Eric Clapton


New Orleans, LA
Jazz Fest
April 27, 2014


Source: Schoeps MK5 Omnis - Nbob Actives - Naiant Tinybox Transfo Out - Sony M10 (24-48)

Transfer: Micro SD card > wav file > Adobe Audition > Normalize-Downsample > CD Wave Cut > TLH > FLAC level 8 & Align on SB
Recording Location: Front Row Right Stack
Recorded by: Datfly





01.
02. Key To The Highway
03. Pretending
04. Hoochie Coochie Man
05. Tell the Truth
06. Driftin' Blues
07. Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out
08. Crazy Mama
09. Stones in My Passway
10. Layla
11. How Long
12. Gin House Blues
13. Crossroads
14. Little Queen of Spades
15. Cocaine
16. High Time We Went


The Man, The Legend.

enjoy,
datfly

April 29 2014

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The Times-Picayune

The sea of humanity that swallowed the Acura Stage field Sunday evening, April 27, at the New Orleans Jazz Fest for Eric Clapton was far bigger, and more densely packed, than Saturday's audience for Phish. Late arrivals were out of luck; even finding a place to catch a glimpse of the video screens was difficult.

Appreciating subtleties in such a setting can be challenging. But Clapton and his band served up plenty of subtleties in a set that was short on hits but long on sharp, squalling solos.

The Jazz Fest show was the first of only four shows in America that Clapton is slated to play this year. A (young) guy standing near me observed that Clapton "really went heavy on the old white guys in his band." True enough: Save backing vocalists Sharon White and Michelle John, the personnel on stage all fell roughly in the Clapton demographic.

But each of those "old white guys" have a history with him. Guitarist Andy Fairweather-Low, a longtime Roger Waters collaborator, was a regular in Clapton's road band in the 1990s and early 2000s, and contributed to numerous albums, including "Unplugged," "Me and Mr. Johnson" and "From the Cradle." Keyboardist Chris Stainton has shared stages with Clapton consistently for more than three decades. Drummer Henry Spinetti and bassist Dave Bronze are both alumni of long-ago bands who have worked with him periodically in recent years. Keyboardist and singer Paul Carrack, best known as a member of Squeeze, Roxy Music and Mike + the Mechanics, is the band newbie, having first joined for the 2013 tour.

All contributed extensively, as Clapton can be generous with his musicians, almost to a fault. In blue jeans and a gray button-down shirt that matched his primary Fender guitar, he opened in a decidedly blues frame of mind. By "Pretending," the third song, he had warmed up, and was stamping bonus solos on most songs.

"Hoochie Coochie Man" reiterated his command of blues vocalizing. "Tell the Truth," from Derek & the Dominoes' 1970 classic "Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs," concluded with a flurry of riffs and Clapton exchanging big, satisfied grins with Spinetti.

At 5:45, roughly 30 minutes into the set, the guitarists and singers sat for an unplugged segment. Clapton picked a curt acoustic solo in "Driftin' Blues" and presided over the lilting swing of "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out." Spinetti's brushstrokes and a graceful Carrack organ solo framed J.J. Cale's "Crazy Mama." Robert Johnson's "Stones in My Passway" yielded to "Layla." It was faster than the acoustic arrangement usually is, with solos by Fairweather-Low and the keyboardists. Clapton finessed a delicate concluding solo that evaporated into the air.

After 25 minutes, the band plugged back in with Carrack singing "How Long," which dates to his early band Ace. Freed from the responsibility of singing, Clapton fired off a stinging solo. He executed a staccato run when Fairweather-Low took a turn on lead vocals.

Ratcheting up, "Crossroads" boasted two crisp Clapton excursions that framed detours by Stainton and Fairweather-Low. They flew even higher in Robert Johnson's "Little Queen of Spades." Clapton tore off a stream of screaming notes that culminated in a brutish exchange with Spinetti.

Much to the relief of those looking for a more familiar high, "Cocaine" arrived. Fairweather-Low played chicken-scratch licks under and around Clapton's big riffs. Stainton worked his way up the keyboards to a big climax, before handing off once again to the boss.


By his reticent standards, Clapton was downright chatty at Jazz Fest. At the former New Orleans Arena in March 2013, he didn't say much more than "thank you" and his band members' names. This time, he engaged the sun-baked throng with, "Are you warm enough?" He continued, "I've played in New Orleans a few times but never at Jazz Fest. It's a great privilege and honor."

The set list omitted several of his signature songs. No "Wonderful Tonight," no "I Shot the Sheriff," no "Tears in Heaven," no "Sunshine of Your Love," all of which he worked over at the arena last year.

The final three songs of the regular set -- "Crossroads," "Little Queen of Spades" and "Cocaine" -- were the same as at the New Orleans Arena last year. So, too, the final -- and at Jazz Fest, only -- song in the encore: Carrack singing Joe Cocker's "High Time We Went." It was anticlimactic in 2013, and borderline disappointing at Jazz Fest -- especially as they quit the stage at 6:53. He still had seven minutes left on the clock -- or 37 minutes, if he had followed the example Carlos Santana set on Friday night.

Sharper ears than mine heard Stainton quote a Professor Longhair piano riff earlier in the set. More nods to the local gestalt -- or some sort of exclamation point at the end -- would have made this solid Jazz Fest show special.

Perhaps his nod to tradition was in what he did -- or didn't -- play.

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