Any Winwood and Clapton fans out there?

These two musical icons are hitting the road together this summer. Tickets quickly sold out in my neck of the woods.

Lucky for me, I was recently able to catch a show they did together last year at Madison Square Garden on one of our local public television stations. Absolutely incredible show! Both of them are still on top of their game. What a thrill it is to see these two old friends together again on stage. Between the two of them, they've pretty much played with every notable musician on the planet!

They did a version of Traffic's "Dear Mr. Fantasy" that sent giant goosebumps all over my body, particularly the guitar solos near the end! If anyone is interested, you can check it out here.

I've seen both Winwood and Clapton (separately) in concert (years ago), and while they were great concerts, this collaborative show is something very special indeed. Musical/songwriter talents like Steve Winwood and Eric Clapton don't come along very often. The careers these two have had, it boogles the mind!

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Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!

Count me in as a Clapton fan dating back to the Yardbirds.At onetime I had everything that EC ever recorded.Had tickets for the July 18th concert but plans changed and gave the tickets to my neighbor just last week.

I was a traffic fan but more a Dave Mason fan.
I too was lucky to catch the Clapton,Winwood concert on PBS,great one,two, punch.

Funny thing,just prior to seeing your post,I was listening to Clapton and Allman.."Mean Old World"

I have DVD of almost everything Clapton's done since Journeyman. He's the the best ther ever was, is, or will be, period.
I'm not a huge Winwood fan, but I did like Blind Faith. I think that was mainly due to the novelty of it being a one album band. Can't Find My Way Home was the 2nd song I learned to play on guitar.
Just for the record, I think Pilgrim was Clapton's best work.
Great to see Nathan East too.

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"But Higgins, I can explain."

You guys are cool in my book, laying down names like Dave Mason and Nathan East!

The amazing thing about Clapton and Winwood is that they both found themselves in such big bands at such an early age. Clapton was 18 when he joined the Yardbirds! Winwood was 17 when he joined The Spencer Davis Group! At 17, I was studying for the SAT and hanging out with friends. Stevie was laying down #1 tracks in the studio, playing clubs, and backing Blues greats when they came through Birmingham!

You right Mike, Pilgram is a great album. Oddly, that's the last Clapton album I've heard in its entirety (although I've heard most of the tracks off the B.B. King album he did). Sadly, I don't buy music very much anymore. 461 Ocean Boulevard has always been my favorite Clapton solo album. The Derek and the Dominos album ("Layla") is my favorite collaborative album he's done. Duane Allman, man. Duane Allman!

Stevie Winwood has also always been a favorite of mine. Love his early stuff, love Traffic, love most of his solo stuff. His last two albums (particularly About Time) and his first four albums I love. The middle three (Roll With It, Refugees of the Heart, Junction Seven), not so good. Arc of the Diver (1980) is one of my favorite albums, of any artist, of all-time. Loved the sound he achieved on that record. And he played every instrument on it.

I can't really argue with you about Clapton being the best guitarist there ever was. He has it all - technical skill, "soul/emotion", prolific, you name it. I would say that Jimi Hendrix, Duane Allman, and Jeff Beck come pretty darn close, though.

Man, I wish I could see this show! I havn't seen a good arena show in ages!

_________________
Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!

That is a show that I will have to see if it is in my area. I know the wife and I would be very interested in going to that show!

James, In case you're interested here are the myspace pages for EC, and Nathan East.
http://www.myspace.com/ericclapton
http://www.myspace.com/nathaneast
Diana has them both on her friends list. I first became aware of Nathan East during the 1980s tour with EC (Eric Clapton and Friends) and Phil Collins. Collins produced one of my favorite EC pop songs "Tearing Us Apart". Although the live versions are a thousand times better than the album version. Collins made the drums way too overpowering on the studio version.
The Pilgrim CD was the first gift my wife bought for me when we were dating. Even though I was a Clapton fan, I was unaware of the album.
That album features EC at his most soulful I feel. I challenge anyone to listen to "My Father's Eyes", or "River Of Tears", and not be moved.
"River Of Tears happens to be my favorite EC song, if not my favorite song period.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTVoM6x7tEg
I have this show on DVD. This show is simply amazing. It features Billy Preston who passed in 2006. Believe it or not, I bought the DVD on Ebay for $1.85.

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"But Higgins, I can explain."

Here is the tour schedule so far:

June 2009
10 - East Rutherford, NJ - Izod Center
12 - Philadelphia, PA - Wachovia Center
13 - Washington, DC - Verizon Center
15 - Columbus, OH - Schottenstein Center
17 - Chicago, IL - United Center
18 - St. Paul, MN - Xcel Energy Center
20 - Omaha, NE - Qwest Center
21 - Denver, CO - Pepsi Center
23 - Dallas, TX - American Airlines Center
24 - Houston, TX - Toyota Center
26 - Glendale, AZ - Jobing.com Arena
27 - Las Vegas, NV - MGM Grand Arena
29 - Oakland, CA - Oracle Arena
30 - Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Bowl

The band that will be backing them up is a stellar lineup - Chris Stainton (keyboards), Willie Weeks (bass), Abe Laboriel, Jr. (drums). All three are top notch musicians. Laboriel is a great drummer to watch. He's very animated in his playing; he totally gets into it. He backed Paul McCartney up on his last tour.

Mike, I didn't realize E.C.'s last album was with J.J. Cale! I'm gonna definitely have to check that out!

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Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!

oops...I meant June 18th.

The album was called "The Road To Escondito", and was Cale heavy. The tour came within 5 miles of my house when i lived in PA, and I didn't know about it until the day of the show. Too late to get tickets .

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"But Higgins, I can explain."

Mike,
I don't think J J Cale was a member of The Guess Who.
He also wrote "After Midnight"