Eric C - Spring Tour 2011

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Strummer07
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Eric C - Spring Tour 2011

Post by Strummer07 »

Lets talk about 'Our Man' ...........Eric !!
Well for starters he's touring Europe again !! :thumbsup:

He kicked off in Dublin last week and then Belfast .........then he went up to Scotland and did Glasgow on Sat and tonight he's in Cardiff, Wales.
Monday is a day off ....back to surry for EC I guess .....and then into London where he kicks off a stint at his "Home Venue" the Royal Albert Hall, on Tuesday 17th ...for 11 nights ( last 5 with Winwood ) Then he's off to Scandinavia, Helsinki being 1st stop .... and then Mainland Europe

last set list was from Glasgow ...
12 May 2011 Set List...SECC - Glasgow
01. Key To The Highway
02. Going Down Slow
03. Hoochie Coochie Man
04. Old Love
05. I Shot The Sheriff
06. Driftin'
07. Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out
08. Still Got The Blues (Gary Moore)
09. Same Old Blues (JJ Cale)
10. When Somebody Thinks You're Wonderful
11. Layla
12. Badge
13. Wonderful Tonight
14. Before You Accuse Me
15. Little Queen Of Spades
16. Cocaine
17. Crossroads

anyone seen him this time out ??

Real nice to see a Gary Moore song included ......not a lot from the new album though ... pity !
Was also hoping he might change his finale .....but he hasn't , which is a shame .......but he should know this sequence by now !!

My tickets for the Friday night gig are getting 'warm' !! .. They'll have sorted out the sound by then !! :D
"Death is just a heartbeat away"
lyric from "Out in The Fields"
Gary Moore 1952-2011
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12bar
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Re: Eric C - Spring Tour 2011

Post by 12bar »

There are already some shots on Youtube from these shows and a mixed review on the (declining) slowhand digest. Except the Gary Moore tribute nothing special from what I've read. But - even a mediocre EC is much better than most others :big_smile:

A comment on YT makes me wonder - did EC EVER play with GM? I know GM played with Bruce and Baker (BBM), and GM was a big fan of EC, but I can't find anything about EC and GM together on stage.
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Strummer07
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Eric C Friday 20th - Mellow and Magnificent

Post by Strummer07 »

Still basking in the glow of a good night out and some great music.

For me, and I've seen EC a few times now.... this was a lovely concert, it had a bit of everything.
its not quite the set list I would have put together, But I did'nt get asked !! :D

Yes, Eric is slowing down a wee bit , his solo'd are more considered and have lost some of their blistering pace, but his tone and the notes he did plays were sublime. Last night , he looked good , maybe a few pound lighter, than last year when I saw him with Winwood at Wembley and the hair timmed a bit ... the very long hair look a' la "Clapton" was not my favorite look.

I think this is the first time I've seen EC as the Solo guitarist .and it sure puts some presure on him to sing, play rhythm, fills and lead. No space for a breather other than during a piano or organ solo. On balance I think I prefer a 2nd guitarist , Trucks or Bramhall probably on current form. With Stainton you have a great keyboard player who can play both Piano and make organ sounds on his keyboards ... by adding in Tim Carmon ... you get a full blown Hammond B3 but more non guitar sounds, ( Tim OK , but he didn't blow me away ) ..........Solid band though and nice to see EC give the backing singers a bit of space too, even a few solo lines, which gives a nice contrast.

For Eric , just 2 Guitars, Fender Stratocaster in the Pale blue, mostly on the middle pick up ( Not a Gibson in sight !! even though his tour 'T' Shirts are proudly emblazoned with Les Pauls and ES335's ???) and his signature Martin 000-28 , ....3 pedals , One didn't seem to get used at all.... One a wah and the other seemed to be a sort of master pedal with 4 wires going in / coming out that seemed to trigger off stage effects, such as chorus. Also when he did use the wah pedal during "Cocaine" he was giving out a wah solo sound having pressed the pedal , but he was not working the pedal , but standing way back from it soloing .but still getting a full wah effect ...autowah ??? I don't know :icon_whoknows:

Highlights for me, almost too many great numbers to be frank, ... a standout "Old Love" .....a really blistering solo that had Eric on tip toes as he squeezed out some of the top notes.. he really got into this number.
A very solid "Tearing us apart" ... which I don't think I've heard live before.... .spot on !!

