I am so Blind (Faith).

After the Clapton/Winwood show at Madison Square Garden last night, my mind was immediately whirring with prose and rants with which to fill my blog. So, I'll write what I had originally planned, and then follow it up with what I've come to learn in the 12 hours since I plotted my initial post.

Oh, and in case you were wondering (because who wouldn't?) here is last night's setlist:
Had To Cry Today / Low Down / Forever Man / Them Changes / Sleeping In The Ground / Presence Of The Lord / Glad>Well Alright / Double Trouble / Pearly Queen / Tell The Truth / No Face / After Midnight / Split Decision / Ramblin On My Mind (Clapton solo acoustic) / Georgia On My Mind (Winwood solo Hammond B3) / Little Wing / Voodoo Chile / Can't Find My Way Home / Cocaine / Encore: Mr. Fantasy

It's hard for me to have seen Eric Clapton at MSG twice now, and not constantly compare the two performances. Yes, it was lovely to see Steve Winwood on stage with him and, yes, Clapton tears up some NASTY guitar solos. And by some, I mean for about ten minutes during each song. And I loved every minute of that. It's true, too, that Winwood hasn't lost a step vocally or keyboardally, and that his rendition of 'Georgia On My Mind' was breathtakingly sincere.

Oh, and yes, it was probably one of the highlights of my life to have seen Clapton play the Derek and the Dominoes cover of Jimi Hendrix's 'Little Wing' (see post from December)...and 'Voodoo Chile' was 15 minutes of pure bliss.

Given all of these positives, you'll be shocked to learn that the post I was planning at 11:00pm last night was one railing Clapton and Winwood for several reasons. They are as follows:

Song Choice - Aside from the obvious standouts (Cocaine, aforementioned Hendrix covers, After Midnight), I was very disappointed with the amount of standard 12-bar blues that was going on. I love to play it, I love to hear it, but in an arena with 20,000 people the energy just wasn't there until Clapton was ripping a solo (frequently). I could've definitely gone for some 'Sunshine Of Your Love' or 'Crossroads' (which he played the night before). Maybe Layla? I know it's selfish and he's probably played those tunes at least sixteen hundred times, but those old rockin' tunes really bring the house down! All I'm saying is, in 2004 when I saw Clapton with Robert Randolph (more on this later) my face was blown off by the entire show. Hard blues, slow blues...all types of blues. But in 2008, we had a bunch of midtempo tunes (including the lackluster encore, 'Mr. Fantasy') that kept the energy at a steady 7+ instead of the 9-10 that is expected of a Clapton show.

Musician Choice - I have been spoiled. I've seen some of the best guitarists play with some of the best drummers in the best venues. Having seen Clapton play with Randolph at MSG four years ago, I can safely say that Clapton is capable of using his smooth and make-it-look-easy hand to keep a capacity crowd up and moving for close to three hours. He is stoic, and his facial contortions don't come close to matching those of some other guitarists. He sways in place, his hand flying up and down the fretboard, his chinless face tilted with eyes closed toward the rafters and banners of the great Knicks and Rangers, and while his guitar wails and wails some of the most impressive notes ever uttered, he seems unphased by it all, as though his status as one of the greatest guitarists ever, and the roar of tens-of-thousands of screaming fans (who range from pimply teens to geriatric Hippies) are left beneath him as he launches himself to heights only known by late-greats like Hendrix, Allman or Vaughn. It's as if, in order to maintain his earth shifting and epic virtuosity, he must appear as nonchalant as possible.

But Winwood and Clapton made for a sleepy pair. Winwood does not have the guitar chops to play next to Clapton, and was simply dwarfed by the prodigious and entertaining solos that he laid down. He does, of course, have the organ/piano/vocal chops to play with him, but during those moments they could have really used another guitarist.

The bassist and keyboardist, Willie Weeks and Chris Stainton, respectively, were outstanding. Stainton was given only one solo during the two-plus hour set, and he used it impressively to bring 'Cocaine' to a climax that only seemed possible if flowing from Clapton's guitar. Weeks spent the majority of the night in the shadow of drummer Ian Thomas (much, much more on him in a minute), but really held the rhythm section together.

My biggest complaint about the musician choice is not so much the fact that Ian Thomas got the call, because he was more than sufficient, but more about the fact that Steve Gadd, Clapton's drummer for more than 30 years, was passed over. For those of you who don't know, which I assume is most of you, Gadd is a legendary contemporary drummer who revolutionized the way rock drummers play. The chance to see him play, which I've had on several previous occasions, is one that I was looking forward to having again last night. I'm sure Gadd wasn't snubbed by Clapton like Johnny Greenwood was by The Academy, but if I'm Eric Clapton planning a three-night MSG stint, I will make sure that Steve Gadd is behind that kit.

This ends the intended post from the hours of 11:00pm 2/26/2008 to 11:00am 2/27/2008.

Thus begins my retraction:

Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood were in a band together in the late 1960s called Blind Faith (with Ginger Baker and Ric Grech). As foolish as this is going to sound, I didn't have sight of this last night. I did no preparation for the show by listening to the one and only Blind Faith album, aptly titled Blind Faith. At one point before the show, my dad even turned to me and said, "You know, I think I still have that Blind Faith album," and I still wasn't able to put it all together and realize that Clapton and Winwood were not just randomly taking the stage together. Instead, they were reuniting after almost 40 years apart.

How could I have been so blind? I'm sure that I knew that Blind Faith existed, but I am ashamed to say that I didn't even consider it last night. This makes completely illegitimate my complaints about both song choice and, at least in part, musician choice. If I had been familiar with my material, I'm sure I would have been positively ecstatic to be party to the four-decades-in-the-making Blind Faith revival.

My problem last night was all about expectations. I expected Gadd, but got Ian Thomas. I was looking for a Robert Randolph, but was dealt a Steve Winwood. I even thought I'd be hearing some Cream and maybe even some Reptile, but I should have been listening for Blind Faith. It's amazing how some background can change your perceptions, and I experienced that twice in the last 12 hours. After learning that Ian Thomas isn't a noname at all, but a very up-and-coming British drummer, and that Winwood and Clapton have almost a half-century of history together, I am much more accepting of those aspects of last night's concert to which I was initially vehemently opposed. Having acquired this new information and gained this new perspective, I am happy to set aside my harsh judgments in favor of appreciation for the fact that last night, I witnessed music history.