In Concert: Eric Clapton

image from guitardevil.com

Venue: Kemper Arena; Kansas City, MO
Opening Act: Doyle Bramhall II
The Players: Eric Clapton (vocals, guitar), Billy Preston (keyboards), Andy Fairweather-Low (back-up guitarist and vocalist), Nathan East (bass), Steve Gadd (drums)

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The Set List:

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1. Key to the Highway
2. Reptile
3. Got You on My Mind
4. Tears in Heaven
5. Bell Bottom Blues
6. Change the World
7. My Father’s Eyes
8. River of Tears
9. Going Down Slow
10. She’s Gone
11. I Want a Little Girl
12. Badge
13. Hoochie Coochie Man
14. Five Long Years
15. Cocaine
16. Wonderful Tonight
17. Layla

ENCORE:

18. Will It Go Round in Circles
19. Sunshine of Your Love
20. Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Here’s a timeline of when each of the above songs was originally released. It’s interesting that the entire decade of the ‘80s was neglected. He also avoided perhaps his three best-known covers: “After Midnight,” “I Shot the Sheriff,” and “Knocking on Heaven’s Door.”

• 1939: Judy Garland in the movie The Wizard of Oz: “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” Not featured on any Clapton albums.
• 1967: Cream’s album Disraeli Gears: “Sunshine of Your Love”
• 1969: Cream’s album Goodbye: “Badge”
• 1970: Derek and the Dominoes’ album Layla…and Other Assorted Love Songs: “Key to the Highway,” “Bell Bottom Blues,” “Layla”
• 1972: Billy Preston’s “Will It Go Round in Circles,” a #1 single from Preston’s album Music Is My Life. Not featured on any Clapton albums.
• 1977: Slow Hand: “Cocaine,” “Wonderful Tonight”
• 1992: Rush Soundtrack: “Tears in Heaven”
• 1994: From the Cradle: “Hoochie Coochie Man,” “Five Long Years”
• 1996: Phenomenon Soundtrack: “Change the World”
• 1998: Pilgrim: “My Father’s Eyes,” “River of Tears,” “Going Down Slow,” “She’s Gone”
• 2001: Reptile: “Reptile,” “Got You on My Mind,” “I Want a Little Girl”

  Billy Preston is most noted as the only artist to share billing with the Beatles on one of their songs (“Get Back”). Also a successful solo artist; at his peak in the early ‘70s. He was playing keyboards for gospel diva Mahalia Jackson by the age of 10. Andy Fairweather-Low has toured and recorded with Eric Clapton since 1992. He has also worked with George Harrison, Roger Waters, Stevie Nicks, and Kate Bush, among others. In the late ‘60s, Andy was the lead singer of British group Amen Corner. Nathan East has worked with Clapton since 1986. He has also worked with Barry White, Dionne Warwick, Johnny Mathis, Lionel Richie, Kenny Rogers, and Kenny Loggins. He also has been a member of the jazz group Fourplay in the ‘90s. Steve Gadd has worked with Clapton since 1998. Gadd also has worked as a jazz drummer with Dizzy Gillespie, Chick Corea, Bob James, Grover Washington Jr., and David Sanborn. All of the above, including opening act Doyle Bramhall II, were involved in the recording of the Reptile album. Only Dave Sancious, Bruce Springsteen’s keyboardist on his first three albums, was added for the tour. He has also worked as a solo artist, as well as a keyboardist for Sting, Peter Gabriel, and Bryan Ferry.

In Concert: Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band

Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band Kemper Arena in Kansas City, MO on 4/9/2000 image from ConsequenceOfSound.net

