Author: Jernej Vene
Location: Vienna, Stadthalle
Concert date: 06.06.2010
Attendance: 12,000
Ticket price: €75 to €85
The Austrian capital played host to a musical duo that I can say with a clear conscience belong among the legends. After many years they’ve picked their musical partnership back up, and their acquaintance goes all the way back to the sixties. These two British virtuosos, songwriters and performers are without a doubt icons of rock music and living witnesses to its rise as an art form in recent global history.
Guitarist and singer Eric Clapton has, over a career spanning a good forty-five years, conceived, recorded and played a pile of songs that made him immortal while he’s still alive. Pianist, organist and guitarist Steve Winwood, meanwhile, has been his complement and often lead vocalist, collaborating fruitfully over the years as a member of Blind Faith or as a guest musician on Clapton’s records. The Vienna show also marked the forty-first anniversary of the first gig by Blind Faith, in which the two played in 1969 alongside bassist Rick Grech and drummer Ginger Baker. Eric Clapton became a legend through his work in John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers and in the bands Yardbirds and Cream. A mix of blues and rock, enriched by superb guitar playing, formed the foundation of his sound in the sixties. Over the years there were of course stumbles, but he found enough strength, with the help of those close to him and friends from the music world, to keep his creative output at a high level. Steve Winwood is at home in rock, blues rock, jazz and soul, and he keeps his wide-ranging musical horizons by mastering a broad range of instruments. He started out as a fifteen-year-old kid in Spencer Davis Group and soon met Clapton, with whom he played in Eric Clapton’s Powerhouse. The supergroup, as the term was coined, really arrived with Blind Faith, but after their debut album and a handful of shows the members went their separate ways. Over the years Clapton and Winwood crossed paths many times and helped each other out, returning musical favors. These gentlemen know each other inside out, and in 2007 Eric Clapton organized the second Crossroads festival, where he raises funds to fight drug addiction. He invited Winwood to take part, and Winwood in turn offered Eric a guest spot on his album Nine Lives. In 2008 they set off on a world tour, tickets for the Vienna show were sold out, and a handful of Slovenes still managed to get their hands on some.
Clapton and Winwood stepped onto the stage of the Vienna city hall ten minutes before eight. The sold-out hall offered a lovely view of a colorful crowd of all ages, with those more seasoned in years making up a slight majority. You could tell the audience was hungry for a quality, and slightly nostalgic, musical experience. Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood took up the front of the stage, with Clapton’s longtime collaborators, keyboardist Chris Stainton and drummer Steve Gadd, seasoned bassist Willie Weeks and backing singers Michelle John and Sharon White behind them.
The setup consisted of a big stage, two video screens and a mighty light rig. The sound was just loud enough, with the balance between instruments and vocals perfect. The lights, too, gave the sonic experience a beautiful accompaniment. For a solid two hours the pair spiced up the show with a superb selection of songs pulled from their rich careers, along with a few tributes to blues masters and to Jimi Hendrix. It’s hard to pick what to present to the crowd when you have such a stockpile of material to choose from. Every few shows, Clapton and Winwood rework the songs they play. Vienna got three songs from the Blind Faith album, two by J.J. Cale, whose songs got a new lease on life thanks to Clapton, and two from the repertoire of Winwood’s band Traffic. Steve didn’t forget his solo career either, and we heard him in the hit While You See A Chance. Hendrix got special emphasis, and the long version of the famous Voodoo Chile was especially interesting and dazzling, giving all the soloists except the rhythm section a chance to shine. Steve Winwood delivered a refined take on the classic Georgia On My Mind, calling to mind the great Ray Charles. Eric Clapton showed that he really is among the best in the business. He switched guitar styles with ease and several times stunned the crowd with lightning-fast bursts, the exact opposite of the style that earned him the nickname slowhand. He actually breathed into the blues numbers the freshness that the form needs again and again. As Winwood’s equal partner, he contributed actively to the performance of his colleague’s hits and stood in for instruments we know from the records. In the instrumental Glad from Traffic’s treasure chest, for example, he cleverly played the saxophone melodies on guitar. Clapton turned sixty-five this year and Winwood is three years younger, yet it’s rare to see such devotion to making music, whether on stage with their contemporaries or with the young crowd. The audience was thrilled, and after each solo spot the hall erupted in thunderous applause. Eric Clapton isn’t considered a brilliant vocal interpreter, and he always sings in ranges he can handle without effort. He was up to the task here too, and was at his most convincing in the acoustic part of the show, when he and Winwood revived a few blues classics and the indispensable Layla. Maybe someone expected to hear more from the gentlemen than the obligatory thanks in English and German, but on Monday the music did the talking. Still, there was no shortage of smiles and twinkling glances, either in the crowd or on stage.
With the help of an exceptionally capable band, the energy of the two legends conjured up the music history of the last four decades. The whole stage crew gave us an inspiring, and educational, evening of music.
Setlist
01. Had To Cry Today 02. Low Down 03. After Midnight 04. Presence Of The Lord 05. Glad 06. Well Alright 07. Tuff Luck 08. While You See A Chance 09. Key To The Highway 10. Midland Maniac 11. Crossroads 12. Georgia 13. Driftin’ 14. How Long 15. Layla 16. Can’t Find My Way Home 17. Gimme Some Lovin’ 18. Voodoo Chile 19. Cocaine 20. Dear Mr. Fantasy (encore)
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