Eric Clapton and his current tour band. No this is not my picture so whoever took it please accept my credit as it is a good one. These guys are all so talented a description really escapes me. Alright so I have seen a bunch of really good shows this year. What can I say? This show was the BEST of 2006 for me. Our seats were not all that great, I was on the floor about halfway back. I had to leave my camera in the Land Cruiser due to metal detectors at the door of the RBC in Raleigh. Bummer one...Bummer two...I left my Leica binoculars in the glove box! Thankfully there was a nice couple sitting next to me who shared at times. Damn nice of them. I never got the names of the folks but I hear the young lady next to me took some nice pictures on the Leon Russell home page from the Flying Anvil in Greensboro. I need to go check those out.
The show blew me away. OK I have seen all these players up close in one venue or another including EC himself. Something was special about this show and I was really unprepared for it. We started outside with some friends doing a tailgate in the cool Autumn weather. With the Ipod blaring and some awesome food from the Whole Foods store down the street we were livin large. Good Friends, Greek Olives with Chile Oil, Parmesian Artichoke Dip, a BLT sandwich, a Meat Pizza,...there was other stuff but you get the picture. Nothing like a couple of New Castle Ales and Sam Adams Octoberfest to wash all that down. Top it off with a Cao cigar and life is really good.
Inside the RBC, home of the 2006 Stanley Cup Champion Carolina Hurricanes we arrived just as Robert Cray fired up his set. 35 minutes later he was through. Bummer man...glad I caught the whole show Friday night. As EC came out the stage lit up and all those guitars started singing. Oh my god. What a sound. It just kept getting better. My man Derek Trucks was soooo awesome. You should have heard those guys, everyone on stage was top shelf. Absolutely top shelf. When Derek and EC broke into the slide rendition of "Motherless Children" I knew I had never heard anything like that. Un-damn-believable. The harmony was incredible. Each song was just like that. Doyle Bramhall II would play a solo, look at Derek, Derek would play and transition right to Eric, a seamless transition - all you could hear is just killer guitar solos. Then the keyboards would kick in for their turn, It was like the show never even stopped. One song after another. No rest. Hand me a fresh strat and keep the train rolling baby. By the end of the show the crowd roared for Layla and the band walked off the stage. They all reappeared for an encore with Robert Cray and EC sharing the mike for lead vocals on "Crossroads." Damn I am getting chill bumps writing this. What a show. You just have to go see it to understand. That was what I call a show. No one does it like EC. No one. Here's to you Eric. Long may you tour.
