Steve Winwood and Eric Clapton – 6/26 Jobbing.com Arena Glendale Arizona.

To start, my wife and I were amused while watching the audience file into the show. It seemed as though we were immersed in a Cialis commercial, plenty of well groomed graying couples smiling excitedly about their night out. I suppose we were no exception.

The band hit the stage about fifteen minutes late, no warm up act, and stuck to the set list they’ve played to date at previous shows on the tour. The set list really works. It flows so well while mixing up great variety. The Traffic instrumental “Glad” following the classic blues of “ Sleeping in the Ground” for example. I quickly found myself struck by the amazing tones of Clapton’s black Strats in a live setting. He produces a simply wonderful range of warm sustaining goodness in many flavors. It sounded incredible. Overall the sound was excellent, though there were times I wished it were louder. The excellent video work on the big screens had me wishing for a DVD of this show. In fact, this band and show was so much better than the Madison Square Garden recording that I’d go nuts for another live DVD release.

My only small disappointment was that Winwood’s solo number remained “Georgia” which got a great audience response, but I was really hoping for “Low spark of high heeled boys” as was reported to have taken Georgia’s place in the Texas shows.

The middle acoustic set was sweet even though the sound up in the nosebleeds was a bit too quiet to really give the dynamics of Eric’s work justice. And while the acoustic “Layla” is very jazzy smooth-groove fine, I missed the keyboard ending section of the original. Considering that along with Winwood the band includes the very talented Chris Stainton (who’s played with every British rocker), the electric long version trailing off into that beautiful keyboard finale would’ve been something to experience.

The closing “Voodoo Child” was a treat, primarily for Winwood’s organ and vocal work which invoked the original Hendrix recording. Clapton and Stainton solos were outstanding as well with Clapton displaying his range of styles beautifully in the context of a song known more for flat out bombastic power guitar. The encore struck me as scripted until the really fun keyboard solo surprise during “Cocaine” and was followed by Dear Mr. Fantasy.

Although somewhat short and very controlled (no chance of a second encore here) the show set the bar for pure musicianship and professionalism, quite extraordinary. The rhythm section was knockout powerful and the background vocalists completed the mix very well, something I’ll certainly miss when I next view the MSG DVD.

In closing, there was the young lady next to me, loving the show, who jumped up and screamed “I love Cream!” during a Traffic song. This made me smile and feel a bit old. You know, “I’m a man” from Winwood’s days with the Spencer Davis Group would’ve been a great number to close the show. The Cialis set would’ve been complete!

Click for a few AZ news pics
Edit: A well written review of the show can be found on whereseric.com.

Set List
01. Had To Cry Today
02. Low Down
03. After Midnight
04. Presence of The Lord
05. Sleeping in the Ground
06. Glad
07. Well Alright
08. Tough Luck Blues
09. Pearly Queen
10. There’s A River
11. Forever Man
12. Georgia On My Mind – Steve Winwood solo
13. Driftin’ – acoustic
14. How Long Blues
15. Layla – acoustic version
16. Can’t Find My Way Home
17. Split Decision
18. Voodoo Chile
Encore:
19. Cocaine
20. Dear Mr. Fantasy

Band Lineup:
Eric Clapton – guitar, vocals
Steve Winwood – vocals, Hammond B3, piano, guitar
Chris Stainton – keyboards
Willie Weeks – bass
Abe Laboriel, Jr. – drums
Michelle John – backing vocals
Sharon White – backing vocals