[Slowhand] detroit review

[sam mangano]

if i gave charlotte a 10 back in october, i would rate detroit a 7. a few reasons could be: 1. 117 shows on this tour has taken its toll. after one of EC's song-ending solos, he had to rest his hand on the amplifier to gather his breath. 2. i missed derek trucks! although Doyle stepped up to the plate and sang and played terrific, i think derek added a great dynamic to the band. i thought EC would play more guitar in Derek's abscence, but he did about the same as my previous show. the jam band feel was gone, as well as the interesting explorations of all the band members. 3. this was more a straight-ahead, professional musical presentation. while EC and doyle had a couple of laughs together, there didnt seem to be the family atmosphere within the band like in Charlotte. this show reminded me in presentation more like the reptile tour than the extraordinary one a few months back. i think some of it could have been due to the crowd response. while applause rained at the end of each song, most of the people on the floor looked like zombies during the songs themselves.

now on to the positives: little wing and why does love were awesome! i liked that i got to hear about 4 different songs than the charlotte show. key to the highway had a very interesting upbeat, modern arrangement. motherless children was good, but not as great as when there were 3 guitars. queen of spades was of course a standout. during either further on up the road or crossroads, the band played along with a chugging rhythm that paid tribute to "hideaway" from the bluesbreakers. robert cray was again excellent and won over a lot of people who had never heard of him. the place was about 95% sold out, with only the far rafters unoccupied. in the bathroom, a lot of people were out loud wondering, "why no tears in heaven, or i don't know any of these songs?" one person said "he has so many songs, he probably just plays for himself what pleases him". a truer statement could not have been made, which EC has been quoted as saying anyways. i just chuckled to myself and went on my way.

unfortunately, i missed out on the preshow get togethers, as my host was late from work. i got into the corporate box just in time for robert cray. in between acts, i got on the floor to meet ron ciul and his son in the third row, who were easy to spot with their EC, doyle and cray heads on a stick. when i found out there was an open seat next to them, i called my buddy in the suite and told him i was staying and would see him after the show! if i would have known that, i would have brought my camera. i took pics with ron's smaller camera, so i hope they come out OK. 

i also got to meet susan marchman (finally). at the end of the show, we snuck up to the front row and held our heads up high. EC saw them and whispered over to Doyle to check them out, giving us a smile as they left the stage. i picked up my set list as per usual from the mixing board and headed out, looking forward to the Crossroads festival in july (my ticket arrived in the mail yesterday).....