[Slowhand] Sydney 30 Jan 07

[Carey Bird]

I attended the Sydney show at the Ent Cent on Tues night. Despite being a
long time EC fan (well, since mid-70's anyway), this was my first real
opportunity to catch him live EVER! (I recall he played in NZ in about '84
but the gig was at the other end of the country and just before my final
exam...) so boy, was I looking forward to it.

Enjoyed the support act - Mia Dyson - a local girl who is worth checking out
(sort of in the Bonnie Raitt/Susan Tedeschi vein). She's definitely got
talent, and plays a mean lap steel.

Then EC and band hit the stage and the aural assault began...

I dont think I could have chosen a better set-list (well, except to make it
longer). No "Sheriff", no "Tears in Heaven", no "Pretending". From the
opening of "Tell The Truth", it was just great blues/rock music that harked
back to my favourite album.  Highlights for me:

"Why Does Love..."  was special with some great interplay between the
guitarists on the slow descent from the climax just like on LAOALS
"Little Wing" - never thought I would get to hear it live.
"Driftin'" - sublime, with the crowd right behind EC and responding to
every lick.
"Motherless Children" Wow!
"Little Queen of Spades" - great soloing from Doyle, Trucks and Stainton.
"Crossroads" - Fast version (even if the present incarnation is a long way
removed from THAT solo).

As so many others have indicated, Derek Trucks is something special and it
is a measure of EC's stature that you could see him enjoying Derek's solos -
standing back and smiling, or shaking his head.  Doyle did nothing wrong
either (and a lot right) - it cant be easy sharing the stage with a legend
and a prodigy.

Being a guitarhead, the extended soloing on a smaller number of songs was
exactly what the doctor ordered (although my wife - not a guitarhead -
thought otherwise).

Many thanks for coming to Sydney Eric. For some of us it was something
special (and, if you are listening, we DEMAND a DVD of this tour - how about
a "Layla Live" DVD? You know, all of LAOALS performed live, with a few
extras like "Driftin'", "Spades", "Got to Get Better" and "Motherless
Children"
thrown in as bonus tracks... After all, it now appears that the only LAOALS
tracks you haven't performed yet are "I Looked Away" and "Its Too Late" -
easily remedied. And if it is of any assistance, I would be glad to help out
with production and engineering duties - in exchange for a large fee and an
autographed strat of course :-)

Dont leave it so long next time.

Carey