Eric Clapton and Roger Daltrey at Milwaukee’s Summerfest 6/28/10
by Scott Lyson
Two days after Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival just outside of Chicago, Clapton traveled north to Milwaukee to play a solo show with Roger Daltrey as the opening act. Daltrey was a great choice for opening act and it wasn’t long before the crowd really got into his set. He started with “I Can See For Miles” and “The Real Me” but then after inviting some more audience participation started in on “Behind Blue Eyes,” which caused many a cell phone to flip open and start recording. Daltrey seemed to be enjoying himself and his band was tight and on their game. Pete’s brother Simon Townsend took the lead vocal on “Going Mobile” after a rousing version of “Who Are You.” Daltrey closed out his set with “Baba O’Reilly” and left the crowd eager for more rock and roll. Daltrey sounded strong, happy to be performing, and was as satisfied with the live renditions of the classic Who numbers as was the audience.
Eric Clapton’s Crossroads set two nights earlier was disjointed, uneven, and when Citizen Cope joined him for a number – it was downright awful. The set he performed at Summerfest was anything but disjointed and uneven. For 90-minutes Clapton played the lone guitar onstage with not a lot of flash but a lot of heart. Unlike Daltrey, who was chatting with the audience quite a bit, Clapton kept the chatting to thank-yous and let the music speak for itself. “Tell The Truth” returned to the opening slot in the setlist in some time and it could’ve used another guitar in the arrangement if it weren’t for a such a solid rhythm section. Lack of another guitarist also allowed backup singer Sharon White to sing a verse. “Key To The Highway” is one of the more well-known blues songs and Clapton always seems to enjoy playing it even though it’s probably one of the songs that could use a rest from the set. A J.J. Cale style “After Midnight” followed which was quite the crowd pleaser but it was right back to straight blues with “Tough Luck Blues.” This number probably should have been substituted for something else as “Little Queen of Spades” was played later and has an almost identical structure. To close the first third of the show Clapton laid some reggae riffs and launched into the hit “I Shot The Sheriff” which had a long satisfying solo at the end.
As is the standard for a Clapton set these days is the acoustic portion of the show which started with a slower tempo version of “Driftin” and then “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down And Out.” Thanks to the T-Moblie promotion of the limited edition Fender phone, the song “I’ve Got A Rock And Roll Heart” has enjoyed a renewed popularity, and even this acoustic version really got the crowd fired up and singing. “Layla” seemed an appropriate choice to follow, but the acoustic set concluded with a song that will be on Clapton’s upcoming album, “When Somebody Thinks You’re Wonderful.” Some of the older musicians seem to be digging into the great American songbook and this seems like a great fit for Clapton.
The show closed out with a collection of blues and greatest hits from Clapton’s catalogue. The Cream tune “Badge” kicked things off which was followed by the immensely popular “Wonderful Tonight,” then the 12-bar blues of “Before You Accuse Me” and the solo-filled tune of “Little Queen of Spades” and then the hard-punching “Cocaine” which ended with an intense Chris Stainton solo on piano. Clapton and company came back to perform “Crossroads” for the encore and clearly the crowd wanted more, but it was not to be.
As Clapton gets a little older, his playing doesn’t have the speed and intensity as it once had, but that’s not the focus anymore. The focus is on blues – music played with heart and feeling. It’s what I was expecting and it’s exactly what I got. The night was cool, breezy, and relaxed, and everybody enjoyed an evening of great songs with great musicians and some fantastic guitar playing. A perfect summer evening.
4/5 stars
​
