helliott
May 28th, 2008, 11:18 AM
The helliott report, eh? Watch out Colbert!
Here ya go. I should disclaim off the top, I'm not the most objective source around EC. It was his work with the Bluesbreakers that started that fire burning in me some four decades ago, and since then, through his good times and a fair number of bad ones, I've been dead gone hooked on his playing.
With that disclaimer in mind, here's the story of one cold night in Toronto.
You wouldn't think that the weather could make a really significant difference in a great show, but in this case it nearly did. It was very low single digits, and the wind off the lake at Ontario Place made it simply freezing. But we had very good seats, right behind the luxury boxes, left centre, under the roof and out of most of the wind. Happily I had a good jacket and hounded my nearly 19-year-old male offspring to wear his heavy basketball warmup hoodie, so we were warmer than many. A couple of overpriced Canadians helped, but it was the music that made the chilly atmosphere bearable.
Robert Randolph put on a great opener. About seven songs, some instrumental, a classic 12-bar, the soul-funk-boogie he plays on Crossroads II and several others. His band is top-notch, especially the bass player who did some remarkable rhythm bass work and bluesy vocals. A highlight was a duel between Robert and his keyboard player who it turns out is also a hot fiddle player. The interplay between the steel and the violin was really unusual and enjoyable. Robert’s steel playing is molten hot, of course. Only thing is I'd like to hear a little more variety and dynamics in his soloing, which he does most of the time. Not to be petty, though. It was a great opener. And I appreciated that he started bang on time, as did the next guy up.
Eric and his band dressed warmly, but they were probably hot enough to wear shorts and t’s, if their playing this night was any indication. They were spot on from the opener, with only one or two soft spots in the two-hour show.
No Gibsons tonight, just the stock black Strat, blond neck, and the acoustics. His amp setup looked a little different than I’ve noted in past, but some of it was obstructed – could see the usual several small Fenders, heavily mic’d, plus a couple I couldn’t quite make out, possibly boutiques. Pedal board was obscured by a monitor, but from the sound it was his usual setup.
I was a trifle disappointed when I heard Derek Trucks wouldn’t be with them this time out, especially when I heard the ABB was down for the count this season. But no worries, the band was stellar, especially Doyle Bramhall II on guitar and vocals and Clapton veteran (not to mention Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour veteran) Chris Stainton on keys. Rounding out this lineup were a good drummer whose name I cannot recall (apologies) and Pino Palladino on bass.
Clapton had his glass (I think) slide out for opener Motherless Children and Keys to the Highway. Both were smooth and high-energy, through veiled in that Clapton cool vibe often present. Hoochie Coochie Man stepped out front of that cool vibe and was just really raw and hot. And since there was no harp player, it gave extra time for Eric and Doyle to solo. Doyle’s soloing was better than I expected – I sometimes find his unusual southpaw solos aren’t my favs. But tonight he was bang on, playing a variety of upside down guitars through a Marshall combo forest. Nearly all soloing was in super clean with a bare touch of gain mode, so no place at all to hide. Very impressive.
As for EC, his solos on this and many others were as good as I’ve heard him, thought I’ve only seen a handful of live shows. His tone was epic, his phrasing everything I’ve come to expect, and he actually has a few new tricks I’ve not seen live before, including some no-pick work. It was three songs in, and his solo in HCM made hairs stand up from the first few notes.
Then he launched into a very pretty arpeggio and single note intro me and the boy caught right off, but our seatmates were skeptical when I said, “Little Wing”. It was. The critical note on this song is that EC’s voice is a little weaker than in past, and he needed to backing singers to make the melody really work. But he pulled it off, and his playing more than made up for it. He eschewed his traditional solo, with the Hendrix original passages, and played an amazing few minutes. I had the binocs trained on him, and could see that he was pretty much transported. Some of that’s stagecraft, but I could also see Doyle and Chris had huge grins on their mugs, so I’m pretty sure this was EC at his best.
