It has been about 20 years since I last saw Eric Clapton play live. Then it was at the Albert Hall, tonight it was in Newcastle for the opening night of his Summer 2024 Tour.
As it was the first night I had no set list to go from, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I wasn’t familiar with a few of the tracks but it didn’t stop me from enjoying the show.
The Support Act was Andy Fairweather Low and the Low Riders. I don’t know if he’s always the support but he was the last time I saw Eric! I remember thinking last time I should know more of his work yet still I arrived only knowing Wide Eyed and legless which is still a great song. Interestingly enough, I walked past a place in Newcastle called Amen Corner which is the name of his first band? I am not sure if that was the inspiration or just a coincidence!
For me this was a great concert. We opened with a new track called Blue Dust a reworking of Blue Rainbow that he wrote for his late friend Jeff Beck.
We then settled into a mix of old blues numbers like Hoochie Coochie Man and Kind Hearted Woman Blues and old hits including Key to the Highway from Derek and the Dominos Layla album. We had some Blind Faith with Presence of the Lord and some Cream with White Room.
A more acoustic and introspective middle section saw a new (I believe) react called Prayer for a Child. The visuals showed what looked to be a war torn desert area. Whilst it was not explicitly stated Eric had the Palestine flag on his guitar so I assume it was a reference to the ongoing conflict.
I loved the acoustic version of Back Home, it sounded great stripped back and you could almost feel Eric living those words,
I’ve been on the road too long
Moving in the wrong direction
I don’t know where I belong
I don’t know what I will do if I can’t get
Back home
Tears in Heaven was also great to see live.
And then we were back into high gear as Eric let the band loose, giving them all a chance to jam. Legendary musicians including Nathan East (bass / vocals), Doyle Bramhall II (guitar / vocals), Sonny Emory (drums), Chris Stainton (keyboards), Tim Carmon (Hammond / keyboards added further pedigree to the line up (if there was ever a need!) Whilst I would love to have see Nathan perform Can’t find my Way Home I was happy to see him smiling up there with EC.
Cocaine was brilliant getting the audience rocking before a 60 second interlude and back for a scorching version of Sunshine of your Love.
All in all a great concert and I am so happy to have seen him again.
Concert Set List
- Blue Dust
- Key to the Highway
- I’m your Hoochie Coochie Man
- Presence of the Lord
- White Room
- Prayer of a Child
- Kind Hearted Woman Blues
- Back Home
- Nobody Knows When You’re Down and Out
- Tears in Heaven~
- Got to Get Better in a Little While
- You Were There
- Cross Road Blues
- Little Queen of Spades
- Cocaine
- Sunshine of your Love
Unhappy Fans
I loved the concert but there have been plenty of negative comments about the shows. Looking at the comments on my YouTube videos and discussion on Reddit there seems to be common themes of unhappiness. The 95 minute set list with only one encore doesn’t seem to be enough for many fans. The acoustic mix, say others, is terrible. The lack of engagement from Eric during the show is another bone of contention but mostly it’s because he didn’t play Layla or Wonderful Tonight. Yeah that seems to be the biggie – no Layla. The famous song written for his muse Pattie Boyd remains a fan favourite but not one Clapton always performs.
From my view, I thought the set list was great. We had a wide range of styles from new tracks to deep cuts, acoustic reworking, old blues numbers and some classics. With a back catalogue like his, you can’t expect to play every hit every time.
Newcastle Arena
I am growing fond of these smaller venues. I’ve been to enough London gigs to last a lifetime and these smaller venues, like the Birmingham Utilita Arena for Roger Waters give me an excuse to explore another city. They are also much easier to access the concert as the smaller venues can be a short walk back to the hotel.
The Newcastle Utilita Arena is a a terrible alliteration but the venue itself is great. Clean, model and easy to access. We had middle tier (height and width)in the arena with the stage to our left. Whilst it was a little distant (like most concerts) the big screens allowed us to engage the full show without concern.
Next up Sting and then David Gilmour!
