Since 10 June, Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood have been doubling up on the star-power as their tour crossed the United States, revisiting some of the music that brought them together in Blind Faith 40 years ago. The tour has garnered rave reviews from fans and critics, and the final concert at the Hollywood Bowl on 30 June was no different.
The concert was pure music – no opening act, no interval, no banter. And, the 20 song strong set list was not a rote progression of their radio-friendly greatest hits. Instead, it was carefully constructed by Clapton and Winwood to highlight their common history,their love of the blues with a smattering of their signature songs tossed in for good measure. Eric was in particularly fine form on the blues-based numbers, filling them with electrifying runs and wringing emotion from his stratocaster. It was also a long show, clocking in at about 2 hours 20 minutes.
One concert-goer wrote in a brief email, "Tremendous show, Eric was on peak form, display machine-gun like powers on all the blues numbers and virtually everything in his path. Winwood equally a force on keys, vocal and guitar." Another said, "My personal favs were Had To Cry Today, Pearly Queen and Voodoo Chile – but they’re some of my fav songs. It’s too hard to pick the best – they were all awesome!"
Clapton and Winwood were supported by a band of 5 remarkable musicians on stage: Michelle John (backing vocals), Sharon White (backing vocals), Chris Stainton (keyboards), Willie Weeks (bass) and Abe Laboriel Jr. (drums).
There were no changes to the set list on the final night and it was identical to the previous evening’s in Oakland, California.
Clapton / Winwood Set List – 30 June 2009
Final night of 14-date U.S. Tour
Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles CA
01. Had To Cry Today
02. Low Down
03. After Midnight
04. Presence of The Lord
05. Sleeping in the Ground
06. Glad
07. Well Alright
08. Tough Luck Blues
09. Pearly Queen
10. There’s A River
11. Forever Man
12. Low Spark of High Heeled Boys – SW solo
13. Driftin’ – acoustic
14. How Long Blues
15. Layla – acoustic version
16. Can’t Find My Way Home
17. Split Decision
18. Voodoo Chile
19. Cocaine (encore)
20. Dear Mr. Fantasy (encore)
Band Lineup:
Eric Clapton – guitar, vocals
Steve Winwood – vocals, Hammond B3, piano, guitar
Chris Stainton – keyboards
Willie Weeks – bass
Abe Laboriel, Jr. – drums
Michelle John – backing vocals
Sharon White – backing vocals
Check out what fans have to say about the tour … read their reviews for all previous gigs in the Tour Section of whereseric.com. New reviews always being added!
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