In the sit down set , "Driftin' " was lovely ( As always) followed by what might have been best number of the night ."Still Got the Blues" ....Just brilliantly done.
and in the final set .. "Before you accuse me"

To the several commentators who like to allude to EC of "not giving his all" ... "not being into it " .... "Just going through the motions"
I would say "Rubbish !!" ( or words to that effect !!) ............ ..he doesn't have to tour ,,he chooses to do so, he chooses his (top notch) musicians for a certain sound and he is as professional as they come .....An old master .delivering great stuff.... this is a solid value gig.

Plus , he really gets into his playing and certainly last night seemed to enjoy the whole experiance and really appreciate the very warm and very full crowd ...
We loved him .and he paid us back with great music. He brought new twists to old songs .an Acoustic Layla and some new interesing intros to old songs.

If I had any wishes ......
1) Not sure that "Little Queen of Spades" fits as the Penultimate song of the set ........Gotta be something better to slot in here ... I'd have popped in..
"Its in the way that you Use it" or something off the New album ....."Diamonds made from Rain " perhaps ?????
and
2) Sit down set probably at least a song too long... take out JJ Cales "Same Old Blues" ... an average song at best.
3) We won't get it .but just a bit of Eric introducing a song or talking about why put in a certain song .any sort of interaction with te audience would be Fab !!


Set list .... pretty much unchanged from the RAH 1st night

01. Key To The Highway
02. Tell The Truth
03. Hoochie Coochie Man
04. Old Love
05. Tearing Us Apart
06. Driftin'
07. Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out
08. Still Got The Blues (Gary Moore)
09. Same Old Blues (JJ Cale)
10. When Somebody Thinks You're Wonderful
11. Layla
12. Badge
13. Wonderful Tonight
14. Before You Accuse Me
15. Little Queen Of Spades
16. Cocaine
17. Crossroads

If you get a chance to get to a concert ...GO !!...........I'd have to say it was worth every penny .........and there is only one EC !! :pray:
"Death is just a heartbeat away"
lyric from "Out in The Fields"
Gary Moore 1952-2011
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LeftyCanuck
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Re: Eric C - Spring Tour 2011

Post by LeftyCanuck »

Re: pedals

My guess would be the multi-switch pedal is for the Leslie (i.e. for Badge) to route the guitar signal and adjust the various speeds.

I've seen EC every time he's stopped in Canada over the past 15 years and I've got to say, there hasn't been any decline I've seen - but there are ups and downs. The BEST show I've seen was 2006 - but I think that was mainly because that tour had the highest concentration of my favorite EC songs in one setlist of any tour I'd seen. Although pulling out Little Wing in 2008 was pretty amazing.

Still waiting for him to play "White Room" for me though.... that's the only one of my favorites I haven't seen him play live.
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VikingBlues
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Re: Eric C - Spring Tour 2011

Post by VikingBlues »

Glad to hear that you enjoyed this one so much. :thumbsup:

Glasgow was a bit far from here so I'll enjoy it second hand from your description, Not many big (or even small) acts come to Edinburgh where we get plenty of Classical and Jazz but not much else.

You sometimes feel that a guitarist needs to be racing all over the stage and diving off it for some people to think that the player isn't just "going through the motions". Nice to know that you saw and enjoyed a fully comitted performance without all the razzmatazz. :D
An improv a day keeps the demons at bay!
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12bar
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Re: Eric C - Spring Tour 2011

Post by 12bar »

A big thanks for the review! My last EC concert is really too long ago - need to refresh it!
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