Concert Details

Fan Reviews:

Review by Kristin / Boston MA
I consider myself a major Eric Clapton fan of many years and this was my sixth time seeing him and his band perform. I feel so fortunate to be able to see Eric play and it is already the highlight of my summer.

As I have seen him perform a number of times, I was not disappointed with this blues driven show, as I have seen the "hits" and also several album tours, "Pilgrim," "Reptile" etc. It was a rocking night, never sat down once (well, okay, during "Wonderful Tonight" which I wish he would retire along with "Cocaine"). I bought my tickets from EC Access and they were fantastic – dead center 20 rows back!

The band really seemed to gel and what a pleasure, a true pleasure to see Chris Stainton perform on keyboards – just phenomenal. Eric always being the gentleman did give alot of "airtime" to Doyle Brahmhall II. I support Doyle and think he is very good but I thought he was a little off last night and it took away from the show a bit. For instance, during "Layla" I wanted Eric to step up and play his beautiful ringing tone for the solo and he let Doyle have at it with slide guitar and it made for a slower, not as intense version. I remember I got the same feeling during the Fall 06′ tour, where I almost felt like Eric was passing the torch to his apprentice(s). I respect that but missed having Eric really shine and also it didn’t seem like he and Doyle were really clicking or playing off each other as well as they could have or in the past.
On the other hand, when Eric played the encore "Got My Mojo Working" with Robert Randolph you could see how the inspired each other to rock out even harder – the latter being one of the highlights of the show.

Other reviewers may disagree with the dynamic that I highlighted above but it was just the feeling that I got during the show. It was tremendous overall and I am now looking at dates where I can hit up another show. Clapton IS God. Cheers and thanks as always to the "Where’s Eric" team for keeping us up-to-date and informed.

Review by Wendy Hendryx / New Hampshire
I traveled three hours in Boston rush hour traffic to get to this concert, and I was tremendously glad that I had made the decision to purchase a third row ticket just the week before. I think it was the reviews in Where’s Eric? and the set list that made it so that I just couldn’t resist. I have seen Eric many times before, and I was certainly not disappointed. He looked great; much younger and fit looking than in some recent photos and the Chicago Crossroads Benefit DVD. ..I like the longer hair, even with the gray.

Eric seemed real tired when he first came onto stage, but he pulled it together fast. What had tipped the scale in favor of me going to this concert was that I had never heard him play Little Wing live before, and the feeling of seeing/hearing him play this song is above description – it represented rock and roll history…it mesmerized me…it was nirvana. It made every dollar and mile worth it. And yet there was so much great music to come. My other favorites of the evening were Double Trouble, Drifting, Tell the Truth, and Little Queen of Spades.
I disagree with some of the previous reviews, and feel that a Clapton concert without Layla and Wonderful Tonight would disappoint a lot of fans. I, personally, wish that Eric would stop playing Cocaine, as I think that many young fans take the song as aggrandizing the drug. Aside from loving this superb performance of Tell the Truth and Little Wing, I really love it when Eric growls the down and dirty blues. I hope for many more years of Eric Clapton concerts, and my requests would be Black Rose, Terraplane Blues, and Ain’t Nobody’s Buisness.

As for the band, I was a bit disappointed. Chris Stainton was great. But I miss people like Greg Phillinganes, Nathan East, and the percussion duo of Steve Ferrone and Ray Cooper or Richie Hayward at Albert Hall in years past. And when Layla ended without Katie Kissoon’s solo, it seemed to just drop off, unfinished. Those concerts were tight and near perfect.

Unlike the comments of the Ohio folks, I did not feel that Eric was enjoying himself much this night. There were a few precious smiles shared with Dolye, but very little interaction with other band members or the audience. I know Eric isn’t a big talker between songs, but this night it was at a minimum.

Nonetheless, I do not want to sound like too harsh of a critic. When I came home to reality, I felt sorry for the people who have never experienced a live Eric Clapton performance. He is one of the few performers who performs live better than in studio. The front man was awesome…he delivered his unsurpassed vocals and bent those strings like the master he is. Love you, Eric!

Review by JC Frasier
Saw Eric at the Comcast Center in Mansfield, MA, Wed, June 4. As always he was great. Interesting set list. Some I could have done without and some I wished he had included, but that is always going to be the case.

As great as the show was, someone needs to tell him that people are not shelling out $150.00 per ticket to hear Doyle Bramhall sing and do guitar solos nor Chris Stainton do boring piano solos. It is Clapton that we are all there to see and hear. Many songs had Bramhall and Stainton each doing 24 bar solos only to have Eric take twenty four before returning to the song. He really needs to stop doing that. I would much preferred him to do five or six more songs with only himself soloing instead of wasting my valuable time by forcing me to listen to people in whom I have no interest. I’d have no complaint if Doyle and Chris had one solo each, but there were way too many and he could have put in more songs to fill in that time. The band was excellent, but I really missed Steve Gadd and Billy Preston’s absence was huge.
Whoever is doing his sound needs to be fired. The vocals were way to low in the mixe and the drums were too prevalent. I don’t understand how sound techs who are sitting within twenty feet of me are not hearing the same thing I’m hearing. Everyone around me was complaining about it. Also, I will not be going to another concert at this venue. The parking is horrendous and the outside areas are way to small to accomodate the crowds. Additionally, all seats under the roof were the same price. All night all I could think about was that some guy in the fourth row center paid the same as I to sit in the 44th row. I don’t know if Eric has anything to do with this but it is an absolute outrage.
Robert Randolph was very disappointing. I had seen him twice before and was totally blown away by him and really looking forward to seeinghim again. He has gotten into a thing where he feels that it’s necessary to play a funk groove for what seems like forever before getting into a song. Then when the audience is totally bored out of their collective skull, the song begins. Then, the songs he chose, other than a Bo Diddley tribute and a Hendrix song were awfull. Everything was very repetitive. He also left the pedal steel for most of the performance and played a Telecaster. The guy might be the best pedal steel player in history. Why does he feel the need to do something that he’s mediocre at.

Review by Marcia Tangerini / Sherborn MA
I like the Mansfield venue because front row is so front row that you never forget it. I was in the front row, dead center, with my husband, two of our kids, and their two friends for Wednesday night’s show, so the age range was 24 to 60, and we were all flat out amazed. We had all seen Eric before, and we were simply blown away by how blown away we were.

We were all delighted that he played blues all night! That’s what we had been hoping for. When he strolled onto the stage and tore into "Motherless Children," it was heaven!

For me, "Tell the Truth" and "Little Wing" were the top of the night. Let’s face it, he’s just a good sport to play "Wonderful Tonight" at all. But anything he wants to play is just fine with me. No one does the blues like Clapton, and his band was note-perfect. Each one of them is just so damned good individually! Talent, work and skill. Wow!

Lastly, you have to love Sharon White and Michelle John. I just love them. They sure can rock it! I missed the Texas hat, but that’s about the extent of what I can find to complain about. Great show!