The Set List: 1. Take 'Em As They Come 2. The Promised Land 4 3. Two Hearts 5 4. Darkness on the Edge of Town 4 5. Darlington County 7 6. Factory 4 7. The River 5 8. Youngstown 11 9. Murder Inc. 10. Badlands 4 11. Out in the Street 5 12. Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out 3 13. Downbound Train 7 14. Candy’s Room 4 15. The Ghost of Tom Joad 11 16. Racing in the Street 4 17. Light of Day 18. Ramrod 5 19. Bobby Jean 7 20. Born to Run 3 21. Thunder Road 3 22. If I Should Fall Behind 10 23. Land of Hope and Dreams * Numbers refer to the studio album which first featured the song. Review: “Click here to see other concerts I’ve attended. Prepare yourselves – this is as anal as it gets when it comes to details you probably don’t really need to know. It’s rare that I get any chance to share my useless knowledge of music trivia, though, and the occasion of a Springsteen concert comes as close as I can probably get to justifying my torture of others with such knowledge. So, let’s tackle the set list based on his album releases. 1 Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. (1973) 2 The Wild, the Innocent, & the E Street Shuffle (1973) Alas, Bruce played NOTHING from his first two albums. I wouldn’t have minded seeing “Blinded by the Light,” “For You,” or “Spirit in the Night” off his first album. Those have all been made much better known as Manfred Mann songs. I’d have loved to see Bruce steal ‘em back. 3 Born to Run (1975): Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out was arguably the most rocking point of the evening. Bruce certainly got the crowd revved up, though. It also worked well to do an extended jam and band introductions in conjunction with this song. Of course he played Born to Run. What a shocker. Who would ever guess he would’ve played this? Of course everyone knows this as Bruce’s classic – rock lists, especially album-rock stations like KY, often put this song in their top 10 lists of all-time. However, from the standpoint of commercial success, this song only reached #23 on the pop charts. Amazingly, he had sixteen songs which were more successful on the charts and he played NONE of them! Not many artists could pull that off and still put on such a great show. 4 Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978): Bruce tackled six cuts from Darkness on the Edge of Town. I was surprised to see that album so heavily represented. It was a shame he completely ignored FIVE of his studio albums in placing so much emphasis on this album. Badlands was a rocking song, but not one of my favorites. Good choice for a live performance, though. He also tackled the title cut, which I really like, so I was glad to see it. Racing in the Street was another gem. Between this, “The River,” “Thunder Road,” “If I Should Fall Behind” and “Darkness on the Edge of Town,” I totally got my money’s worth. 5 The River (1980): Two Hearts is not one of my favorite cuts from The River. Just a plain ol’ rocker. However, the title cut was my personal highlight of the evening. At the risk of revealing a bit too much sentimentality, I was actually in tears at this one. It was absolutely gorgeous with that long sax solo, harmonica solo, and Bruce’s powerful vocal. I recognized Out in the Street when he played it, but couldn’t remember what album it was on. I never got into The River album very much. I’ll listen to it more now. Take 'Em As They Come, the opener, was on the 1998 box set of never-released material that spanned his entire career, but was recorded in 1980. I was surprised he kicked off with a fairly unknown tune. 6 Nebraska (1982): Come on! Nothing? Not even “Atlantic City”? 7 Born in the U.S.A. (1984): Darlington County was the first of three Born in the U.S.A. songs. Amazing, Bruce completely avoided the 7 top 10 hits from that album. I must say, I didn’t mind, but was quite surprised at how much he avoided the hit material from that album. I would have loved to hear a stripped down, slow version of “Born in the U.S.A.” I have such an animal from a 1996 EP that is absolutely beautiful. I love Bobby Jean. I read recently that this song isn’t really about a long-lost love, but about when Steve Van Zant first left the E Street Band. It puts the song in a new context. He also tackled Murder Inc., which first appeared on the 1995 Greatest Hits, but dates back to the Born in the U.S.A. days. I didn’t expect this, but it definitely was a good choice. 8 Tunnel of Love (1987): Sigh. Another album completely overlooked. Light of Day (1987) was originally recorded by The Barbusters (Joan Jett and the Blackhearts) in that classic, memorable 1987 film of the same name starring Joan Jett and Michael J. Fox. (Then again, aren’t all of Fox’s screen moments classics – think Teen Wolf, Casualties of War, Greed, The Frighteners, Bright Lights Big City, etc.) 9 Human Touch (1992): Nothing. 10 Lucky Town (1992): An incredible version of If I Should Fall Behind with Patti Scalfia, Clarence Clemons, Nils Lofgren, and Little Stevie Van Zant all taking turns on vocals. I loved it! It blew away the original album version! 11 The Ghost of Tom Joad (1995): I was pleasantly surprised to see a couple cuts off this album. Then again, it’s the last studio album he recorded (time for new material, Bruce!). The original version of Youngstown was the hardest-rocking song on from that album, but was still very stripped-down and acoustic in the original version. I really liked the harder-rocking live version. Well, there you have it - far more detail than you could have possibly wanted. I loved the concert, though, and wasn’t quite ready to move on. While I’ve been typing, I’ve “relived” the concert by playing all the album versions of the songs in order. Not quite the same, but it’s O.K. Bruuuuuuce! Resources and Related Links: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Bruce Springsteen DMDB profile page for Bruce Springsteen DMDB review of Bruce Springsteen in Concert, 2023 Dave’s Music Database: “Concerts” Last updated 2/19/2023.

In Concert: Roger Waters

image from watersish.com

Venue: Kemper Arena; Kansas City, MO
Tour: In the Flesh Tour
The Players: Roger Waters (vocals, guitar, bass), Andy Fairweather-Low (guitar), Doyle Bramhall II (guitar, vocals), Jon Carin (keyboards), Graham Broad (drums), Katie Kissoon (backing vocals)

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The Set List:

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1. In the Flesh
2. The Thin Ice
3. Another Brick in the Wall Part 1
4. The Happiest Days of Our Lives
5. Another Brick in the Wall Part 2
6. Mother
7. Get Your Filthy Hands Off My Desert
8. Southampton Dock
9. Pigs on the Wing Part 1
10. Dogs
11. Welcome to the Machine
12. Wish You Were Here
13. Shine on You Crazy Diamond Part 1-4
14. Shine on You Crazy Diamond Part 5-8
15. Speak to Me
16. Breathe
17. Time
18. Breathe Reprise
19. The Great Gig in the Sky
20. Money
21. Every Stranger’s Eyes
22. The Powers That Be
23. What God Wants Part 1
24. Perfect Sense Part 1 and 2
25. It’s a Miracle
26. Amused to Death
27. Brain Damage
28. Eclipse
29. Comfortably Numb
30. Each Small Candle

Fairweather-Low has played and/or recorded with Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Stevie Nicks, and Kate Bush, among others; has worked with Waters since the 1984 Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking tour. Bramhall has played professionally since he was 15. He was one of the few musicians the late Stevie Ray Vaughan would invite to sit in with him and, at 19, was invited to join Jimmie Vaughan's Fabulous Thunderbirds. Broad has worked with Procol Harum, Bill Wyman & the Rhythm Kings, and on Waters’ Amused to Death. Jon Carin has played with The Who, Pete Townshend, Bryan Ferry and others. Kissoon has worked with Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, George Harrison, and the Pet Shop Boys among others.

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