures 32 years on, and the slow Kind Hearted Woman Blues. There's nothing
flash about stage presentation and Clapton is a man of few words : "Good evening", "Thank you" and "Goodnight", and that's about it.
He always leaves the guitar to do the talking.
Leaving the stage to a standing ovation, he looked as if he’d never broken sweat, but I
hope he doesn’t have nightmares. Try to sleep EC Eric !
The programme was great value for money, a retrospective which included a single from the album, and access via the internet to the album.
Support act, pedal steel guitarist Robert Randolph and The Family Band were excellent.
Brilliantly sought out to compliment Clapton's heavily Blues influenced set, he romped
through some high – energy material. Technique was top of the agenda, and his dextrous
skills were much appreciated by the fans. Better known in the States, he’s
bound to have made a big impression on the European tour, and will no doubt be in
great demand after this showing. He joined Clapton for the last couple of songs, and
fitted in perfectly.
Search the web – type Robert Randolph, and view various sites.
DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TXW32R4 32" widescreen TV
connected to either a Creative Dxr2 DVD-ROM player or Microsoft Xbox and
played through a Sony STR-DB930 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
Awesome, amazing, unbelievable,
but more importantly – influential. That’s the verdict on Clapton’s triumphant return to the British stage at Manchester’s Evening News Arena. He’s overcome drug and alcohol addiction, lost a son in tragic circumstances,
married three times and yet he still manages to soldier on. The world of Eric Clapp, aka Eric Clapton, hasn’t always been a happy one.
As he rapidly approaches 60 on March 30th next year, the guitar god is still fighting fit.
He may well have ‘ shot the sheriff ‘, and put on a few pounds, but he hasn’t
shot his deputy just yet. His new ‘deputy ‘, unknown protégé, is the sensational
American, Doyle Bramhall II. Pole position is something Eric Clapton has enjoyed
for almost four decades – but his crown is seriously under threat – he was clearly stirred but
not shaken by the young hot shot who’s snapping at his heels.
His Stratocaster got a right old pounding, as he bent the strings into submission with his nimble fingers.
Of the three nights I’ve seen him, this was his definitive gig , proving that competition is always good.
The remainder of the band, Billy Preston on organ, Chris Stainton on piano provided lashings of Gospel, as did singers Sharon White and Michelle John.
Permanently smiling and long time cohort, bassist Nathan East was as solid as ever, forming a formidable partnership in the rhythm section with Steve Gadd's sticks.