Eric Clapton Tour 2011 – KeyArena, Seattle, WA – Saturday February 26 2011

Eric Clapton Tour 2011 – KeyArena, Seattle, WA – Saturday February 26 2011

Setlist
01. Key To The Highway
02. Going Down Slow
03. Hoochie Coochie Man
04. Old Love
05. I Shot The Sheriff
06. Driftin’
07. Nobody Knows You When You’re Down And Out
08. River Runs Deep.
09. Same Old Blues
10. When Somebody Thinks You’re Wonderful
11. Layla – seated Gibson ES 335
12. Badge
13. Wonderful Tonight
14. Before You Accuse Me
15. Little Queen Of Spades
16. Cocaine
17. Crossroads

The band
Guitar, Vocals – Eric Clapton
Bass Guitar – Willie Weeks
Keyboards – Chris Stainton
Drums – Steve Gadd
Backing Vocals – Sharon White
Backing Vocals – Michelle John
Keyboards – Tim Carmon

Support
Los Lobos

Reviews
Here is the The Seattle Times review by Charles R. Cross.

Review The Seattle Times: Clapton’s Key Arena show solid but short on spontaneity

It would be hard to argue the musicianship displayed at Eric Clapton’s KeyArena show Saturday night was anything but stellar. Playing to a nearly sold-out crowd, Clapton was solid all night, hitting every solo and generously sharing the spotlight with his crack band.

But there was also something undeniably distant about Clapton. He didn’t say a word except to name-check his band, and mention that “Same Old Blues” was written by J.J. Cale. And while he showed the kind of innate ability on Cream’s “Badge” that makes him the most revered living guitar god, there was at times a disconnect.

It didn’t help that this era’s Clapton is all about the slow groove of “Wonderful Tonight,” while the crowd responded best to “Cocaine,” one of only a few upbeat numbers.

Another strike might be because Seattle came in the middle of the long world tour, and our set was nearly identical to every other. Not stale, but it rarely felt spontaneous. One might ask what magic might occur if the computerized lighting rigs were “lost” between shows.

Clapton has always been a sublime guitarist, and his rhythm playing on “I Shot the Sheriff” and “Before You Accuse Me” was indeed exceptional. He played “Layla” acoustic, but in a telling move, he ceded his most famous solo to his two keyboard players.

Still, on “Old Love” he seemed to briefly escape his road professionalism and was joyfully lost in his guitar. He stretched the song into a 15-minute opus, playing on his toes and raising his left leg as he hit a note.

Oddly, watching him play with his eyes closed and the world shut out was the night’s most intimate moment.

In contrast, the opening set by Los Lobos was a transparent joy, start to finish. Whether they were covering “Papa Was a Rolling Stone,” or cruising through their own “Don’t Worry Baby,” it was obvious this was a band in love with performing, even in a shortened opening slot.

While they all sported hair grayer than the older Clapton, there was still a youthful edginess in Los Lobos morphing East L.A. Latin rhythms into a rock context. They ended with “La Bamba,” appropriately mixing in “Good Lovin’ ” by the Rascals.

Seeing David Hidalgo’s wide smile when the crowd blew the singalong was the evening’s most jubilant moment.

Read more: The Seattle Times

Here’s the Sheriff!!!