[Slowhand] CGF night 2

[Jerry Gips]

I'm not quite sure how or where to begin, except by saying that it was truly one of the greatest nights of music I've heard in my 40+ years of attending concerts.
I don't feel the need to review each and every performance as they were all good/great/outstanding in their own way and there are so many moments which keep coming back to me in the days after the show.
Staging was brilliant. Loved the way crew raised video screen between main performances and rotated stage around with next bands setup all ready to go while not disrupting side stage performances.
And speaking of the big screen, loved the way majority of time was spent on players fingers instead of their faces.
All of the acoustic side stage stuff was great and I thought Greg Allman, Derek Trucks and Warren Haynes hit an emotional high point with their cover of "Needle and the Damage Done."
Sony Landreth is an amazing player, and Derek Trucks's solo brought the set to another level.
I've been following them since 1984, so I know how good Los Lobos is, but a friend of mine was particularly blown away, saying he had no idea of their guitar prowess or blues roots.
Loved hearing Susan Tedeschi, Robert Cray and then EC with Los Lobos.
GARY CLARK JR.!!!!! I've been a fan for a couple of years and believe the future is in good hands.
The country boys Albert Lee, Vince Gill and Keith Urban just tore the house down. I was well aware of Lee and Gill's guitar prowess but was blown away by Urban's playing. 
He's a LOT more than just some good looking guy married to Nicole Kidman.
Normally love Jeff Beck but I thought his performance slowed down the momentum of the show. Too much violin, not enough Beck, and not even enough Tal Wilkenfeld.
Singer Beth Hart was a great addition to Beck but I wish he had replaced the opening number with something more familiar.
Keith Richards was a great surprise though not clear how much if any rehearsal he and EC did prior to the appearance.
Great to see Robbie Robertson even if his second song accentuated vocals over guitar.
EC was great. Always a treat to hear "Got to Get Better" , "Little Queen of Spades", and "Sunshine," which I thought was one of EC's top solo career performances of that
song.
Ending jam. I couldn't hear several of he solos but it didn't matter - just seeing that array of guitar talent on the same stage was enough for me !

All in all it was a great night of music.

Thank you Mr. Clapton



Jerry Gips
gipsj at optonline.net