Concert Details

Fan Reviews:

Review by Dominik Mueller
The final night of Eric Clapton’s shows at the Royal Albert Hall was excellent in almost every aspect. Expectedly, Eric opened with the acoustic pieces “Hello Old Friend” and “Father”. He didn’t solo until possibly ten or fifteen minutes into the show, but personally I liked that, because it put these nice songs and the lyrics in the spotlight rather than the guitar playing. It also built tension, and when Eric finally took a solo on his electric guitar during “Tell The Truth”, it was phenomenal. Gary Clark Jr.’s playing had been awesome, but Eric remains in a league of his own. The sound in the RAH was great that night, and so was the entire band.

They kept momentum until “Come Rain or Come Shine” with Paul Carrack. “Gotta Get Over” was particularly good. The acoustic part that followed included several of Eric’s greatest hits with “Tears in Heaven”, “Layla” and “Wonderful”. I do like the new arrangements for these songs, which give them a slightly jazzy or reggae feel, including tasteful licks that don’t detract from the lyrics. The acoustic set was perhaps a bit too polished, however, and considering that the acoustic songs were played back to back, possibly a bit too long overall. But I won’t complain about getting one or two songs too many!

Then it was back to electric guitars, and there truly was no stopping from then on! “Blues Power” was powerful and a huge success with the audience. It was definitely one of the best performances of the night, which I thought would be difficult to top. But the band kept the foot on the accelerator during “Love in Vain” and “Crossroads”. “Little Queen of Spades” might have been even better than “Blues Power”. Eric’s solo during Spades brought the house down: When the song was over, people jumped up and ran to the stage, where they stayed until the end of the concert. Those not sitting at the aisle climbed over the seats to get to the front. It was like at a 1960s Cream concert with people dancing in front of the band  during “Cocaine” and the encore. You could tell that everybody was having a great time, including Eric who at one point at the end turned a song around to keep going just a bit longer. This truly was a night that will not be forgotten!

Review by Marwa A / London
I have been waiting to see Mr.Clapton live for the past 20 years. His music and collaborations first played on my teen record player up to my lap top through the good, the bad and the ugly! Nothing beats seeing u Mr. Clapton Live on that stage. A surge of emotions rushed through my friends and I with every song and guitar string played. I think we were the loudest ppl in the RAH that night that everybody around us joined in and couldnt stay put on there seats. I will never forget that night it was pure remarkable energy and talent that only the man himself (Clapton) can make his fans feel. Thank you for decades of unparalleled talent you made us live with you. God Bless u Mr. Clapton, your whole amazing band and everyone organiser helped made us live that night.

Review by Sylvia F / Herts UK
My husband and I were at Albert Hall on 26th, it was far beyond our expectations, a truly memorable evening. Not only was it a beautiful venue with superb acoustics, the performance of the man himself, Eric was superb in his playing, his style, the performance of a true legend.  Also the backing  band, and not forgetting the support of Gary Clarke Jr. Everybody gave it everything to make the evening a night to remember.. Thank you so much to everyone who took part in making this happen.

Review by Ross & Joanne / North Sandwich, NH 
My fiance and I were thoroughly thrilled and amply entertained at Sunday night’s concert. Our seats in Arena D gave us a great view of the hall, the stage and all the performers – most importantly, Mr. Clapton himself. Words cannot describe the fun we had and the talent we listened to all night long. This show, and this venue were a bucket list dream come true…one of those experiences we simply did not want to end. Crossroads was my favorite, with High Time We Went a close second and a fitting grand finale to the show.

Review by Eileen Richards
Fantastic music last night and a ‘bucket list’ dream for myself and my friend to see Eric Clapton play live. However, we didn’t really, not once! We were seated in Choir East and the band did not turn round and acknowledge that part of the audience at all. The West Choir audience must have had the same experience. Everyone else there must have had a great view.I am left feeling disappointed; a great shame for something that is so easily solved with a bit of thought from the performers.

Review by Sebastiaan van der Heiden
After a rather good experience in 2009 I decided to give Clapton at the RAH another go. Although I usually check youTube for clips, and check bootlegs to see what he sounds like during the tour, I decided not to do so this time. After having a glance over the set a few weeks before the show I was pleasantly surprised to see it was given such a major overhaul.

Sadly, once the show was on the way it didn’t live up to my expectations. I’ve seen Clapton on close to every tour since 2001 and have felt he’s really hit and miss nowadays. Unfortunately for us, tonight was a miss. Clapton played on auto pilot, and although it was the longest show I’ve ever seen him do, it was also the most boring one. Don’t get me wrong, the band was great. Really great. But I really think it was a little too good, and Clapton enjoys the others a little too much, which leaves little room to up his game himself. I’m not there to see the man strum the chords on a guitar, I’m there to see him actually take the lead like he’s supposed to do.

But he played little lead guitar, or at least not as much as I’m used to. And whenever he did, he just didn’t seem to get into the groove. Sheriff was good, but that’s it, really. On paper it reads like a spectacular setlist, but frankly, I was bored by his noodling. The guitar solo’s had no build up; it often felt like poor improvising. Clapton just wasn’t “on” tonight. He often seemed to be a little too late to be back at the mic to start singing again, and in general seemed to zone out whenever he wasn’t “needed” on stage, as if he just wasn’t completely awake during the entire performance. The acoustic set caused a major lul in the show, was way too long and caused little excitement either. When I think of Clapton acoustic, I think of Clapton unplugged, playing with power. There was little power, it felt like a bunch of guys relaxing on stage, which is fine for one or two songs, but 7 is a bit too much.

For those thinking I’m living in the past; I disagree. The show I saw in 2009 was easily the best one I’ve seen him do. The renditions of Old Love and Cocaine were among the best he’s ever done.I do realize that when seeing Clapton live as many times as I have, and when being a guitar player yourself like I am, you do pick up on details others won’t notice. Clapton die hards can’t wait for him to retire Layla, Wonderful Tonight and the likes. yet casuals seemed to enjoy those the most. I don’t mind them as much as some other die hards do, but when the stuff in there I’ve never heard before is boring as well, I reckon it’s either time for me to stop seeing him, or for him to retire. Considering how the latter won’t happen, I guess I’ll resort to buying a ticket of eBay after checking youTube video’s to see if it’s worth the money.