[Slowhand] Toronto Review

[Lauren Blatt]

Maybe I should have driven to Toronto and not Detroit,
eh?

http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/2006/09/25/1893702.html

Live Review: Eric Clapton in T.O.

ACC, Toronto - Sept. 24, 2006

By BILL HARRIS -- Toronto Sun

 
TORONTO - Apparently the difference between Eric
Clapton with a sore throat and Eric Clapton without a
sore throat is subtle. 

The guitar legend "sucked it up" last night -- both
attitudinally and in terms of cold, hard cough drops
-- and delivered a solid two-hour set at the Air
Canada Centre. 

Clapton was so sick on Saturday that he postponed a
show at the Palace in Auburn Hills, Mich., citing a
sore throat. 

Now, the raspy voiced Clapton would be the first to
admit he is a guitar player first and a singer second
-- make that a distant second. But despite his
condition, he actually sounded quite good as a
vocalist last night, supposedly thanks to an extra 24
hours of rest. 

Detroit's loss was Toronto's gain. If only hockey
worked that way. 

During the acoustic set that made up the middle
portion of the show, Clapton could be seen motioning
to a stagehand for some throat medication. Then,
between songs, after barking "thank you" -- those
words basically were the only ones he said to the
audience all night -- he put his head down and
aggressively sucked on the cough drop, looking for
some form of relief from that horrible feeling we all
know too well. 

Of course, it's safe to say the majority of patrons at
any Eric Clapton show aren't there for the vocal
histrionics, but rather to hear him make his Fender
sing. And sing it did, proving that even at 61 years
old, the man they call "Slow Hand" has not become the
man they call "Arthritic Hand." 

Clapton and J.J. Cale have partnered on a CD called
The Road To Escondido, which is scheduled to be in
stores this November. But last night Clapton played
most of the songs an average fan would want him to
play: Layla, Cocaine, Wonderful Tonight, etc. 

The overall musicianship was stellar, with Clapton
displaying an admirable tendency to let the other
musicians in his band shine. 

One nit-picky complaint, though: As good as the other
two guitarists and the organist and the piano player
were, there perhaps were a few too many extended solos
by people who were not named Eric Clapton or Robert
Cray. 

Cray, a virtuoso guitarist himself, and his band
provided way-above-average opening-act support. Then
Cray joined the Clapton combo on stage for one song
during the main set and the encore, which consisted of
an extended version of Crossroads. 

There was an amusing moment during Crossroads, when
Cray and Clapton gathered around one microphone to
sing a verse. For some reason -- maybe his voice was
starting to give out -- Clapton cupped his hand around
the side of his mouth, supposedly to direct the sound
into the mike more impactfully. Then Cray started to
do the same thing, and the two shared a laugh. 

Hopefully the close proximity doesn't mean Cray will
catch whatever bug Clapton has. Then again, last night
showed that great guitar players can wail away in
sickness and in health. 



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