Special Guests:
* Sheryl Crow (Vocals, Guitar)
* Mary J. Blige (Vocals)
* Bob Dylan (Vocals, Guitar)
* David Sanborn (Saxophone)
Madison Square Garden
New York, New York, USA
June 30, 1999
"APlay DAT Master Series 005"
CD-R3 - Geetarz 207/208/209 - Aud 5
Sonic D6M Mics > Sony D7 DAT (Sonic Solutions MOD1) > Master DAT > Tascam DA20MK2 (Playback) > Digital Out > PC > Soundforge 9.0e (Edits, Normalization) > CDWav (Tracking) > FLAC (Level 5) > You !!!
art:
http://geetarz.org/reviews/clapton/index-90s.htmBand Lineup:
Eric Clapton Guitar, Vocals
Andy Fairweather Low Guitar
Nathan East Bass
Steve Gadd Drums
Tim Carmon Keyboards
David Delhomme Keyboards
Katie Kissoon Backing Vocals
Tessa Niles Backing Vocals
Disc 1:
Eric Clapton & His Band
* Intro
* My father's eyes
* Hoochie coochie man
* Reconsider baby
* Pilgrim
* River of tears
* Goin' down slow (with David Sanborn)
Sheryl Crow
* My favorite mistake
* Makes you happy
* Run baby run
* Leaving Las Vegas
* Difficult kind
* Little wing (with Eric & band and David Sanborn)
Disc 2:
Mary J. Blige
* Do right woman
* Be happy
* Joy
* Love no limit
* My life
* Everything
* Not gonna cry
Eric Clapton & his band
* Tears in heaven (acoustic)
* Change the world (acoustic, with David Sanborn)
* Old love
* Badge (with David Sanborn)
* Wonderful tonight
* Layla (with David Sanborn)
Disc 3:
Bob Dylan
* Don't think twice
* It takes a lot to laugh, it takes a train to cry
* Born in time (dueting with Eric)
* Leopard-skin pillbox hat
* It's not dark yet
* Crossroads (dueting with Eric)
Encore
* Sunshine of your love
* Bright lights, big city (all-star jam)
Geetarz Comments: This is taken directly from APlay's DAT masters. No fiddling about was performed (or necessary), just some editing, fading, etc.
Here's a (lightly edited) review of the show I wrote all those years ago ...
Well, 1,208 miles after I left - I'm finally home! What an incredible trip - easily one of the best experiences of my life. Such a treat to meet so many friends "in person" for the first time - and make many new friends! Oh yea, Eric was good (or was that God?) too!
Went over early to Nile's - what a great place! The place quickly filled up with
Slowhanders. I only wish it had been an all-day event - it was far too short. There were so many people there - I still missed meeting several people who I was looking for - Eric will have to throw another bash just so I can finish meeting everyone. I hadn't thought in advance to take some cards, or a pen and paper, so I'd love to hear from those of you who I met (it's hard to remember a few dozen email addresses, although I have tried!).
Went over to the Garden a little early. They were handing out neat little flyers (for lack of a better word) for Crossroads Center donations, had a picture of a black tolex guitar case on the outside, and then, opened, a donation form for the Crossroads Center. The only T-shirts available seemed to be for the Crossroads Center - I didn't see any programs or other memorabilia. Had some decent seats right next to the side of the stage that afforded a great view of the audience as well
as the performers. Got a real kick out of watching the crowd, watching audience reaction. Also enjoyed watching many of the Slowhanders sneak out of their seats and slip forward to the front of the stage (all names have been changed to protect the guilty, I won't tell!). I've tried it before but I always get "busted", I must wear a guilty look on my face or something.
At about 8, the house lights went down and following a short taped segment (I'd guess it will be the intro for the VH1 broadcast) Eric strode onstage, dressed (for those who have to know) in his typical black/black outfit. (I picture EC's closet with 7 hangers, one for each day of the week, each with an identical black suit. I'm sorry to let some of you down, but I did not catch whether it was New Balance or Nike shoes...so shoot me. He does have a nice pair of rimless spectacles, far better than the 50s style glasses he sported during the Pilgrim tour. (I was asked to report on this stuff so I am just fulfilling my obligation.
Eric started the set with a sweet version of MFE. Tasty solos, no real fire, enjoyable nonetheless. "Hoochie Coochie Man" was a nice surprise for the second number - somebody correct me, didn't he play this before with a capo, in a different key? I didn't see the capo, and it sounded deeper - a nice version. After a nice version of "Reconsider Baby" the band performed "Pilgrim" - a somewhat tepid version IMHO. I felt that Alan Darby's presence would have been great - or, even better, Phil Palmer. "River of Tears" seemed to have a slightly different arrangement (maybe it was just me) but was a bit too laid back. I was hoping for some of the fire he showed at the Earl's Court shows last year, but it just wasn't there. David Sanborn joined the band for a great, punchy version of "Going Down Slow" which featured some nice horn work and a hot, but too short, solo from EC. Sheryl Crow came out and performed four or five songs - all well done, her vocals seemed a bit
shrill bit I'm chalking it up to the PA system. EC seemed really content to sit back and become a member of the band and provide tasty fills - nothing really hot, just good funky music.
