Monday 09 May 2022.

Sunday 08 May 2022. ERIC CLAPTON live at The Royal Albert Hall. Eric Clapton plays the second of two sold out shows at this iconic venue. Eric Clapton will be aged 77 when these shows take place. Eric Clapton has been getting a heap of bad publicity recently, from being one of the most famous anti-vaccination musicians out there along with Van Morrison. Eric Clapton is the only musician who has been inducted into The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame three times. For his legendary bands Yardbirds, Cream and his solo work. Eric Clapton holds the record for performing at this venue...over 150 times in his career. I have seen Eric Clapton live over 20 times since 1977 when he played The Crystal Palace Bowl. Most of his shows I have seen were at his stints held at this iconic venue. I saw all four CREAM reunion shows at this venue in May 2005. Support comes from ANDY FAIRWEATHER LOW. Andy Fairweather Low (now aged 73) is a Welsh guitarist, songwriter, producer and vocalist. He was a founder member and lead singer of 1960s Welsh pop band Amen Corner, and in recent years has toured extensively with Roger Waters, Eric Clapton and Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings. He had two Top 10 hit singles of his own in the 1970s. "Reggae Tune" in 1974 and " Wide Eyed and Legless" in 1975. ------------ Walking up to the venue was a rare sight, as street ticket touts were outside the venue post covid. Covid and tickets on phones has hit them hard, but there must be at least a dozen of them here, as Eric Clapton is a hot ticket that sold out pronto and he could easily have added extra dates. I know most of the touts to talk to and i can honestly say they have never sold me a ticket for over face value in the past 45 odd years......they have actually saved me a fortune. ANDY FAIRWEATHER LOW & band arrived on stage at 8.35pm for their 35 mins set. His good set included a hit he had with Amen Corner " If Paradise is Half as Nice" and his own solo hit "Wide Eyed and Legless". His band include Nick Pentelow on sax who i saw playing with Wizzard in the 1970s. ERIC CLAPTON & band arrived on stage at 8.35pm and played for 1 hour 50 mins. Some things are always the same with Eric Clapton. His band of five musicians and two female backing vocals look the same as last time. His regular two keyboard players are here - Paul Carrack and Chris Stainton. His guitar tech is the same as last time. Eric plays on a huge rug like last time. Like The Rolling Stones, there is always lots of hospitality packages for Eric Clapton here. Eric does not say much during the show apart from a couple of "thank you's". His guitar does the talking, as his playing is still totally top notch. A great mix of solo material , blues covers and older classics by Cream. For the acoustic section only, live footage is screened on to the curtain above the stage. The show starts fairly gently, then it's a stunning pairing of "I Shot the Sheriff" and "White Room". Other highlights included "Tears in Heaven", "Wonderful Tonight", "Badge" and "Layla". Like before , it is tradition for the fans to rush the stage before the electric version of "Layla". A great show. Full ERIC CLAPTON setlist played tonight... ELECTRIC SET Lead Me To The Water (Gary Brooker cover) Key to the Highway (Charles Segar cover) Pilgrim River of Tears I Shot the Sheriff (The Wailers cover) White Room (Cream song) SEMI-ACOUSTIC SET - Eric on acoustic guitar , with all the band on stage. Heart of a Child (with Andy Fairweather Low) Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out (Jimmy Cox cover) (with Andy Fairweather Low) Smile (Charlie Chaplin cover) Layla (Derek and the Dominos song) (with Andy Fairweather Low) Tears in Heaven (with Andy Fairweather Low) ELECTRIC SET Badge (Cream song) Wonderful Tonight Cross Road Blues (Robert Johnson cover) Little Queen of Spades (Robert Johnson cover) Layla (Derek and the Dominos song) Encore: High Time We Went (Joe Cocker cover)

Posted 9th May 2022