Earlier this year, Eric Clapton said his tour behind Reptile might be his last. We've heard that before from other rock stars, but as members of the British Invasion of the 60's get close to retirement age, opportunities to see rockers like Eric Clapton live, like tonight's concert, can be priceless. Clapton's Seattle stop on his first world tour in ten years showed Slowhand in fine form with a two-hour set that sampled nearly all phases of his career, from the Cream and Derek and the Dominoes era to some of his best solo work of the 90's, as well as a nod to his blues roots.

Clapton began with an acoustic "Key to the Highway" from 1970's Layla, and his band joined him on the jazzy title cut of his new Reprise disc, which is his first collection of studio recordings since 1998's Pilgrim. On "Reptile," Clapton sounded a lot more like Pat Metheny than an electric guitar God as the song twisted and turned on the featherlight touch of Steve Gadd behind the drums and Nathan East on bass. Long-time Clapton guitarist Andy Fairweather Low and the twin keyboards of David Sancious and Billy Preston rounded out the band. Large video screens on each side of the stage showed close ups of the band, with a little special effects thrown in, particularly psychedelic on "Sunshine of Your Love."

By the time Clapton exchanged his acoustic guitar for his Fender Stratocaster, the sold-out house was ready to rock. He added a rock-steady reggae tinge to "My Father's Eyes," which featured an extended jam that led into other songs from Pilgrim: "River of Tears," "Going Down Slow," and "She's Gone."

As Clapton lit into "Hoochie Coochie Man," I was reminded of the Chicago stop promoting his 1978 CD, Backless, when he shared the stage with Muddy Waters at the Chicago Stadium. When Clapton walked onstage near the end of Muddy's warm-up set, there was only a smattering of applause from a few folks up front who recognized Clapton clean shaven in a lime green business suit. Just like that night, tonight's audience was energized when he picked up his electric guitar. Muddy's song is timeless, and Clapton included it on his 1994 CD, From the Cradle. He continued down the blues road with "Stormy Monday" until the audience rose to its feet on "Cocaine."

David Sancious took a break from playing organ (both traditional keyboards and his own unique mouth organ, fueled by breathing into a mouthpiece) to usher in the opening notes of a very plugged-in "Layla." Sancious switched back to keyboards as Eric picked up the lead when the song took off during the softer, lilting piano-driven ending.

After he began "Will It Go 'Round in Circles," Billy Preston leapt from behind his organ to dance. It's hard for me to believe that it's been 25 years since Billy and Eric joined The Band on Clapton's No Reason to Cry release, but age hasn't slowed Billy or Eric. Preston didn't do just an ordinary shimmy, but he jumped and sidestepped wildly and got the audience to wave their hands in a circle, just like audiences did when Billy Preston released the single in the early 70's.

The show concluded with a rousing "Sunshine of Your Love" from Cream's 1967 Disraeli Gears LP and an acoustic sing along, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." While I might have preferred something from Backless or a nugget from the Yardbirds or Blind Faith, I was very pleased with the variety of Clapton's set tonight and his passion for the guitar, both acoustic and electric.

Smokestack = Lightning

Doyle Bramhall II blazed through his opening 35-minute set like a house afire. There's more than a passing resemblance between Doyle and another southpaw guitar slinger, Jimi Hendrix. Doyle's sure got the chops of Seattle's own pride and joy, and Bramhall has been compared to the late Stevie Ray Vaughan, too. It's no coincidence. Doyle's dad, Doyle Bramhall, played with Stevie and Jimmy Vaughan, and wrote many SRV hits like "The House is Rockin'" and "Change It." The younger Bramhall's musical apprenticeship included work with Jimmy's Fabulous Thunderbirds, and he also formed the Arc Angels, with Double Trouble and fellow Texan Charlie Sexton. Doyle made his RCA debut two years ago with Jellycream, a CD that caught the attention of both Roger Waters and Eric Clapton. Doyle's guitar work has catapulted him to the stratospheric heights of playing with rock and roll royalty from an early British invasion, and he's as gifted a songwriter as he is a note bender. Clapton and B.B. King chose Bramhall's "Marry You" and "I Wanna Be" for their Riding With the King CD, and Clapton used Doyle's "Superman Inside" on Reptile.

Doyle's new outfit, Smokestack, drew from their new RCA CD, Welcome . Smokestack worked like Traffic, Jimi Hendrix Experience, and other guitar icons of blues rock. I particularly liked "Helpless Man" and "Smokestack," when Doyle knelt center stage for a long solo as he sang about some of our society's most pressing social problems. The closer, "Green Light Girl," is a sit up and take notice, full-tilt rocker that showcased the entire band. Drummer J. J. Johnson (Neil Finn, The Flying Lizards) made me think of the way Chester Thompson used to power Genesis live, and bassist Chris Bruce (Chris Connelly, Bell Biv Devoe), laid down a strong rhythm foundation for Doyle's searing riffs. I didn't catch the keyboard player's name, but he filled out the four-piece nicely.

Tonight's double blues bill showed me that the blues is definitely in good hands, not only for Doyle Bramhall II and Smokestack's future, but also for the way Eric Clapton has brought back some his most memorable songs on what he says will be his final tour. As I said, we've heard that before from other rock stars, and I look forward to his next show.

Doyle Bramhall II and Smokestack Set List

Soul Shaker * Last Night * Helpless Man * Smokestack * Green Light Girl

Eric Clapton Set List

Key to the Highway * Reptile * Got You on My Mind * Tears in Heaven * Bell Bottom Blues * Change the World * My Father's Eyes * River of Tears * Goin' Down Slow * She's Gone * I Wanna Little Girl * Badge * Hoochie Coochie Man * Stormy Monday * Cocaine * Wonderful Tonight * Layla * Will It Go Round in Circles (Billy Preston) * Sunshine of Your Love * Somewhere Over the Rainbow

(C) 2001 - Eric Steiner