[Slowhand] FW: Rainbow Concert

[Kevin Wilson]

The rehearsals may well have been filmed at the Guildford Civic Hall on 11
Jan 1973. See the article below. 
Songs rehearsed that day were: Layla, Tell the Truth, Badge, Blues Power,
Roll It Over, Why Does Love Got to Be So Sad, Bell Bottom Blues, It’s Too
Late, Pearly Queen and Nobody Known You When You’re Down and Out.

Kevin

PS. Does anyone have the article that appeared in Melody Maker on 6th Jan
1973, referred to below. A copy would be highly appreciated.

---

John Pidgeon | Let It Rock | February 1973
The news that Pete Townshend had “formed an instant supergroup to back Eric
Clapton when the guitarist makes his come-back at London’s Rainbow Theatre
on January 13” (Melody Maker, January 6) was not all good. 
It was going to be fascinating to hear Clapton’s lead laid over Townshend’s
rhythm guitar, but the notion of an ‘instant’ supergroup provoked memories
of earlier supershit sessions which turned out to be untogether, ad nauseam
jams. The reported line-up-Steve Winwood (keyboards), Ron Wood (bass), Jim
Keltner (drums) – heightened the ambivalence, for although they are all fine
musicians only Winwood had been in a band with Clapton (Blind Faith),
discounting Keltner’s Bangladesh gig, and none had played with Townshend.
However, before that issue of Melody Maker reached the news-stands, Clapton
was rehearsing with the band at Ron Wood’s house. The line-up was different
too: Rick Grech on bass, Wood on second guitar, Jim Karstein on drums, and
Jim Capaldi assisting with vocals and percussion. All-night sessions at
Wood’s house continued into the week of the gig, then on Wednesday the first
on-stage rehearsal took place at Guildford Civic Hall. (The Rainbow wasn’t
available until Friday evening). The rehearsal was due to start at five
o’clock, but only Grech was remotely punctual. It was nearly seven when
first ‘the band’ arrived, and then Clapton.
After warming up, tuning up, and jamming for a while, the band got into the
first real number, “Let It Rain”, a Clapton/Bramlett song from Eric
Clapton’s solo album, around eight o’clock. Until that moment nothing had
happened on-stage that would have impressed an intruder with a bad memory
for faces. But when they started trying... those boys hadn’t been sitting
around at Woody’s all night waiting for breakfast time, they’d been working
– and it showed. What a band! Townshend was clearly taking his role as
rhythm guitarist seriously, not just strumming along with Grech and
Karstein, but punctuating the music the way only he does; Karstein was
drumming straight and hard, leaving no holes, Grech’s bass unobtrusively
steady, at times unpredictably emphatic; Ron Wood avoided the temptation to
imitate Duane Allman’s part in the Layla album, instead handling the solos
Clapton frequently gave him his own distinctive style; Winwood showed the
discipline and improvisation of the perfect back-up keyboards man; Clapton,
though no longer deity, proved he’s no less a musician, demonstrating his
inimitable style and holding nothing back just because this was only a
rehearsal. Nor was the band only instrumentally together. The vocal
harmonies, divided amongst all but Karstein, were right as well.
After some more time had been wasted, “Let It Rain” was followed by
“‘Layla”, but then, since the hall was supposed to be vacated at eleven,
things began to move faster. It had already been decided to run “Badge”
straight into “Blues Power”, so the linking sequence – heavy chords from the
bands interspersed with Clapton’s bluesy runs – was checked out. Next came
Blind Faith’s “Presence of the Lord”, allowing Winwood to sing on his own
for the first time. Everyone was pleased with the way it sounded, especially
the Hendrix-y wah-wah passage which breaks from its austere mood. “Roll It
Over”, sung as a duet between Clapton and Winwood, preceded a halt for food.
“Why Does Love Got to Be So Sad” slowed things down again, for there were
problems, especially with the ending. Until it went wrong it sounded
terrific with beautiful harmonies and a surging bass line behind the chorus.
(During one pause between versions Wood and Townshend jammed a deliberately
excruciating version of the “Harry Lime Theme”, which was followed by
Townshend impersonating Eric Idle impersonating a boring woman.) Having
returned to order and sorted out the ending of “Why Does Love Got to Be So
Sad”, the band ran through “Bell Bottom Blues” – which had Clapton and
Townshend straining for the high notes – and “It’s Too Late”, then finished
off with Winwood and Capaldi’s Traffic song, “Pearly Queen”. The first
attempt was fumbled and Capaldi took over Karstein’s drums in order to lead
the guitars through the changes. With that the rehearsal was over.
Still at Guildford, the Thursday night rehearsal began even later than
Wednesday’s. Someone had brought along a portable television and the band
had to be dragged away from a crummy film before the music could start.
“Layla” and “Tell the Truth” came first – no trouble – but “Badge” had to be
done twice before they got as far as “Blues Power”, which itself broke down
almost at once. Clapton suggested a new cadence for Winwood’s piano and the
link between the numbers was tried again; then both numbers were repeated.
