From the Vault...My First Published Concert Review from Feb. '08

Back in February, I had a chance to see one of only 3 concerts Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood played together at Madison Square Garden. For those of you not too familiar with how monumental this pairing was, you would need to be familiar with their band Blind Faith. The group came together after Clapton and Cream broke up, only to record one monumental album in 1969. The group disbanded shortly after, and now 40 years later, Clapton and Winwood came together for the closest thing to a Blind Faith reunion we might ever see. I saw the band on their second of 3 shows, and it was one of the most extraordinary concert experiences I have ever seen. A day after the show, I submitted a review of the show to the Eric Clapton Fan Club magazine, Where's Eric. The website posted my review among others that were submitted and you can check it out on this link if you scroll down towards the bottom of the page. I've copied my review as seen on the website below, as well as the set list and list of band members which is also on the site.
http://www.whereseric.com/tour/special-gigs/26-February-2008_steve-winwood-eric-clapton-madison-square-garden-new-york-ny.html

"Review by John DeSantis- Bergenfield, NJ
I was one of the few lucky fans able to see one of these historic 3 Winwood/Clapton shows at MSG. Having been born nearly 15 years after Blind Faith's only album came out (1983 to be exact) this was my first tangible experience with probably the closest thing to a reunion I'll ever see. It also was my first chance to see Clapton or Winwood perform live in general, which made the experience even more significant to me as a fan of both.

I have to admit I felt a bit out of place being a 24 year old amongst a sea of nearly 20,000 baby boomers, but I have to say one moment allowed me to hold my head high following the show. A 40-something man with a hairpiece that looked about as out of place as Britney Spears at a successful parenting seminar, drunkenly and saracastically yelled out, 'Hey, did you like Layla?' He was obviously misinformed at the significance and substance of these shows that someone much younger than him who was not even conceived at the height of Clapton and Winwood's fame was able to realize and appreciate. For anyone who came to these shows expecting to see him play 'Layla,' 'Sunshine of Your Love,' 'Tears In Heaven,' or 'Wonderful Tonight,' they were probably about as misinformed as bad hairpiece guy, and don't have the depth of musicical appreciation to even know who Steven Winwood is or Blind Faith was. These people should have stayed home and waited until Clapton goes on the road solo again; I know plenty of people who would have appreciated this show much more than these fans whose knowledge is limited to what they listen to on Q104.3 on their way to work. (And that's not a knock on Q104, it's a great station, but limiting your Eric Clapton listening to a classic rock station is similar to watching reruns of the Sopranos on A&E, it's just not the same.)

The Blind Faith songs sounded amazing, especially 'Had to Cry Today,' 'Can't Find My Way Home,' and the way they transoformed 'Presence of the Lord' into a duet. Previously I wasn't a big fan of Clapton's 'Forever Man' until I heard him rip through it with a thunderous guitar stampede last night. This removed all memory of the dated studio version of this song I've been limited to my whole life. It seemed like the roof was going to cave in when they played 'After Midnight' and the back to back helping of Hendrix they played with 'Little Wing' (played more to the arrangment Derek and the Dominoes performed on the 'Layla' album) and 'Voodoo Chile' practically made my night right there. I also have to note that the New York Times had the absent-mindedness to say that they made 'Little Wing' sound like it could have been a song by the Band, until Clapton's solo, totally disregarding the fact that they played it to the same tune as Clapton and Duane Allman did on the 'Layla' album. Sorry, just something else I had to nitpick at in order to show I can hold my own with rock fans my parents' age and that a younger generation can appreciate an event like this just the same.

I'd have to say I'm more of a fan of Clapton than Winwood since my earliest memories of both differ very significantly. The first I heard of Winwood were his 1980's hits 'Higher Love' and 'Roll With It' while my first memory of Clapton was hearing the back end of 'Layla' play as the overture to the murder montage in Martin Scorsese's 'Goodfellas' (what kid wouldn't remember that?). Clapton has been undeniably the more popular of the two, but Winwood stated his case to me last night as his voice still unbelievably sounds as distinct and melodic as it did on record over 30 years ago. He made 'Georgia on My Mind' sound like it was his own, which was one of the best numbers of the night even though it was just him on stage, and convinced me to try to seek him out solo this summer when he opens for Tom Petty.

From what I read of the first show Monday night, it sounds as though Winwood did less guitar work and more on the organ last night, but it just added another layer to their great performance, and he took full advantage of the moments when he wielded the guitar. The way they traded riffs back and forth towards the end of the closing number 'Dear Mr. Fantasy' was one of the single most mysifying moments I've ever seen in concert (right up there with Springsteen joining U2 onstage in Philladelphia for a cover of 'People Get Ready' when I saw them in '05).

If I had $100 bucks to spend, or if my tax return came a couple months early, I would do everything I could to see the finale on Thursday night. My only hope is that they put these shows out on DVD like they did with the Cream reunion at the Royal Albert Hall so I can blast it up on my surround sound to enjoy over and over again. Hopefully, this isnt' the last time these two take the stage together, judging by their chemistry it certainly won't be."
The Band:
Eric Clapton - guitar, vocals

Steve Winwood - hammond organ, guitar, vocals

Chris Stainton - keyboards

Willie Weeks - bass

Ian Thomas - drums

Setlist:
01. Had To Cry Today

02. Low Down

03. Forever Man

04. Them Changes

05. Sleeping In The Ground

06. Presence Of The Lord

07. Glad / Well Alright

08. Double Trouble

09. Pearly Queen

10. Tell The Truth

11. No Face

12. After Midnight

13. Split Decision

14. Ramblin On My Mind (Clapton solo acoustic)

15. Georgia On My Mind (Winwood solo hammond)

16. Little Wing

17. Voodoo Chile

18. Can't Find My Way Home

19. Cocaine
Encore:
20. Dear Mr Fantasy