Last February, Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood rewarded people's blind faith in rock and roll with three sold out shows at Madison Square Garden. Close friends, the two have always enjoyed played together and will spend a good part of the Summer of 2009 setting tongues awag with a brief U.S. tour.

June 10: East Rutherford, NJ - Izod Center
June 12: Philadelphia, PA - Wachovia Center
June 13: Washington, DC - Verizon Center
June 15: Columbus, OH - Schottenstein Center
June 18: St Paul, MN - Xcel Energy Center
June 20: Omaha, NE - Qwest Center
June 21: Denver, CO - Pepsi Center
June 23: Dallas, TX - American Airlines Center
June 24: Houston, TX - Toyota Center
June 26: Glendale, AZ - Jobing.com Arena
June 27: Las Vegas, NV - MGM Grand Arena
June 29: Oakland, CA - Oracle Arena
June 30: Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Bowl

Labels: Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood

By: David Schultz

From the moment Steve Winwood and Eric Clapton took the stage together this past July at Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival in Chicago, Illinois, visions of a Blind Faith reunion started dancing like sugarplums in the heads of Baby Boomers everywhere. For those coming into the game a bit late, once upon a time (i.e. 1969), Clapton and Winwood partnered up with drummer Ginger Baker and bassist Ric Grech to form Blind Faith, one of the first supergroups of the modern rock era. The post-Cream project burned brightly but quietly dissolved after a brief U.S. tour in support of their one self-titled album. Over the next 40 years, classic rock radio would help keep Blind Faith’s legacy alive and “Can’t Find My Way Home” and “Presence Of The Lord” would sporadically appear in various forms as part of Clapton and Winwood’s live shows.

Last week, Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood headlined three shows at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, returning to the venue where Blind Faith made their first U.S. concert appearance on July 12, 1969. For those who fancy reunions, Winwood and Clapton faithfully played many of their old band’s songs, including a marvelous rendition of “Can’t Find My Way Home.” However, without Ginger Baker or Grech, who passed away in 1990, this wasn’t Blind Faith and neither Clapton nor Winwood seemed inclined to pass themselves off as such. To the contrary, these shows had the feel of two musicians, whose careers have crossed paths on many occasions, finding a reason to play some old songs for an appreciative audience and make a boatload of cash in the process. The dream team of Clapton and Winwood was hardly a bargain: even before the ticket scalpers . . . er, brokers got their hands on them, tickets were officially listed for as high as $254. Putting aside the debate as to whether any concert is worth such a steep price (e.g. Led Zeppelin reunion); in this case, Clapton and Winwood didn’t disappoint.

The three Madison Square Garden shows varied slightly from night to night and the fact that Clapton, Winwood, bassist Willie Weeks, drummer Ian Thomas and keyboardist Chris Stainton wore the same outfits each night might indicate that a video release of the event might be in the works. Their set list held few surprises with many of the songs from their recent Crossroads set and their performance at the 1973 Rainbow Concert finding their way onto the Garden stage. Undoubtedly, the music was solid and it’s hard to downplay the distinct thrill of seeing Winwood and Clapton join forces on songs like “Little Wing” and “Cocaine,” but in the whole their polished performance was more professional than inspired musicianship. Fortunately, when you are as accomplished as these two though, that can easily carry a show for nearly three hours.

Once the boy genius of the Spencer Davis Group, it’s easy to forget that Winwood, who turns 60 later this year, is only a couple years younger than Clapton. If you were unfamiliar with their pedigrees, the professorial looking Clapton and the slightly gaunt Winwood hardly looked like rock and roll royalty. If they didn’t dress the part, they offered subtle reminders of their significant contributions, touching upon all phases of both superstars’ lengthy careers. In addition to mining their respective solo efforts, they also delved into the songbooks of Derek & The Dominos (“Tell The Truth”), Traffic (“Glad,” “Pearly Queen”) and of course, the impetus for much of the evening’s excitement, Blind Faith.

Winwood spent nearly half the show playing the guitar. Despite considerable chops, he never challenged the mighty Slow Hand and the two traded complementary licks rather than engage in any clash of the classic rock titans. They enhanced each other’s 80s material to great effect. On “Forever Man,” Winwood filled out Clapton’s rocker, adding vocals and powerful organ fills and Clapton returned the favor on Winwood’s often overlooked track from Back In The High Life, “Split Decision,” with a couple expertly crafted guitar solos. It was when they stepped into their old roles as master purveyors of English blues, especially on Blind Faith’s “Had To Cry Today” and “Sleeping In The Ground,” that the music rose to another level. One of the night’s more inspired efforts was their cover of Jimi Hendrix’ “Voodoo Child.” During an extended run through the electric blues standard, Winwood and Clapton skillfully reverted back to their roots and offered revelatory interpretations of the blues.

On the Blind Faith numbers, Ian Thomas had the thankless role of trying to reproduce Ginger Baker’s mammoth drum bursts. Given Baker’s mythic stature, it’s unlikely there’s anything Thomas could’ve done to avoid coming up on the weak side of the unfair comparisons with the usually unintelligible drummer. Likewise, Chris Stainton left the heavy lifting on the keyboards to the star of the show, waiting until Winwood was playing guitar to make his presence felt.

If there was anything close to a star turn, it took place just past the halfway point of the show. On Thursday night’s show, Clapton took the stage alone with an acoustic guitar and slipped into his Robert Johnson master bluesman mode for an understated rendition of “Kind Hearted Woman.” In contrast, Winwood’s use of the Hammond B3 on his solo take on Ray Charles’ “Georgia On My Mind,” overwhelmed the delicateness of the song while simultaneously giving it a magisterial aura.

