[Slowhand] Orlando Review

[David Fynan]

Just got back from the Orlando concert.  Overall, really good show.   
I liked the 2004 concert I went to, but I thought this one was much  
better.  Two exceptions being that I Shot the Sheriff and Got to Get  
Better in a Little While were shorter and not nearly as powerful this  
time around.

The big news for me was that the man varied the set list, albeit  
slightly.  Back Home and I am Yours were gone and replaced by a  
stunning acoustic Key to The Highway, with Doyle sharing vocals and  
playing the harmonica(!), and San Francisco Bay Blues.  Doyle played  
harmonica on this one as well.  Eric looked like he was having a ball  
on KTTH.  He lied on Unplugged when he said "This is the first and  
last time you'll ever see this", because yes, he played the kazoo on  
San Francisco Bay Blues.  Personally, I would have rather heard I am  
Yours (which I was really looking forward to hearing) than San  
Francisco Bay Blues, but whatever.  The tradeoff for the slight  
variation in the set list I guess was that no Gibson made an  
appearance which has happened at other shows from what I read.  Oh  
well.  When God opens a window he closes a door, or something like  
that.  I really enjoyed the entire acoustic set.  KTTH and Nobody  
Knows You were just great.

It was cool to hear Motherless Children and After Midnight, which  
sound MUCH better live than they do on the albums.  Further on up the  
Road was great to hear, although Doyle and Derek did more playing  
than Eric on this one, which I found odd for a blues number.  Layla  
was more or less the same, though Eric soloed much better than other  
versions I've heard.  The coda with Derek, however, made this a joy  
to hear.  I've never been much of a fan of Cocaine, but this was a  
really fantastic version.

Eric was great on Little Queen of Spades as usual.  Derek's tone and  
style of his solo in this number was so eerie, it was incredible.   
Doyle had awesome tone from the Les Paul (sounded a little like  
Bloomfield at times) and put in a great solo.  I've never been  
particularly impressed by Doyle, but he was a lot more impressive  
this time around.

Crossroads was a heck of a lot better than the train wreck of a  
performance during the Cream reunion.

There were definitely times when Eric cut a solo too short (Sheriff,  
GTGBIALW, etc).  But this is nothing new.  Still, he played great,  
and his tone was much better and clearer than 2004, which I found to  
be kind of muddy. By the way, he used the middle pickup on his strat  
for just about every song.  That's not something I've seen him do all  
that much over the years.

All in all, a good time.