Concert Details

Fan Reviews:

Review by Daniel Graham
Having followed the reviews for Eric’s tour let me add his Brisbane show to the picture. In a word: Brilliant! The superlatives EC has received cannot do his show justice – you really have to be there, on the night, to feel its full impact. Sure, the set list the same as all his other gigs and for the critics who want the old favourites that radio play has done to death, let me say that a few unknown EC tunes are well worth adding into the mix.

Little Queen of Spades, Further on up the Road, etc, was sheer magic… well, all the songs were, I’m just thinking of the less popular ones. Break into Motherless Children, which a lot of non-die hard fans will really know, and the Brisbane Entertainment Centre is on fire. Yep! People are well aware that they are in the midst of something really good. Cut to Layla and there’s a rush to the barrier between the stage and the front row! The ushers are trying to hold people back… By this stage it didn’t matter any way because by the time the Encore came the entire place was electric in more ways than Doyle Bramhall, Mr. Derrick Trucks and Mr. Clapton probably take for granted, by now.
So: is there a stand out? Depends on your point of view, clearly. Trucks is sheer dynamite with a red Les Paul, Bramhall hits his straps on Cocaine (the song) and EC, goes without saying. The drummer, keyboard players, bassist, backing vocals… even the roadies were good!
But let me add one idea that has been pretty much absent throughout these reviews: this is EC and Co’s … 90th (?) show, thereabouts… and the entire band play with more soul and dedication than anybody could ask for. In short. I paid 800 bucks for presale, platinum tickets for my wife and I. Was it worth it? Every cent.

Review by Mike Kenyon
Eric Clapton and the band were awesome. Set list you have already seen in other reports Sound system was excellent and even after 90 shows around the world there was still a vibrancy and tempo to each and every song. For those who came expecting a set of the newer material then you must remember that Eric has not been here for some 17 years so took a bit of catching up.  Crossroads Layla brilliant encores

Review by Gareth Owen
Well, what to say about the young lads that accompanied EC on stage last night. Fair play to EC for letting them take the centre stage to have a strum and in lesser company we would all be impressed by their guitar playing ability. I thought I’d paid to hear EC knock a few rifts out on his Fender and I was thinking why I’d wasted 300 bucks on listening to other people’s guitar solos when, the maestro is allowed to take the lead and we all bow to his unobtainable ability. We’re taken away on a searing, uniquely identifiable solo that could only be EC. The years rolled away and we are all taken back to our youth when time was on our side and we actually had time to sit and appreciate the black top vinyl that delivered Eric in all his brilliance.

Things improved further once he sat down to the acoustic set. Like the rest of us, he obviously feels comfortable having a nice sit down after standing for half an hour. At this point I think he finally acknowledged the audience for the first time.

The constant flow to the loos proved that prostate problems abound in an audience of this age, and the whole band must again be congratulated for maintaining their enthusiasm after playing to what appeared to be an old folks gathering. There may have been some foot-tapping going on under the chairs but most of the audience appeared to be dead from the waste up. We tried to get our segment of the floor up and active to the inevitable foot stomping Layla, but after an hour and a half, the arthritis must have set in and the draft from the air con had seized up the bones.

Liberation finally appeared in the form of Cocaine and Crossroads, which did the trick and the hall came alive. However, it was all too late as it was getting past everyone’s bedtime and EC had obviously promised to be home by 10:30, so like many things in life, when we finally got ourselves going it was all over too quickly. The demand for a second encore proved that there were people on the surrounding tiered seating, but alas, it fell on deaf ears and we felt abandoned.

Despite the passing years EC retains that greatest ability of all which is to play with soul and devotion that will delight his audience.
If you’ve still got tickets, take them off e-bay, book the babysitter, squeeze into your 1990 tour T-shirt and get yourself to the concert.
Brilliant!

Review by Steve Champness Gold Coast Australia
4th time I’ve seen Eric play live and have every LP, CD, DVD etc.. His playing on Tuesday night was out-of-this-world. I have many favourite guitarists but when he plays like this there is no-one that can even get close to him for my money. "Little Wing" was just gorgeous, so many other wonderful lead breaks, and for me the solo on "Crossroads" ( taken at original Cream pace) tore the roof off the Brisbane Entertainment Centre. He was absolutely sensational and it was sheer heaven to be in the presence of such a god-given talent. Please God ( no pun intended), come back again real soon and I hope so much that a DVD will be made available of this tour. Thanks Eric – you’re a one-of-a-kind !