Fuck it. I give up.
If the job of a music critic is to acknowledge the triumphs and the shortcomings of an artist's live performance, I failed miserably Wednesday night. Simply put, there's just no point in trying to find fault with an Eric Clapton concert - particularly when the opening act is Roger fucking Daltrey.
If anything, trying to comment on Clapton's live show is even more demoralizing when you realize that you can write the best review of your life and still not be in the same galaxy as the most skilled guitarist on his worst day.
Let me qualify that statement. Even though Wednesday's show firmly cemented him in my personal "best guitarist I've ever seen" category, I'm positive there are guitarists who have better stage presence, or better crowd interaction, or even better songs.
But when it comes to sheer ability, Clapton is the ultimate technician on the six-string. From the coppery hammers of an acoustic "Layla" to the Delta swampiness of "Little Queen of Spades," Fender's poster boy kept a mostly boomer-aged Sprint Center crowd on its feet the entire night.
At its best moments, Wednesday's show felt more like a smoke-filled blues club than a high-production arena show. He did play several of the old favorites, like the aforementioned "Layla" (played sitting down with a blue backlight, eerily similar to the well-known "MTV Unplugged" set) and a heartwarming rendition of "Wonderful Tonight." But where Clapton really shined was on the bluesiest tracks, particularly during his single encore song, the Robert Johnson standard, "Crossroads."
Surprisingly, the night's opener wasn't quite as world-rocking as I'd anticipated. Weeks after his Super Bowl halftime appearance with the Who, Roger Daltrey still looked tired and even a bit frail. All the Who favorites were there, including an impressive "Baba O'Riley" as the closer, but he did have to hand over the playing and singing duties to take a breather during several of them. Even his trademark mic swinging went awry, almost hitting him in the head on several occasions. He may only be a year older than Clapton, but if Wednesday's set was any indication, he has a lot more miles.
Unlike Daltry, Clapton didn't interact with the crowd much, taking the stage with little fanfare and uttering a courteous "thank you very much" here and there. For most artists, this stoic behavior would be a downfall, but it seemed appropriate.
Let's be honest - when the two Jumbotrons flanking the stage spend about twice as much time zoomed in on your matte-black Stratocaster than they do on your face, no one really wants a lot of conversation. Considering how flawless his axework is, I would've been fine watching him play for three or four hours without him saying a word. Hell, he doesn't even have to sing.
If there is a fault with Clapton, it's that all of his flawless guitar work is exactly that: flawless. Blues guitar is a messy sport for most guitarists, and those nanosecond-long errors and dropped strings almost make a song sound more real. It's unnerving to see an impromptu guitar solo that's so clean and polished that one can barely believe it wasn't prerecorded. It's the same argument that's kept CGI from replacing real actors in films: when things seem too perfect, it's hard to believe it's real. I guess that makes Clapton the "Avatar" of classic rock.
But this is a critical a review, so let's at least try. If you have to level criticism against this guitar virtuouso's performance, it's this: he needs a different haircut. If you've seen those T-Mobile MyTouch commercials, you know what I'm talking about.
Set List:
1. Going Down Slow
2. Key to the Highway
3. Tell the Truth
4. Old Love
5. I Shot the Sheriff
6. Driftin'
7. Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out
8. Running on Faith
9. Layla
10. I've Got a Rock 'N' Roll Heart
11. Badge
12. Little Queen of Spades
13. Before You Accuse Me
14. Wonderful Tonight
15. Cocaine
ENCORE
16. Crossroads
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Just saw Clapton for the 2d time last night in Cincinnati. This reviewer hit the nail on the head. While doing so, if you find fault w/ something, point it out. If there is none, leave it be. To be honest, I was not looking forward to it, but Clapton cannot be denied and now I am a fan, 30 years late, but a fan nonetheless.
I am sure it was still a great concert. The bottom line is this guy is a legend.
I saw Eric March 8th at the RBC center in Raleigh NC & he was simply magnificent. Roger was terrific too! Great night ...now just one question....when are they coming back. I was on the phone trying to get tickets to Crossroads as Chicago is my hometown>>>Sold Out!!
I would have to say that I came to KC to experience a great blues/rock artist and what also seemed appropriate, to have barbecue. I saw EC in Minneapolis and it lacked the blues, however, great rock. When we left the KC concert we discussed the fact that there was little interaction with the crowd and I just wrote it off as respect to KC for what it has had to offer as a historical jazz/blues community. I guess it is the way and artist would have jammed down on 18th and Vine in the day. I received a belly full of what I came to KC for, blues and barbecue.
