News

Mannheim Concert News!

8 Jun 19

Eric Clapton dedicates “Tears In Heaven” to Dr. John
“Layla” played twice … unplugged and plugged

June 8 at the SAP Arena in Mannheim, Germany was the penultimate show of Eric Clapton’s short jaunt through Austria and Germany. Fans leaving the arena were raving about the amazing night which included acoustic and electric “Layla” plus a tribute to the late great Malcolm John Rebennack, best known by his stage name, Dr. John.

Eric kicked off the show with a high-energy “Pretending”. With each succeeding song, the show went from strength to strength. The stand out songs according to fans were “I Shot The Sheriff,” “Tearing Us Apart,” “Holy Mother,” “Crossroads” (which also featured a great solo from Doyle Bramhall II), and naturally, “Electric Layla.”

This was the first time since the 2001 Japan Tour that a concert included a “Double Layla” with the song being performed “unplugged” and “plugged.”

Eric dedicated “Tears In Heaven” to Dr. John. The New Orleans native died Thursday of a heart attack at age 77. On learning of the news, Eric posted on Facebook, “this is unbelievably bad news, he was such a great musician and singer, and most of all a true friend. I am devastated, I thought he would live forever.”

Eric and Dr. John first collaborated back in the summer of 1970 on the good doctor’s album, “Sun Moon and Herbs”. It was released in 1971. Joint live appearances included the Stevie Ray Vaughan Tribute Concert (May 1995), an appearance on Jools Holland’s Hootenanny (December 1995), and an episode of VH-1 Duets (May 1996) which featured a jaw dropping take on “St. James Infirmary”. Both men had small roles in the film “Blues Brothers 2000.” Their most recent collaboraton was “Stripped;” a track from Dr. John’s 2009 album, “The City That Care Forgot.”

Watch EC and Dr. John VH-1 Duets (St. James Infirmary start at 5:40):

Eric wraps his short tour on June 10 in Dresden at the Messe Dresden headling the closing performance of the 42nd annual Dresden Music Festival.

Eric Clapton: June 8, 2019 Set List
01. Pretending
02. Key To The Highway
03. Hoochie Coochie Man
04. I Shot The Sheriff
05. Driftin‘
06. Nobody Knows You When You‘re Down And Out
07. Tears In Heaven
08. Layla (acoustic)
09. Running On Faith
10. Tearing Us Apart
11. Holy Mother
12. Crossroads
13. Little Queen Of Spades
14. Layla (electric)
15. Cocaine (encore)

Band Lineup:
Eric Clapton – guitar / vocals
Nathan East – bass / vocals
Sonny Emory – drums
Doyle Bramhall – guitar / vocals
Chris Stainton – keyboards
Paul Carrack – organ / keyboards / vocals
Katie Kissoon – vocals
Sharon White – vocals