[Slowhand] MCI Center - June 21, 2004 - Short Review

[Mark Deavult]

Hello All,

I've finally recovered from the MCI Center show in Washington D.C. on Monday
night and thought I'd pass on a few comments. First off, a very public
"thanks" to Eddy "Fire Ant" Pauley for hooking me up with a ticket - you da
man!

We did get to meet up with Mr. And Mrs. DeltaNick briefly before the show at
a nice pub around the corner from the venue.  Who knows, there could have
been 500 Slowhanders in the place, there was no way to tell!  We'll have to
think of something more organized for future concerts.

I was pleasantly surprised by the crowd in general - a much more mixed
variety of ages than there were at the D.C. shows in 1998 and 2001. They
were also far more casually dressed - in 2001 I thought perhaps many folks
had planned on attending the opera and instead opted on EC as a consolation
prize, but the crowd this time around was younger on average and far more
laid back - always a good thing in my book.

Robert Randolph took the stage at 7:30 and put on a great high-energy
performance.  I don't know about anyone else, I think this is the best
choice EC has made for an opening act yet that I have seen.  To be honest I
had never heard of him before this tour, and feel that I was missing
something. I know some people seem to listen to music as background noise,
or as something to soothe them - I listen to music to give me energy, and
this band puts out more positive vibes and energy than most any 10 groups I
can think of put together.

After a short break for set-up, Eric and band came on promptly at 8:30 -
gone are the Journeyman days where the shows always started at 20 after 9!
Casually dressed, the band appeared in great spirits and relaxed, with EC in
a simple casual shirt and jeans - and yes, for those who have to know, a
spiffy pair of Nike tennies.  With Billy Preston absent due to illness, Tim
Carmon (last seen on EC's 1998 tour) ably filled in on keyboards.

After some (gasp!) changing setlists on the European leg of the tour, the
Setlist Generator does unfortunately seem to have become stuck in one
position over the course of the US tour.  The first half of the show was
tasty, nothing particularly exceptional - don't get me wrong, still a nice
performance but perhaps missing just a little something compared to some of
the shows on the European leg earlier this year.  Perhaps Preston's absence
(and the static setlist) have contributed to a bit less edgy show.

Opening with a sweet "Let it Rain" with ample time for all the band to show
off a tad, it was into "Hoochie Coochie Man".  I'm with Mr. Tasker on this
one - the backing singers are excellent, I love 'em, but PLEASE don't put
girl singers in this Muddy Waters masterpiece.  I can't think of a more
"male" song than "Hoochie Coochie", and it's just plain WRONG, sorry.

Then on to "Walk Out in the Rain" ... a fantastic addition to the setlist,
hopefully this will signal more of the same in the future. EC really seems
to have approached this with a fresh attitude - probably not the best
performance of this song on the tour, but nice nonetheless.  Doyle's slide
work really shined on the outro. "I Want a Little Girl" ... nice, but
perhaps a tad too slow for this spot in the set.  EC did get in a nice solo
at the end that somehow was a bit more aggressive than we usually see in
this number - still not quite up to the riveting performance of the same he
gave in Albany, 2001 (one of the few really good 2001 shows), the day he
really *did* get a little girl!

"Sheriff" was nice, again more in the vein of "tasty" than anything else,
this really got a number of the crowd out of their seats, far better than at
the past few shows in DC where one wonders if everyone was super glued in
place.  The Robert Johnson set was nice, if not exceptional - I still
haven't recovered from Gadd's fantastic drumming work on "Judgment Day" in
Dallas, so it's probably unfair to compare this show.  "Kindhearted Woman"
was the first part of the night where EC went into .... "the zone", as he
crouched over so low his chin almost rested on the upper horn of his guitar,
eyes shut, and turned out a solo that was somehow passionate, torrid, yet
quiet and understated, all at the same time.

"Got to Get Better ....".  Wow.  I have to  admit, this is one song I never
thought I'd get to see played live.  The feel has changed somewhat from the
more intense reading given in Europe, slower now and with more of a funky
beat, with an extended break in the middle section.  EC stretched for his
solos but never really hit that place ... this one goes to Doyle, he was all
over in this song.  They really began to crank the PA at this point as well.

Visually, EC shows have never been long on stage presence, but the lighting
is the best I've seen yet at an EC show - kudos to the crew, very well done.
One quibble: for years I've wondered where things like left socks and
bedsheets disappear to when you put them in the clothes dryer, now I know
... EC's nicked all my spare bedsheets and put them up as a backdrop to the
stage.  If any of you guys on the tour bus want to know where the linens
are, go check the stage. Note to EC: in lieu of my sheets back, I'll take
Blackie.

"Have You Ever Loved a Woman" was nice, not quite up to the otherworldly
performance from Dallas, but still a 9.5 by anyone's standards. This again
is where Doyle really shines, and EC really seemed to enjoy listening to the
band as much as anyone in the audience.  Carmon is an excellent player, with
a great feel for what he does, but if the stage crew could just, uhhhh,
"forget" to plug in his electronic noises and make him stick to the Hammond
B3 it would be a vast improvement to me.

After this more relaxed show, the band really came out swinging on "Badge".
This wasn't a show where EC did anything exceptional, his soloing was fairly
understated, but the band as a whole really got into a groove on this one
and it was infectious, this really got the crowd fired up, it seemed this
got most of the folks up and dancing.  "Wonderful Tonight" ... if he's GOT
to play it, is really is a speed bump on the way to Rock and Roll heaven in
the spot after Badge, and slowed things down a bit.

But ... I've been ready for years for EC to simply drop "Layla" and
"Cocaine", but he really breathed fire and life into both, giving some of
the all time best performances of these two I have *ever* heard, and that's
saying something! Someone once asked me what it was about EC's playing ...
and all I could come up with, was the word "aggression", and in songs like
this that's what is called for ... and EC delivered in spades.  Wide open
and full throttle all the way through, and worth the trip right there.

The sound was quite good where we were sitting (diagonally off the edge of
the stage), but the one problem was EC's guitar tone, which was back to the
buzzy and somewhat reedy tone we got in 2001 (Control yourself Nick).  This
was strange as he played the same guitar (Crash 3) at the Crossroads
Festival in Dallas and it sounded exceptional - this time it was a thick,
violin-like tone but with a buzzy, brittle overtone on top.  When EC came
back out for the encore he instead had what I will forever call the
"Reptile" strat, as Lee fussed with C3 offstage.  Not that I'd want to
dissuade anyone thinking of placing a bid at the auction .... my offer of
$14.95 and a set of S&H green stamps still goes.

"Sunshine", probably nearing retirement age, was still nice, and it was
Robert Randolph's interplay that made it fresh - as I mentioned earlier,
this guy's enthusiasm is infectious, and it was grins all around.  "Got My
Mojo Working" was a great choice for a show closer.

Pictures from my cheesy old Digicam at:

http://www.geetarz.org/photos/2004-06-21-dc.htm

And setlist etc:

http://www.geetarz.org/reviews/clapton/2004-06-21-washington.htm

Overall, a very nice show, particularly the latter third.  A bit short ...
certainly it won't hurt to open with "The Core" to really start things off
nice! Certainly glad I went, and looking forward to the Philly show on
Saturday .... see y'all there!

Cheers,
Mark