Winwood suddenly got into “Blues Power” and played some magnificent rock ‘n’
roll piano, banging clusters of chords up and down the keyboard. The end,
signalled by a leap from Clapton, was dramatically sudden. The silence which
followed was like a cold plunge. The reception would be different on
Saturday night.
The band stopped playing to watch themselves on video, while a drum kit was
set up for Jim Capaldi, who’d previously been enjoying himself with all
manner of percussion as he sang in the front line. The subsequent restart
was almost pointless since work soon had to stop again for Monty Python.
Afterwards Townshend was anxious to get going again, calling impatiently for
“Roll It Bloody Over”. “Why Does Love Got to Be So Sad”, “Bell Bottom
Blues”, and “It’s Too Late” went without a hitch. An amazing version of
“Pearly Queen” sounded great too, but it didn’t satisfy Clapton who wanted
to listen to the record again to get it right. The evening ended with
Winwood doing a soulful job on the vocals of “Nobody Knows You When You’re
Down and Out”.
Friday’s rehearsal at the Rainbow was a drag. Free were rehearsing there all
day, so nothing could be set up until the evening, the heating was turned
off at eight, and the drink which had been provided at Guildford failed to
arrive. When the musicians arrived they were reluctant to get down to
working, jamming instead on each other’s instruments, so Clapton would drum
behind Capaldi’s piano. It must been ten thirty when they began the first
number, Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out”, and then it turned out
Winwood had a duff mike. It wasn’t up to much when they did do it, but the
repeat was fine, containing a fluent Clapton/Wood guitar duet. “Little Wing”
was better, but then came another break so Karstein’s own kit, which had
been fetched from a recording studio, could be set up, and a song list
worked out for the gig. No one was keen to rehearse, but as Clapton put it
“I think it’s been OK for days – we could have cancelled this and been all
right.” 
They managed two more songs, “Pearly Queen” and “Roll It Over”, then left.
There were two shows at the Rainbow on Saturday, the first begun by the
support group, the Average White Band, at five-thirty. Clapton’s band were
all at the theatre by then, but not Clapton. His absence produced signs of
nervousness back-stage that he might blow it - the moment he woke up that
morning he thought he’d lost his voice - and his arrival was greeted with
relief. The audience had grown impatient, too. Maybe there was doubt that
the whole band would show, though most people didn’t know who to expect
anyway. The musicians had by now increased to eight, since Rebop, who’d
jammed at Friday’s rehearsal with Capaldi and Karstein, had joined the band
on conga drums. The applause at their appearance was evidently part
expression of joyful surprise at the line-up.
They began with “Layla” which, like every song except “Roll It Over” and a
slow-built “After Midnight”, was noisily recognised. “Badge” and “Blues
Power” followed as rehearsed, allowing Clapton to show the audience he’d
forgotten nothing during his long lay-off. Townshend was MC for the night
and kept the audience amused between numbers with his impromptu wit.
Although the show was running late the set wasn’t shortened at all, and
after “Let It Rain”, “Crossroads” followed as an encore. There were a few
mistakes, initially weak vocals and occasional hesitancy coming in and out
of the solos, but the band was much tighter than the audience could ever
have expected it to be and no-one asked for his money back on the way out.
Outside as well as those with tickets for the second house, hundreds were
queuing in vain without. Backstage the stars were gathering – George
Harrison, Ringo Starr, Elton John, Klaus Voormann, Donovan, Chris Wood, J.
Geils, McLaglen, Jones and Lane of the Faces. Security was so tight that
even Eric’s mum had trouble getting in.
The second set went even better than the first. The band was more relaxed,
the solos more inventive. Clapton’s solos on “Roll It Over” and “Presence of
the Lord” and his duet with Wood on “Little Wing” were as near perfection as
anything he’s ever played. The set was extended by the inclusion of “Key to
the Highway”, and “Crossroads” was followed by a repeat of “Layla”. “Let It
Rain” gave Rebop a long conga solo while all but Winwood joined in banging
or shaking something. The audience was not surprisingly unwilling to let
Clapton leave the stage, but the band had performed everything they’d
rehearsed and a loose jam to finish would have been an anti-climax.
Clapton’s come-back was a success in all ways and the consequences could be
good. It’s unlikely to be another eighteen months before he wants to gig
again and other recent recluses, notably George Harrison, might be persuaded
to do the same themselves. In Clapton’s case the encouragement of Pete
Townshend was crucial, as he admitted on Saturday night when he asked
everyone to “thank the man who got me to come up here, because I wouldn’t
have done it without him.” Thanks, Pete. 


From: joeyjay at att.net [mailto:joeyjay at att.net] 
Sent: 17 October 2007 17:30
To: Slowhand Submissions
Subject: [Slowhand] Crossroads II, 8:00pm set

Slowhanders,
 


Joey Jay
 
Curious, was the Rainbow Concert filmed?