The Show

Last night was The Show. It was the first time I saw Clapton perform in person. He is one of my, if not my favorite, guitarist. The show was the last of a 3 night stay at Madison Square Garden (NYC), our seat were good, we had a great view of the stage but if they did not have the giant screens there it may not have been the same. Robert Cray opened the show and gave a great performance. He also came out later and did a song or two with Clapton's band. A friend of mine who has seem Clapton a number of times said that he usually does the same show. The NY Times had a review which basically said the same thing. That's cool, I never saw him so it was new to me. I felt that although it's a performance and a staged show, he played as good as ever. I was hoping for a longer show with more spontaneity but as Dana said to me, "Phil, the 60's are over".

She's right. It is a business and he was at work. Gone are the days of the 4 hour shows with people showing up on stage that are not on the bill, and multiple encores. He didn't do any encores which was a bummer but he did do a lot of great songs. Derek Trucks was with him too and he plays like a a maniac. He's so good on slide. the did the original version of Layla which was great. I love the acoustic one, but the original was real good. My brother brought his iPod with a mic and recorded it. I don't know how it turned out but if there are any good cuts, I'll post them. All in all, it was a fantastic show. I have seen one of my guitar heros.
One other thing, I am getting old. I found it too loud but even when I was younger that was always a complaint of mine. It gets distorted a bit. I think if I see another shoe, I will have ot bring the foam ear plugs. Also, there was a lot of pot smoking going on whcih is fine with me but there were also cigarettes being smoked which sucked. I can't stand the smell of those. a real nasty habit that I'm so glad I don't do anymore...

Here's another review plus a playlist of the set.
This review is more accurate