This was primarily a blues show, which I love though some fans were complaining about the dearth of hits. But songs like Outside Woman Blues and Double Trouble are perfect canvases for that Strat magic, and Clapton didn’t disappoint. We also heard Don't Knock My Love and Running on Faith garnered a big round of applause when the crowd recognized the opening progression.
The acoustic set also contained a wonderful version of Driftin and Driftin and a showstopper full band shot at Rockin Chair that showcased EC’s mastery of that vocal style. Interestingly, there was a fair bit of fret rattle and noise on his acoustic solos, but it didn’t really hurt overall. Funny that his techs didn’t catch that, though.
Everyone donned electrics again for Tell the Truth, and there was a minute of soloing by Doyle at the end that was a bit wandering, but overall it was a good return to the electric blues. Another highlight for me (yeah, yet another one) was Little Queen of Spades when solos from EC, Doyle and Chris just rocked the place. Before You Accuse Me was a clean, very traditional arrangement that worked well with the band bang on.
There were obligatory fan favs at the end, Wonderful Tonight (sorry, I’m just sick of this song). Layla was very strong, very nice interplay between EC and Doyle’s slide at the end (Derek was missed a little, here). He segued into Cocaine which got the crowd up. Personally, I favour JJ’s original, but this was just fine.
Only a single song encore, but it was a six or so minute long Got My Mojo working, featuring EC and Robert Randolph exchanging screaming solos and huge smiles of mutual appreciation.
And then, sadly, it was over. My son wisely noted that the very expensive tickets were worth it as we don’t know how many more times we’ll get a chance to see this particular master. Watching him play, you just know you’re seeing a consummate journeyman practice his art and craft. We saluted EC and his mates, and set about the arduous trip home.
I wish him good health and more performances like this, and hope any of you who love his music as I do have a chance to see EC on the back end of his remarkable journey.
PS: apologies in advance for any spelling, song title or other omissions or errors. This is as clear as I can recall the morning after.
Howard
Here ya go. I should disclaim off the top, I'm not the most objective source around EC. It was his work with the Bluesbreakers that started that fire burning in me some four decades ago, and since then, through his good times and a fair number of bad ones, I've been dead gone hooked on his playing.
With that disclaimer in mind, here's the story of one cold night in Toronto.
You wouldn't think that the weather could make a really significant difference in a great show, but in this case it nearly did. It was very low single digits, and the wind off the lake at Ontario Place made it simply freezing. But we had very good seats, right behind the luxury boxes, left centre, under the roof and out of most of the wind. Happily I had a good jacket and hounded my nearly 19-year-old male offspring to wear his heavy basketball warmup hoodie, so we were warmer than many. A couple of overpriced Canadians helped, but it was the music that made the chilly atmosphere bearable.
Robert Randolph put on a great opener. About seven songs, some instrumental, a classic 12-bar, the soul-funk-boogie he plays on Crossroads II and several others. His band is top-notch, especially the bass player who did some remarkable rhythm bass work and bluesy vocals. A highlight was a duel between Robert and his keyboard player who it turns out is also a hot fiddle player. The interplay between the steel and the violin was really unusual and enjoyable. Robert’s steel playing is molten hot, of course. Only thing is I'd like to hear a little more variety and dynamics in his soloing, which he does most of the time. Not to be petty, though. It was a great opener. And I appreciated that he started bang on time, as did the next guy up.
Eric and his band dressed warmly, but they were probably hot enough to wear shorts and t’s, if their playing this night was any indication. They were spot on from the opener, with only one or two soft spots in the two-hour show.
No Gibsons tonight, just the stock black Strat, blond neck, and the acoustics. His amp setup looked a little different than I’ve noted in past, but some of it was obstructed – could see the usual several small Fenders, heavily mic’d, plus a couple I couldn’t quite make out, possibly boutiques. Pedal board was obscured by a monitor, but from the sound it was his usual setup.
