Considering that Eric Clapton’s latest album “The Road to Escondido” was released last year and was his first collaboration with singer/ songwriter J.J. Cale in years, one would think that Clapton would perform many songs from the new album on his most recent tour, which stopped at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on March 14. But not one song from the new album was played.
Instead, Clapton seemed to be stuck in 1970, playing several songs from past albums and starting off with many Derek and the Dominos numbers, one of the most popular bands that he was part of.
As the lights turned off at 8:30 p.m., the usual smell of marijuana filled the arena. Beginning with “Tell the Truth,” Clapton sung in his trademark dry, cigarette-drenched voice. But something did not seem right.
Clapton and his band sounded great, but there was no passion or showmanship. Instead, they seemed to treat the concert as just another show by going through the motions. Not only that, but throughout the first few songs Clapton was not playing solo at all. He was letting his two guitarists, Derek Trucks and Doyle Bramhall II, play many of the solos.
Trucks overshadowed Clapton throughout most of the concert as he played some slide guitar solos that would almost put Clapton to shame. Trucks is really that talented, and more people are finally starting to realize it. But Clapton redeemed himself when he played a great version of Jimi Hendrix’s “Little Wing,” on which he unleashed a Clapton-esque solo.
Staring at Clapton’s band, I couldn’t help but notice that it lacked a horn section. He had two keyboardists and two background singers, who assisted Clapton’s ailing voice well. I felt sorry for the background band, though, because they had to stand and dance during the entire concert. Meanwhile, Clapton and his band went into a sit-down acoustic set for four numbers, playing some old blues standards including “Driftin,” on which another great Clapton solo could be heard.
Clapton’s laid-back approach was apparent. He allowed each member of the band to have their moment in the sun by doing a solo while he sat back and took it all in. But concertgoers paid lots of money to come to a Clapton concert to hear him play, not to see the other members play, no matter how talented they are.
Back into the regular set, Clapton played several additional older songs. “Motherless Children” was among the best, with all three guitarists playing the great opening riff and solo parts, too. Clapton also performed Robert Johnson’s “Little Queen of Spades,” which featured another outstanding slide solo from Trucks.
Towards the end, “Layla,” the song everyone wanted to hear, was finally played, and the crowd got really into it. For a concert that seemed ordinary, this rendition of “Layla” was far from it. The best part was when the band stood silent in pure darkness for almost a minute before the famous piano bridge started, which led into the beautiful solo played by all the guitarists.
As the lights came on by accident, many audience members left their seats thinking the concert was over, but the lights shut off again thankfully. Clapton played a double encore of “Cocaine,” which got the audience chanting the chorus along with Robert Johnson’s “Crossroads” in which Clapton brought the opening act, great blues guitarist Robert Cray, on stage to jam with the band.
