Concert Details

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18 February 2011 – Eric Clapton & His Band

Location:

Venue: Asia World Arena

City: Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong (SAR)

Country: Hong Kong

Band Lineup:

Eric Clapton – guitar, vocals
Chris Stainton – keyboards
Tim Carmon – keyboards
Willie Weeks – bass
Steve Gadd – drums
Michelle John – backing vocals
Sharon White – backing vocals

Show Notes:

The day prior to the show (17 February), Eric visited a social service agency for children. Part of the proceeds of the concert were donated to help local children participate in a group-language training program. The children sang two songs for Eric, “You Are My Sunshine” and the Mandarin song, “I’m Really Good.” They also presented him with a picture. Eric spent about 20 minutes visiting with the children.

Hong Kong was a British crown colony and later a dependent territory of the United Kingdom from 1841 to 1997 (except 1941-1945). The People’s Republic of China resumed sovereignty in 1997 and Hong Kong became a special administrative region (SAR).

Set List:

01. Key To The Highway
02. Going Down Slow
03. Hoochie Coochie Man
04. Old Love
05. I Shot The Sheriff
06. Driftin’
07. Nobody Knows You When You’re Down And Out
08. River Runs Deep
09. Rocking Chair
10. Same Old Blues (song by JJ Cale)
11. When Somebody Thinks You’re Wonderful
12. Layla
13. Badge
14. Wonderful Tonight
15. Before You Accuse Me
16. Little Queen Of Spades
17. Cocaine
18. Further On Up The Road

Fan Reviews:

Review by Ken Martin – Hong Kong

I was in attendance at the Eric Clapton concert last night in Hong Kong, and in my opinion, the performance was pretty typical for Mr. Clapton and his band, which is to say very solid. Had I never seen EC play before, I would certainly not have been disappointed, and I wasn’t last night. A guy who has been playing as long as EC probably almost never plays anyone’s exactly perfect set list, but I really like the fact that he switches it up a bit from tour to tour (even if not night to night!), and I enjoyed hearing a number of songs last night that I’m not sure I’ve ever heard him play live before. For some reason, Badge (which I have heard live a number of times before) stood out for me as being a little extra special, I really enjoyed River Runs Deep (which I don’t believe I have ever heard EC play live before) and for some reason (though my preference is not for the acoustic version, and I have heard both versions live), I can’t get the acoustic version of Layla out of my head this morning. Also, I had never been to the venue before, but I thought it was pretty good for a reasonably large arena. Nevertheless, I’m looking forward to seeing the band again some day at the Royal Albert Hall.

Review by Dan S. – Hong Kong

Finally, at the age of 38, after having grown up listening to the Bluesbreakers, Yardbirds, Cream and Derek and The Dominos, I got to attend my first Clapton concert in Hong Kong where my wife and I moved 6 months ago after having lived previously for many years in New York. It was a really great and interesting perspective to see fans over here reacting the way they did to the music. The band took the stage around 8:30 and the set list would be the same as Bangkok.

Key to the Highway was upbeat and lively. I thought EC’s voice sounded great throughout and has even improved with age. I can only second other reviewers’ comments from previous nights about Old Love – the concert rendition was amazing. The crowd was loving I Shot the Sheriff with the backup singers adding to the mood. EC was seated for the next six songs. Driftin’ was well received with the occasional audience member whooping their appreciation. The current version of Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out was novel and lively. I also really enjoyed the three songs EC played off the new album – River Runs Deep, Rocking Chair and When Somebody Thinks You’re Wonderful. I had recently started listening to them and they’ve grown on me. The sound of EC’s voice and guitar on JJ Cale’s Same Old Blues was memorable. The seated segment of the show ended with Layla and the crowd started to get more geared up as the band played Badge. Wonderful Tonight was well received and people were on their feet for Before You Accuse Me. After introspectively enjoying Little Queen of Spades, everyone took to their feet (and in some instances to the aisles) for Cocaine. As with the previous shows, the band ended with Further On Up the Road and there were smiles all around as EC and company took their bows.

Review by Gn Blanc – Hong Kong

Before they dimed the lights and started the show, George Harrison’s “Brainwashed” album was played inside the arena while the audience arrived. Eric and the band came on stage at about 20:20 and directly kicked off the show without saying much. His solo in “Old Love” was mind-blowing (I watched clips of the song in Abu Dhabi on YouTube and that was fantabulous, but what he played in HK definitely tops that). The crowd was evidently thrilled when hits were played like Badge, Sheriff, Nobody Knows You When You’re Down And Out, not to mention Layla, and totally mesmerised during songs from the Clapton album. Two keyboard players also played splendid solos and received thunderous applause. The whole audience shouted out the last word in Cocaine (as I excitedly expected long before the show) and stood up for the last several numbers. The show closed at about 22:10.

The local news reported that Eric visited Po Leung Kuk on 17 February, a local social service agency, and spent 20 minutes with kids there.Part of the income from the HK gig was donated to a charity project about kids’ language study .

Many thanks to Mr. Clapton for a wonderful night.

Review by Nicholas L – Hong Kong
Our 3rd Clapton concert on his 3rd visit to Hong Kong – 1990 (Hong Kong Coliseum), 2007 and 2011 (Asia World Arena). Clapton and his band came on to the stage unexpectedly early at around 8:20pm to a packed Arena and went straight into “Key To The Highway”. The stand out for the evening has to be “Old Love” with EC doing a guitar solo which is simply out of this world. I’ve seen him play this song live before and this one on the evening of the 18th is no doubt the best one! This concert is quite different from the show back in 2007 with a three-guitar-attack. This time EC did all the guitar work alone which made it impossible for him to do the ‘original’ version of Layla which I think is way better than the un-plugged version. The sit-down segment of seven songs could be slightly shortened. The other highlight for me was “When Somebody Thinks You’re Wonderful”, one of three songs off his new album “Clapton”. Would be nice if more tracks from this album were played, especially the radio hit “Autumn Leaves” which in my opinion is probably the best rendition of this song ever! All in all a fantanstic concert, exceeding already high expectations in many places. Clapton was in very fine form for both his guitar work and his singing for the whole two-hour show. I think his singing and his voice is better than ever before! I was very happy to finallly get a chance to see Steve Gadd on drums. Chris Stainton and Tim Carmon on keyboards both deserve a special mention. Outstanding job! I envy those who will be going to see him in the coming weeks in the US and certainly for the many fans looking forward to the dates at the Royal Albert Hall. We hope to see Clapton continuing to record new albums and back in Hong Kong again on his next tour.

Review by Patrica Spreyer / UK
I attended the Hong Kong concert last week, the first time I’ve seen Eric perform outside the UK and it was the most amazing performance. A great way for my husband and me to celebrate our 60th birthdays. The atmosphere was electric and the audience so much more enthusiastic than British audiences. Maybe because they don’t get to see people of Eric’s standing too often. It transported me back to when I first started going to Clapton concerts in the mid-eighties. Looking forward to seeing him again at the Albert Hall!

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