I was a trifle disappointed when I heard Derek Trucks wouldn’t be with them this time out, especially when I heard the ABB was down for the count this season. But no worries, the band was stellar, especially Doyle Bramhall II on guitar and vocals and Clapton veteran (not to mention Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour veteran) Chris Stainton on keys. Rounding out this lineup were a good drummer whose name I cannot recall (apologies) and Pino Palladino on bass.
Clapton had his glass (I think) slide out for opener Motherless Children and Keys to the Highway. Both were smooth and high-energy, through veiled in that Clapton cool vibe often present. Hoochie Coochie Man stepped out front of that cool vibe and was just really raw and hot. And since there was no harp player, it gave extra time for Eric and Doyle to solo. Doyle’s soloing was better than I expected – I sometimes find his unusual southpaw solos aren’t my favs. But tonight he was bang on, playing a variety of upside down guitars through a Marshall combo forest. Nearly all soloing was in super clean with a bare touch of gain mode, so no place at all to hide. Very impressive.
As for EC, his solos on this and many others were as good as I’ve heard him, thought I’ve only seen a handful of live shows. His tone was epic, his phrasing everything I’ve come to expect, and he actually has a few new tricks I’ve not seen live before, including some no-pick work. It was three songs in, and his solo in HCM made hairs stand up from the first few notes.
Then he launched into a very pretty arpeggio and single note intro me and the boy caught right off, but our seatmates were skeptical when I said, “Little Wing”. It was. The critical note on this song is that EC’s voice is a little weaker than in past, and he needed to backing singers to make the melody really work. But he pulled it off, and his playing more than made up for it. He eschewed his traditional solo, with the Hendrix original passages, and played an amazing few minutes. I had the binocs trained on him, and could see that he was pretty much transported. Some of that’s stagecraft, but I could also see Doyle and Chris had huge grins on their mugs, so I’m pretty sure this was EC at his best.
This was primarily a blues show, which I love though some fans were complaining about the dearth of hits. But songs like Outside Woman Blues and Double Trouble are perfect canvases for that Strat magic, and Clapton didn’t disappoint. We also heard Don't Knock My Love and Running on Faith garnered a big round of applause when the crowd recognized the opening progression.
The acoustic set also contained a wonderful version of Driftin and Driftin and a showstopper full band shot at Rockin Chair that showcased EC’s mastery of that vocal style. Interestingly, there was a fair bit of fret rattle and noise on his acoustic solos, but it didn’t really hurt overall. Funny that his techs didn’t catch that, though.
Everyone donned electrics again for Tell the Truth, and there was a minute of soloing by Doyle at the end that was a bit wandering, but overall it was a good return to the electric blues. Another highlight for me (yeah, yet another one) was Little Queen of Spades when solos from EC, Doyle and Chris just rocked the place. Before You Accuse Me was a clean, very traditional arrangement that worked well with the band bang on.
There were obligatory fan favs at the end, Wonderful Tonight (sorry, I’m just sick of this song). Layla was very strong, very nice interplay between EC and Doyle’s slide at the end (Derek was missed a little, here). He segued into Cocaine which got the crowd up. Personally, I favour JJ’s original, but this was just fine.
Only a single song encore, but it was a six or so minute long Got My Mojo working, featuring EC and Robert Randolph exchanging screaming solos and huge smiles of mutual appreciation.
And then, sadly, it was over. My son wisely noted that the very expensive tickets were worth it as we don’t know how many more times we’ll get a chance to see this particular master. Watching him play, you just know you’re seeing a consummate journeyman practice his art and craft. We saluted EC and his mates, and set about the arduous trip home.
I wish him good health and more performances like this, and hope any of you who love his music as I do have a chance to see EC on the back end of his remarkable journey.
PS: apologies in advance for any spelling, song title or other omissions or errors. This is as clear as I can recall the morning after.
Howard