Then - for the highlight of the evening. The song that SHOULD have been the final encore - Eric slammed into the first chords of "Little Wing" and there was a stunned silence of a second or two before people realized what it was - when was the last time he played this live? At least 20 years ago... at any rate, the Garden came ALIVE, it was an incredible moment. Incredible vocals, and solos that got higher and
higher ... it was one of those moments where time seemed to slow. I have no idea how long it was, but it seemed like 10 minutes or more.
Eric finished on a high note, and had a HUGE grin on his face as people went just NUTS. I can only hope he takes this to heart and goes through his back catalog (or catalogue, for some of you) and dusts off some of the great songs from the past.
Mary J. Blige took the stage next and provided a great "bathroom break" for the crowd - that's the only way I can put it. Quite a change from Eric's considered pacing of the Journeyman shows through the Pilgrim tour, where one could tell there was a lot of effort put into the "flow" of a concert. It seemed to really drain the energy level of the audience. To her credit, she WORKED and really tried her best - but just didn't connect to the audience well. In a way, she was underutilized, it may have been possible to have done more of EC's material with her on vocals, could have had some "different" arramgements of familiar songs, but alas, that didn't happen.
A short acoustic set (without 'Driftin', which was a disappointment - this was definitely a "blues" crowd) EC did a good job with "Old Love" - nice solo break. Opinions vary on the Tim Carmon keyboard solo - personally I'll pass. The guy is extremely talented - he could do something *different*. After hearing some of the European shows from the 1998 tour where the band did some great, funky jazz stuff in Old Love, it was a bit of a letdown.
EC then did a nice version of Badge, similar to the arrangement of the one he did at the Hyde Park show in 1996. Nice, tight solo, nothing exceptional. A nice Wonderful tonight, Katie sounded as great as ever - and the wonderful, talented, and lovely Tessa Niles is back! Those two work so well together, they were great all night. Eric then began noodling on the guitar and ... was it too much to hope ... Electric Layla! Needless to say, this brought down the house. David Sanborn was a real treat here, playing the "Layla" riff on Saxaphone! Quite nice, I wouldn't have thought it would have worked, but it was great, and brought some new life to it.
Eric then brought in Bob Dylan. As he Dylan walked on, Eric strode purposefully to our side of the stage and had a short, intense conversation with one of the techs, with a bit of finger pointing towards the center stage - he looked annoyed. Shortly I spied a someone crawling along the backline behind the amps - dunno what the problem was. Dylan came out and my hopes were quickly dashed that EC would do a
version of "Don't Think Twice - It's alright" like he did at Bobfest. (then again, don't screw with perfection!!!). To be honest, with Dylan's singing, the song was into it's second or third chorus before I could even tell what song it was. A Closed Caption device on the overhead screen would have been useful! I was impressed by Dylan's guitar skills - EC turned a number of the solos over to him and he didn't do a bad job! They did a great version of "Born in Time" (thankfully EC did some of the vocals). They finished with a more uptemo version of "Crossroads", with Bob and EC sharing a vocal mic - EC even gave Bob the first solo! It was nice, but I was really hoping for "Sign Language" or "Knockin' On Heaven's Door". As with Crow, I would have preferred doing more of EC's material.
After a short break, EC walked out again for the encore, and teased the audience with the riff for "Sunshine", and then began playing a neat rhythm figure, muting the strings, as the rest of the band came out and took their positions, than slammed into the riff, which, predictibly, brought everyone to their feet. In the solo, he seemed to have one of those moments where he started to go one direction, changed his mind, and went in another completely. I know opinions vary on this, but for
me, Ray Cooper would have been a welcome addition to the show. I always enjoyed his antics.
Then followed a great version of "Bright Lights" - correct me if I'm wrong, but another song EC hasn't performed live in 20+ years. A nice, laid back version - still, I would have preferred to end on an uptempo number. I clocked the show at over 3 hours 15 minutes from lights down to lights up - quite a change for EC! Finally we got a full night's music from him!
All in all, it was a great show, although uneven. "Little Wing" was worth the trip alone!
Back to Nile's after the show. Great to hear the "buzz" from people, and to hear the different reactions - from "Best Ever!" to "It sucked!". Kind of funny, I went to the pay phones to call (read: harass) a couple Slowhanders who couldn't make the show and some people who were in the bathrooms heard me and came out - they were Clapton fans in town for the show, but had no knowledge of the Digest, or the get
together! Needless to say, I expect a few new subscribers here shortly! They were amazed when we started pointing around the room at where people had come from.
It was a great time, but all too short. I only wish I had far more time to get to know everybody, and I can't wait until "next time".
{Geetarz Comment, 2009 edition ... remember PAY PHONES? Now we can just harass people FROM the concert during "Wonderful Tonight" ... see how much technology has enriched our lives?)
So, 10 years later, here it is in all its unedited glory, straight from the master recording, from start to finish.
Aplay had a comment about this show:
"... As for the other biggest POP at a show, when EC did Little Wing at MSG for the very first Crossroads benefit, though Clapton, Beck and Page together at the MSG ARMS show was close."
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