News

Eric Clapton & Jeff Beck at Madison Square Garden: Night One in NYC

19 Feb 10

Eric Clapton’s and Jeff Beck’s six concert, four city mini-tour hit New York City’s Madison Square Garden on Thursday evening, 18 February following two shows in London the previous weekend. Although the shows were identical to London in format – Jeff and Eric performed "together and apart" – there were some differences.

Unlike the London shows, Jeff did not have any guest vocalists during his set. And, as expected, the duo dropped "Hi Ho Silver Lining" as the encore to the disappointment of some fans as Jeff hasn’t performed it on American shores since 1968. Instead, the guitar maestros ended their first night at the Garden with Crossroads.

One fan who checked in with Where’s Eric! shortly after the show ended from their iPhone said, "The big surprise during Jeff’s set was Nessun Dorma – beautiful. Was surprised that EC started with a bunch of acoustic numbers as I’ve avoided checking the setlists on whereseric.com, but it was great to hear ‘I’ve Got A Rock n Roll Heart unplugged. EC really tore up the fretboard on Sheriff. The standouts during their set togther for me were ‘Moon River’, ‘You Need Love’ and ‘Crossroads’." Another said, "I wish I could go to the three remaining shows on the tour. ‘Great’ doesn’t been to describe it." Another night-owl emailed Where’s Eric! to say, "For me, Jeff’s set was all about ‘Big Block’; Eric’s set was all about ‘Little Queen of Spades." Together, my favs were ‘You Need Love’, ‘Wee Wee Baby’ and of course, ‘Crossroads.’

Eric and Jeff are back at the venue on Friday night, 19 February. The remaining two shows of their mini-tour happen 21 and 22 February in Toronto and Montreal, respectively. Following that, Eric embarks on a solo U.S. tour beginning 25 February in Pittsburgh.

Memorabilia collectors should note that a limited edition art print was commissioned to commemorate these special concerts and is available only at the venues. The merchandise stands on the Madison Square Garden Plaza (outside the box office doors) will open at 5PM on 19 February.

CLICK HERE FOR THE COMPLETE 18 FEBRUARY 2010 SET LIST, BAND LINEUPS PLUS FAN REVIEWS

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