Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Geezer Rock


Last night we went to an Eric Clapton concert. It was not entirely what I expected. The opening band (The Robert Cray Band) was fine. And Clapton was Clapton – a mix of styles and guitars underlay with a profound technical mastery of his instrument and a real humility about his profession. Unlike some other aging rockers he seems to genuinely like to work with the rest of his band. While the concert had his name on it, every musician on stage got to strut his stuff.

As you would expect, Clapton did some work with both electric and acoustic guitars. The crowd seemed to be waiting for him to sing Lela but I am not sure that should be his signature song. He does so well in so many genres. The last time I saw him was at the Concert for New York, which was in Madison Square Garden, when he was on the stage with Buddy Guy. He is worth seeing more than once.

What was unexpected was the crowd. It was predominantly over 50 or older. There were some aging counter culture types but a lot of them were like me, easing into seniorhood but not quite ready to trade in the Levis for support hose.

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