Clapton’s presence altered Winwood’s customary delivery of Traffic songs that have long been part of his solo shows. “Glad,” which normally seesaws between Winwood’s jaunty melody and the jazzy response from the rest of the band, turned into a more communal effort. Before it segued into a gritty cover of Buddy Holly’s “Well . . . Alright,” Clapton offered a different take on the Traffic classic giving it a bluesier feel, leaving his own indelible mark on the song. The biggest difference occurred during their encore of “Dear Mr. Fantasy.” Winwood generally needs no assistance to blow the doors off any arena when he plays the tune but in deference to his esteemed colleague shared the guitar leads. The song is so intimately ingrained into Winwood’s psyche; it marked the only time during the evening that his guitar skills reigned supreme as even Clapton couldn’t surpass Winwood on this one song. It was a fine way to end the evening but knowing what it could have been, it felt somewhat incomplete.

At the present time, there aren’t any plans for Clapton and Winwood to take this show on the road or expand the lineup to include Ginger Baker. You never know though, sometimes Blind Faith gets rewarded.

Labels: Blind Faith, Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood

Claiming that he invited Steve Winwood to play at his second Crossroads Festival in Illinois because he has "unfinished business" with his one time band mate, Eric Clapton has stoked the rumor mill with hopes of a Blind Faith reunion. A true reformation will be impossible as bassist Ric Grech died in 1990, but should Ginger Baker appear, Clapton will have been instrumental in reforming yet another supergroup from the Sixties with Cream having played a series of shows in the fall of 2005.

Blind Faith's brief but memorable career began at a free concert in London in 1969; their entire catalog consisted of one self-titled album containing the classic rock staple "Can't Find My Way Home."

Labels: Blind Faith, Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood

On January 21, classic rockers Pete Townshend, Steve Winwood and Paul Weller will honor their departed friend Jim Capaldi at the Dear Mr. Fantasy show at The Roundhouse in London, England. Capaldi, best known for his stint as Traffic's drummer in the 70s, lost his battle with stomach cancer nearly two years ago. The show, which will feature music from Traffic as well as Capaldi's solo career, will benefit the Jubilee Action Street Children Appeal. Bill Wyman, Joe Walsh, Gary Moore, The Storys and others will also appear.

Labels: Jim Capaldi, Pete Townshend, Steve Winwood, Traffic

By David Schultz

Classic rock dinosaurs rarely become extinct. Rather, it's become quite commonplace for aging rock bands to stave off the death rattle of irrelevancy with reunion tours replete with bombastic explosions of staged grandeur. Opting to open his 2005 fall tour at New York City's Bowery Ballroom, Steve Winwood, a lesser deity in the classic rock pantheon, has chosen a more understated manner of preserving his legacy. Exhibiting a demeanor in line with the coziness of the 500+ occupancy Ballroom, Winwood displays none of the egotistic excesses you might expect from someone who has jammed with Hendrix and earned equal billing with Clapton.

Reconstructing archetypal Traffic songs and resurrecting other lost classics, Winwood created the type of Traffic jam guaranteed to please any New Yorker. Although focusing primarily on Traffic-era tunes, Winwood covered material from his entire forty year career. Opening both sets with songs from his most recent album About Time, Winwood quickly moved on to crowd-pleasers like Empty Pages, Light Up Or Leave Me Alone and Low Spark of High Heeled Boys, a song that will always be inextricably linked to Winwood. The intimate surroundings provided a perfect setting for lesser-known favorites like 40,000 Headmen, Rainmaker and the rollicking Medicated Goo, which closed the first set.

Remaining seated at his keyboards for the majority of the show, Winwood allowed his band, featuring flautist/saxophonist Jay Davidson, to remain center stage. Though Winwood gave his band every opportunity to shine, practically handing Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys to them in its entirety, they failed to captivate the audience. While blame can partially be attributed to the sound difficulties that plagued the band early on, a failed microphone completely muted Davidson's sax solo on Light Up Or Leave Me Alone, the band's weaknesses were too apparent to ignore. Winwood's supporting musicians did not shine on their own but they did not detract from the show and were extremely competent in complimenting Winwood while he touched on music from all phases of his career.

Over the years, Winwood has become so closely associated with the keyboards, his proficiency with the guitar is oftentimes overlooked. Stepping out from behind his organ, Winwood fronted a scorching version of Blind Faith's Can't Find My Way Home as well as an absolutely transcendent version of Dear Mr. Fantasy. His jaw-dropping guitar solos during Fantasy should convince any doubters of whether Winwood deserves his status as a rock icon. Worth the ticket price alone, Winwood's version of Dear Mr. Fantasy has clearly become the centerpiece of the show. Winwood even made the mandolin cool, tacking a surprising eyebrow-raising solo onto the end of Back In The High Life Again that bandoliers of old surely never contemplated.

To close the show, Winwood delved deep into his past with the Spencer Davis Group chestnut I'm A Man and remained there for his encore. After running through the blues classic Crossroads, a song on which he famously jammed with Clapton at 1973's Rainbow Concert, Winwood returned to his origins, delivering Gimme Some Lovin, with an authenticity few others can legitimately muster. Throughout the fall, the Rolling Stones and Eagles will continue to tour the country filling stadiums and arenas with overpriced extravaganzas of nostalgia. While his colleagues milk every last penny out of their adoring fans, Steve Winwood, one of the most unassuming rock Gods on the planet, will be offering a more reasonably priced alternative and delivering a show worth more than the ticket price.

Labels: Steve Winwood