Concert Details

Fan Reviews:

Review by Jii Aoi

The final night, at last. There was an undeniable air of sentiment among the audience, in spite of Eric’s statement that he would continue to play hereafter, albeit on one-off date or a sporadic tour.

This was his fifteenth Japanese tour and he always visits to play over here between late September and early December. Never did he do so in other periods, except for a couple of guest appearances for Santana and Dr. John, respectively, in Spring 2000, during his private visit. Fans started to call his every other yearly Japanese stay the "Clapton’s Autumn". Now it was coming near the end.

"We are not gonna do anymore in Japan for a little while," announced Eric to the audience after "Reptile". We don’t know whether "a little while" means two or twenty years, but I am sure someday Eric will return to Japan where loving hordes are eagerly waiting for another round of the season to come.

The unplugged "Layla" was played again, an unwelcome sign of what was (not) to come. But, as the accoustic set finished, stools taken away by the roadies, that unmistakable sound effect I hadn’t heard since the second Osaka show filled the venue–an unexpected return of "My Father’s Eyes" in all its glory! It resulted in a performance of twenty songs, the longest show of two hours and ten minutes, along with the first night in Osaka, of all the dates.

As general consensus went, Osaka 22/11, Tokyo 4/12 and 11/12 were the best shows of all, and the blues number played on all of the above dates was invariably "Five Long Years", therefore it was said among the fans that when Eric chose to play "FLY", he was destined to be in top shape, hence the performance. Well, not necessarily so, for, in Yokohama, this eagerly anticipated blues tune ended without reaching the climax, unlike Osaka (and Tokyo, presumably).

In Eric’s typical manner, the final night came to a close without particular surprises. Nonetheless it was another better show, full of musicianship as usual. Creativitywise, I prefer the previous night, though.

As a summary, out of the sixteen dates, the majority’s opinion narrows down to Osaka 22/11 as the prime winner, although Tokyo 4/12 has a few but enthusiastic supporters. The latter was preserved for Hi-Vision digital TV broadcast later on, which has easily made this the best ever Eric performance captured on visual media. Despite a few mistakes, Tokyo 11/12 is said to have achieved some unparalleled moments, especially on "FLY" and "Cocain". Honourable mention must be given to Sendai 8/12, which was, according to the sound man I talked to after the final show, his favourite. Even after witnessing the definitive Osaka 22/11, I still think the opening night of Osaka 19/11, another of "veterans’ victim", was great, one of better shows.

The gentleman from Surrey left Japan, returning to his home.