[Slowhand] StL reflections

[John Broholm]

Well, Slowhanders, I promised a review from the Scottowel . . .  er, Scottrade Center in St. Louis. My 11th evening with TAFKAG -- The Artist Formerly Known As God --  came on the same ground as my first (Blind Faith, 1969), back when Kiel Auditorium occupied the same plot of land. And, God, I hope it’s not my last. But this would be a hell of a one to go out on. 
   
  Let’s put one thing clear, and no arguments. Robert Cray is the best opening act ever. Period. He *had* the crowd right from the start, and he translated his club-style act and his more-intimate guitar dynamics into an arena almost effortlessly. He played 35 minutes . . . I wish he’d had one more number. The stage prep for EC could’ve given up the five minutes. 
   
  It’s the usual EC concert clockwork: lights down at 7:28. Support act takes stage and hits it at 7:30. Then a 35-minute set, plus set change. Lights down at 8:27, Clapton onstage on the dot at 8:30. End of encore at 10:25. 
   
  The set list is at Where’s Eric? so I won’t redundify it here. But some comments:
   
  The ensemble sound was different from anything I’ve heard from EC going back to 1969 . . . more driving and more insistent. There’s no comparison at all to the slack, groove-challenged ‘70s or the synthed-out ‘80s. The blues tour had a much more didactic, we’re-giving-you-a-lesson feel (don’t get me wrong, I loved it). The last couple of U.S. tours I saw (I missed the last one) had a sort of pommaded, Brylcreemed slicked-up ‘tude (I mean, a string section on Crossroads?) that threatened to overwhelm the muscles of EC’s guitar work -- and his guitar work HAS been muscular from the mid or late ‘80s to the present. Monday night in St. Louis was a muscular BAND. 
   
  Derek Trucks, Robert Cray and EC definitely give each other a push. I won’t say “competition,” because that really doesn’t seem to be it. They feed off each other’s momentum. You play great? That’s great, because it helps me play great. Nobody seemed insecure or pushy. But they all pushed. 
   
  The energy came in many forms, including an almost relentless song-to-song pace, with several numbers barely ending before the band launched the next one. The underlying ensemble riffs on some songs (Old Love, Crossroads, Farther on up the Road) went through some interesting changes. The feel was very aggressive. 
   
  No comments from TAFKAG other than the occasional credit to a soloist (and no mention at all of Jordan and Weeks). No “great to be here St. Louis,” no nothin’. That was refreshing, because Clapton sounds forced doing that. When you come to play guitar, shut up and play yer guitar (credit the line to Zappa). 
   
  Major high points: 
  -- The start, with Pretendin’ an inspired choice reminiscent of the late ‘80s (and, with Runnin’ on Faith, making it a night in memory of Jerry Lynn Williams). The relatively casual fans dug the power; us greybeards dug the off-beat selection and the gloomy guitar work. Plus, what the heck is that song really about?
  -- Old Love, which every reviewer has commented on. Clapton handed off to Cray with very Cray-ish phrasing on a descending run, as if, “Here, babe.” Cray dug deep to respond, taking his time to do it. (One more Cray aside: His contributions as opening act, as foil on Old Love, and as first vocalist on Crossroads, reminiscent of Stevie Winwood’s role in the Blind Faith arrangement, were terrific. DO NOT MISS HIS OPENING ACT.) 
  -- Nobody Knows You, which got the crowd up and clapping with the beat, clearly tapped into the nostalgia for Unplugged (without having to go the maudlin route to Tears in Heaven, which was off the set list, along with Badge, White Room, Let It Rain . . . others I can’t think of offhand). Tasty contributions from the sidemen and a great roadhouse feel. 
  -- Little Queen of Spades, where everybody got in a word, and even Doyle Bramhall sounded good. The two slowest numbers (this and Old Love), in the midst of a generally driving-tempo set list, played very strongly. After the soloing went around the other guitarists, EC responded by singing a verse where the guitar part was actually the main line, and he chipped in the vocals as fill, a great change of pace. 
  -- Farther On Up the Road, a good old-fashioned stomp. And darned well-stomped, too. 
   
  I Am Yours, never one of my favorites, could’ve tanked but came off well because of Trucks and his deft touch on slide. Runnin’ On Faith had a powerful ending, with EC throwing himself into the vocals and leaving it to his sidemen to weave in the guitar lines. Everybody Got To Change was a pleasant surprise, again with a strong arrangement (and extremely helpful Trucks slide), moving seamlessly into Motherless Children in spite of an on-the-fly guitar change for EC from Lee Dickson. Doyle and Eric carried the slide guitar harmony. 
   
  Derek Trucks has the bearing and the range of a guitar god, and his serene facial expressions are almost spookily young-Clapton (“angelic” in Ahmet Ertegun’s story about his first encounter with TAFKAG). Chris Stainton nearly stole the show on Little Queen of Spades, and then on Layla, which had its most Domino-ish feel since the original recording itself, courtesy of Trucks’ Duane-channeling slide. After Midnight sounds more like Delaney and Bonnie than any arrangement EC has done since then, with a note-for-note reading of the first eight bars of the solo. 
   
  Relative flat notes were few. I Shot the Sherrif got a much less intriguing roll-out guitar solo than Clapton was doing in Europe on the last world tour, and it came second in the program . . . very early. The crowd-pleasing Wonderful-Layla-Cocaine mini-set isn’t quite what you’d expect. On Cocaine, the sidemen began to get a bit full of themselves with prog-jazz riffery, but Layla sounds its anthemic best. 
   
  OK, this review went too long. If I’d had longer to work on it, I’d’ve written less. It comes down to: Clapton and Trucks are the best guitar pairing I’ve heard in a long time, maybe ever, and Cray added shape and dimension to it, and I can’t say enough about his contribution. Of my 11 Clapton evenings, this is up there. I can’t say it’s the greatest ever, but I don’t know what the “greatest ever” is. However, his concerts divide into three phases: before the fall, after the comeback, and after Nothing But the Blues. The most impressive live shows I’ve seen were Derek & the Dominos and the blues tour, and this is clearly the best I’ve heard since ’94. For those shows especially, EC remembered that he’s a player first. This one’s right in there with ‘em. 
   
  Yr obt svt
  John Broholm
  Lawrence, KS
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