Before we start casting aspersions, let's look at the facts. First and foremost, as a child of 13, EC struggled with learning to play his first guitar and was severely frustrated by it for the first 2-1/2 years he had it. Luckily for all of us who were fortunate enough to be there on Wednesday night, he persevered and the fruits of his past 50+ years of perseverance paid off in spades for us! Secondly, he is a man of 60+ years in age, and he is only on the 2nd stop of a long 20+ stop US tour and most likely had endured a long transatlantic flight 48 to 72 hours before his arrival in KC, all things that have the potential of adversely affecting one�s outlook and attitude and thus one�s performance, but being a consummate professional they had no apparent bearing on the body of work delivered on Wednesday. I�ve had the pleasure of seeing EC on numerous occasions in the past including the closing show at the Staples Center in LA on the very long and tiring 2002 US tour. Again a stunning performance by all accounts but again with little to no audience interaction. I don�t know of anyone familiar with Clapton�s life and career that will go to see him perform live expecting this incredibly shy gentleman to �chat it up� with the audience. Let�s face it, if you want audience interaction, go see B. B. King, he talks for a solid hour, doesn�t sing an entire tune from start to finish, then gets up and heads for the tour bus. And oh, by the way, he still calls Clapton by his nickname �God� and did just that on a recent Sirius/XM interview with Buddy Guy on this past Saturday. Lets face it, Clapton is a master craftsmen who know exactly what note to play, when to play it, how to shape it, and how to delivers it in the most efficient manner possible. He clearly demonstrated that skill over and over Wednesday all the while saying as much as possible with his playing skill and doing it with as few notes as possible. He is the essence of efficient guitar playing. We also know that he�s spent the last 35 years studying the technique of all the past blues masters including Robert Johnson, Freddy King, McKinley Morganfield, Buddy Guy (who complained recently of not being able to drink wine on stage in an all black Chicago blues club for a week of show dates in the late 60�s for fear of being arrested by the cop-looking white guy sitting at the front row table night after night turned out to be EC doing his homework), and demonstrated for all to see how well he is schooled in the art of �playin� the blues�. Overall, compared to some of the past performances EC has rendered while under the influence of some of the planets most deadly compounds, I for one am damned glad he lived through all of the distractions, and detours, and depression, and divorce and death and felt compelled to share the mastery of his skill sets with all of us once again., Yes sir, damned glad and wouldn�t dare begin to feel worthy of questioning or criticizing the performance on Wednesday when taking into account the long hard road fraught with pitfalls that EC traveled to get to here. For my money, it was one of the best concerts I�ve seen in decades and kudu�s to the sound crew also.
I was at the show Wednesday, and Ive seen Clapton twice before 1978, and 1985 and I have to say this was the best performance Ive seen. I have to agree with the reviewer, it did have the feel of a smokey blues club and not an arena. The sound quality was superior, so much so that my ears didn't ring after the show like they have after every concert I've ever attended at Municipal, or Kemper. I for one found to be a wonderful evening of music from the opener-whom I thought did a fantastic job - to the last song in Claptons set. For those of you who have to say something negative it takes a lot more energy to put out bad vibes than it does to enjoy a beautiful display of music put on by the consummate professional.
Thank whoever you like, its a good thing these comments are just the critics opinion and this writer has no real place in society, because his opinion sucks. A large arena such as the sprint center is no place for Clapton, but of couse its all about the money and the vultures. Daltry put on a show, like it or not, he had people up on their feet and his presence was great. For an old fart and old memories his show was super.
I don't think that anyone is saying Eric Clapton is lacking in talent, or that his show was no good. At least I didn't think so.
But this piece read more like a fan diary than a skilled, thoughtful, professional review. Regardless of whether the review is blocked by a pay firewall or not, it's not absurd for a reader of the paper that purports to be a leading source of entertainment news in Kansas City to write a review that fits that billing.
Have any of the people talking smack ever seen this man live? It was my first Clapton concert and I was in the 5th rowm his musicianship and class are unmatched. If you want to hear people belittle others that are remarkable at what they do, you do you should look for self confidence not false reviews geared at finding others flaws... Hands down best night of my life by way of Sir Eric Clapton. Thank you for them memories and please never stop
Have any of the people talking smack ever seen this man live? It was my first Clapton concert and I was in the 5th row his musicianship and class are unmatched if you want to hear people belittle others that are remarkable at what you do you should look for self confidence not false reviews to find others flaws... Hands down best night of my life by way of Sir Eric Clapton. Thank you for them memories and please never stop
People who complain about free reviews are about as worthless as they come.
Saw Clapton in Tulsa Tuesday night and there is no discussion: he is the consummate professional at the peak of his powers. Clapton styled himself as a Journeyman through his career, but for the last decade has certainly demonstrated that he is a Master Craftsman of his trade.
While we honor Jimi and Stevie Ray and all the other axemen that gone before, Eric Clapton is due his props as the most accomplished and skilled guitarman left on this tiny planet. His brilliance is unequaled and only those without understanding how difficult the instrument is to play would unduly criticize a genius at work.
This is such an apropo review. I kept trying to put my finger on what was so wonderfully different about having a ninth row view of Clapton last night. I had never seen him before . My husband and I had viewed one of his crossroads dvd's and my husband loves his unplugged music. I found myself at times just sitting as though we were in someones' home and listening to an incredible jam session and could stay there for hours. What finally came to mind is that I was witnessing a true musician actually entertaining his craft. All of the 'concerts' I ever attended in my life seemed like amateur, get what you expect experiences. He is a master of guitar . He comes to play. So for him not to speak did not seem inappropriate in the least. It was as though he was saying that his music is who he is.
I stopped reading at "when it comes to sheer ability, Clapton is the ultimate technician on the six-string." Completely absurd.
I'm sure Clapton was good and all, but jesus. When did the Pitch start sending such single-minded buttkissers to cover rock shows? This sucked.
yeah, just cause he's talented doesn't mean he puts it to good use or was having a good night or was actually kind of interesting. If he's so untouchable why has he put out so many bad records?
And you thought Daltrey would be in top form and amazing? WTF?
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