Eric Clapton and Roger Daltrey did a brief US tour, including a date at the Amway Arena in Orlando Saturday, March 13. The show was a study in contrast, with Roger putting on an explosive performance and chatting extensively, while Clapton showed why he got the nickname "Slowhand" as he effortlessly peeled off riffs that impressed the guitarists in the audience.

By John Davisson

Roger opened the show with the same band he toured with last year and played a nice selection of The Who classics, with a couple of covers. “Behind Blue Eyes,” "Baba O’Riley,” and “Who Are You” pumped the crowd up, as did a sizzling version of “Young Man Blues.” Roger was chatty during the show, talking between most of the songs. He mentioned an upcoming show by The Who in London and said he expects Pete Townshend will be ready for a Who tour later.

Eric Clapton and his band strolled onstage in a low-key fashion. He kept up the demeanor for the entire show, hardly speaking between songs. But his fingers had plenty to say through his guitar. He often has a second guitarist with him, but this time he was the only guitarist in a band, which also had bass, drums, two keyboardists and two backup singers.

He opened with four bluesy songs, including a great version of “Tell the Truth.” For “I shot the Sherriff,” his fingers were all over the fretboard as he played extended instrumental sections to the delight of the guitar fans in the packed arena. He then sat down for a five-song acoustic set that was just as electric as the rest of the set, thanks to Eric’s melodic blues-riffing. The acoustic “Running on Faith” was almost spiritual.

After the acoustic segment, Eric was ready to wail on electric guitar again, and he did just that with a version of “Badge,” which featured plenty of fretboard fireworks. The mellower “Wonderful Tonight” was next, but even it had some extra guitar flourishes. Every song in the set was extended with nice guitar work, and by the time Eric closed with “Cocaine” and “Crossroads,” the guitar fans in the audience were more than satisfied.

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