Eric Clapton @ Key Arena!!
Crossing off another item off my life wish list - "Seeing Eric Clapton live in concert" !! At 66, he is still amazing but a little bit of the passion had worn away over the years."Wonderful Tonight" - http://www.youtube.com/
"Layla" - http://www.youtube.com/
"Tears in heaven" - http://www.youtube.com/
"My father's eyes" - http://www.youtube.com/
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Clapton's KeyArena show solid but short on spontaneity
Concert review: Playing to a nearly sold-out crowd at Seattle's KeyArena, Eric Clapton was solid all night, hitting every solo and generously sharing the spotlight with his crack band. But there was also something undeniably distant about him.
It would be hard to argue the musicianship displayed at Eric Clapton's KeyArena show Saturday night was anything but stellar. Playing to a nearly sold-out crowd, Clapton was solid all night, hitting every solo and generously sharing the spotlight with his crack band.
But there was also something undeniably distant about Clapton. He didn't say a word except to name-check his band, and mention that "Same Old Blues" was written by J.J. Cale. And while he showed the kind of innate ability on Cream's "Badge" that makes him the most revered living guitar god, there was at times a disconnect.It didn't help that this era's Clapton is all about the slow groove of "Wonderful Tonight," while the crowd responded best to "Cocaine," one of only a few upbeat numbers.
Another strike might be because Seattle came in the middle of the long world tour, and our set was nearly identical to every other. Not stale, but it rarely felt spontaneous. One might ask what magic might occur if the computerized lighting rigs were "lost" between shows.
Clapton has always been a sublime guitarist, and his rhythm playing on "I Shot the Sheriff" and "Before You Accuse Me" was indeed exceptional. He played "Layla" acoustic, but in a telling move, he ceded his most famous solo to his two keyboard players.
Still, on "Old Love" he seemed to briefly escape his road professionalism and was joyfully lost in his guitar. He stretched the song into a 15-minute opus, playing on his toes and raising his left leg as he hit a note.
Oddly, watching him play with his eyes closed and the world shut out was the night's most intimate moment.
In contrast, the opening set by Los Lobos was a transparent joy, start to finish. Whether they were covering "Papa Was a Rolling Stone," or cruising through their own "Don't Worry Baby," it was obvious this was a band in love with performing, even in a shortened opening slot.
While they all sported hair grayer than the older Clapton, there was still a youthful edginess in Los Lobos morphing East L.A. Latin rhythms into a rock context. They ended with "La Bamba," appropriately mixing in "Good Lovin' " by the Rascals.
Seeing David Hidalgo's wide smile when the crowd blew the singalong was the evening's most jubilant moment.
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