Eric Clapton announces limited US Tour

Saw Clapton at the old Key Arena (now Climate Pledge Arena) in Seattle in 2011. The show was sold out.

I wasn't a huge Clapton fan, but I knew he was a "bucket list" concert for me, and I was familiar with his entire body of work, so I was very eager to see him.

Robert Cray opened for him, and he was great, unfortunately, Clapton was a disappointment. Of his entire set-list, I only remember recognizing 3 songs, Layla, Badge and Cocaine.

I know this is going to sound stupid and almost sacrilegious to say, but the guitar soloing ... in every song ... was overwhelming, and not in a good way. Every song, and I do me EVERY song, had a lengthy (5-10 minutes) guitar solo.

I get it, he's a Guitar God, but after a while, everything sounded the same and the concert just sorta' droned on. The venue almost seemed to lose interest, until he broke into Layla and Cocaine, other than that, the crowd quickly lost energy. I can remember contemplating leaving the show.

I also remember him making the audience wait a long time for him to come out for an encore, and I remember talking to people around me and all of us thinking he'd come out and play 2 or 3 of his hits for the encore. He did not.

He came out and played another song I was unfamiliar with, and had never heard before, and then busted into another guitar solo ... and, not joking ... by the time the song was over, the arena was more than 1/2 empty.

Hopefully, if you're going to see him on this limited tour, he'll play the stuff that he is best known for.

Slow Hand is a vastly underrated classic album

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Old Love

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He made his guitar cry playing that song at the Royal Albert Hall shows in 91, still gives me chills when I watch the video. I think he played there several nights that spring

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Saw Clapton at the old Key Arena (now Climate Pledge Arena) in Seattle in 2011.

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Clapton was a disappointment.

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Clapton put on a horrible show in New Orleans in 2010. Might have been the same tour.

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Clapton seems like he’s never really enjoyed touring in his older years. But he did come back a few years later and put on a better show.

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busted into another guitar solo ... and, not joking ... by the time the song was over, the arena was more than 1/2 empty.

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With regards to the set list, I would agree that none of those songs are "bad"; however, here are some of the songs that were not in the set list:

Change the World
Tears in Heaven
I Can't Stand It
Bad Love
Pretending
Lay Down Sally
It's in the Way that You Use It
Tearing Us Apart
After Midnight
No Alibis
Forever Man
My Father's Eyes
She's Waiting
Knockin' on Heaven's Door

That's a pretty sizeable chunk of his catalog (all of which charted) to leave out of a live show, and I think that was the impetus for my disappointment.

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Ehh I totally get it. Call me simple minded but I’d rather live solos to sound more like their album versions with maybe a bit of extended liberty.

When guys noodle on and on forever I quickly lose interest regardless of how talented they are or how difficult the solo is.

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I much prefer jams but Clapton is boring and predictable in his later years. When i saw him Derek Trucks completely stole the show.

if he still had this energy, i'd happily pay whatever to go see him but i doubt he is getting back on the powder again