20 de julio de 2013
10 de agosto de 2012
Bob Dylan en Argentina (Abril 26-27-28, 2012)
The
old sorcerer of Rock and Roll spread his tricks again in Buenos Aires
Bob Dylan
Gran Rex Theatre
(Buenos Aires, Argentina, Uruguay)
April 26th-27th-28th, 2012
The previous visits to South America… and
Argentina
It was the
fifth visit of Bob Dylan to South America.
The first
one was to Brazil in 1990 when he played the Hollywood Rock Festival among a
wide range of local and international artists.
The first
time in Argentina was a year later, in 1991, when he sold out three nights at
Obras Sanitarias, a 4,700 people basketball arena (Argentine fans are extremely
loyal to classic rock and the presence of one of the really big names in the
music scene in Buenos Aires received the response it deserved). A particular
memory I have from that first coming was the fact that Bob avoided the limo
that was waiting for him at the Ezeiza international airport and took a taxi to
the hotel as a regular guy. When the cab driver was interviewed by the press
afterwards, he said that Dylan was very polite, very generous with the tip and
asked him several questions about the city. When the man asked Bob about his
occupation he simply replied “I look… and sometimes write and paint things
about what I feel about it…”. The shows at Obras were… how to say it… weird for Argentine fans that had been
waiting for decades to see his hero playing live. Not only the renditions of
the classics were extremely hard to recognize but also was almost
unidentifiable the version of “Wiggle Wiggle” from the album he was supposedly presenting
during those nights (“Under The red Sky”).
The second
visit to Argentina was no less than memorable, when the Rolling Stones (the
first major rockers who realized the kind of too overwhelming energy that
Argentine audiences offer to their idols in live concerts, paving the way to
many mainstream artists that later took advantage of that, deciding the release
of commercial DVDs of their shows made here: The Police, Madonna and AC/DC,
among others) coincided with Bob in South America on April 1998 and, having
recorded “Like a Rolling Stone” for their “Stripped” album, invited Dylan to
open their shows in Buenos Aires’ River Plate football stadium and to appear as
a guest artist during their performance of the song. A very serious Dylan
warmed the stage in both occasions with an 11-song supporting set and went back
smiling to the stage to offer an awesome (though short) contribution to the
Stones (“Well… how to move on after that” said a respectful Mr. Jagger when
Dylan left the stage amidst a standing ovation from a 70,000 standing-clapping
attendance the night I was present).
The third
landing of our hero in Argentine soil took place in 2008 when he sold 25,000
tickets out of a total 45,000 seats from the Velez Sarsfield football stadium
(the second largest in Buenos Aires city). The first song (a triumphant version
of “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35) was followed by an unforgettable and touching
version of “Lay Lady Lay”. Lots of fathers and sons in the audience enjoyed a very
good show organized in maybe not the best venue available in Buenos Aires for the
current Dylan’s artistic offering. After the unexpected three-song encore
(Dylan normally closed their shows of the Latin American leg of that tour with just
two last songs) comprised of “Stuck Inside Of Mobile with the Memphis Blues
Again”, “All Along The Watchtower” and the unavoidable “Blowin’ in the Wind” we
all left the stadium that night with mixed feelings. On one hand the
performance from Bob and his band had been impeccable (as always) but, on the
other, the show had been rather “cold” not only for the weather (it was almost
the beginning of the Autumn in Buenos Aires) but for the lack of an adequate venue
for the event (a half-filled open air football stadium for such a deep artist
with so many intimate feelings to transmit was undoubtedly a bad choice from
the promoters). Maybe the Oscar prize won by Dylan for the song “Things Have
Changed” in 2000, that was present at the show, from his VIP position over Bob’s
piano, felt something similar…
The 2012 shows. The perfect stage in town for good old Bob…
Three Bob
Dylan shows between Thursday and Saturday in the Gran Rex theatre (a residency
which was later expanded through the addition of a fourth concert on Monday,
due to an unexpected popular demand) were like having the chance of sharing the
songs of the right artist, at the right moment, at the right place. The Gran
Rex is a 3,200 seat theatre with the second best acoustics in the city, after
the classical art oriented and world-class Colón theatre. As Claudio Kleiman, one
of the best music journalists in Argentina, summed up in a review for the local
version of Rolling Stone magazine, these concerts, thanks to the inspired band
that supported Dylan and an extremely good-mood Bob, were like a kind of
epiphany that left all of us in the audience walking back home 20 inches above
the ground, floating in the air…
The shows
included 17 songs which focused (with the exception of, in my opinion, the peak
of the night “Tangled Up in Blue” which was played almost theatrically by Bob, showing
himself as an old Southern crooner, aided by his harmonica) in some of the
classics from the 60s and tunes from the records that followed “Time Out Of
Mind”. The only songs which were played over all of the four nights were “Leopard-Skin
Pill-Box Hat” (the opening song which played pretty well its role of showing
the crowd that the band was determined to burn the house down each night),
“Tangled Up in Blue”, “Highway 61 Revisited”, “Thunder on the Mountain” and the
succession of three classics “Ballad Of A Thin Man”, “Like A Rolling Stone” and
“All Along The Watchtower” which virtually knocked the crowd out before the
(predictable, but essential) final encore of “Blowin’ in the Wind”).
Extremely
well dressed with a black suit and a white hat, Dylan constantly went and came
back on stage from his old Korg organ to his guitar and his harmonica, always giving
rare hints to his musicians about the direction he wanted to provide to each
song at the much unexpected moment. The good mood from Dylan and the band was
evident. Hard-to-smile Bob showed his teeth several times in Buenos Aires, as
if approving the whole performance, the friendly dialogue established with the
rest of the band and the relaxed and enjoyable vibe created all over the
place.
The only
words which emerged from Dylan were devoted to introduce the band: the talented
Charlie Sexton who clearly plays a lead role from his electric guitar, Stu
Kimball who makes his moves between the guitars and the mandolin, Donnie Herron
who played wonderful pieces of steel guitar, banjo, violin and guitar, and the
spine of the group: the meticulous George Recile on drums and Bob’s old mate, Tony
Garnier, on both acoustic and electric basses.
After the
final song “Blowin’ in the Wind” came to an end Bob called his musicians to the
front of the stage to finally say goodbye to the public. The whole band and Dylan
stood there motionless for several seconds, standing there with serious faces,
no smiles at all, almost like challenging the crowd as a gang before a kind of
confrontation, when in fact they had just only turned our brains and our hearts
upside down with their music (and their talents) as a lethal weapon over the
course of the previous two hours.
The old Master
did it again. It may have been the last stop of the Never Ending Tour in
Argentina but it’s alright. We saw it all, as we never thought we could. After
50 years on the road Dylan showed that he is still at the top of his game as
these concerts with no doubt will be remembered as some of the best rock and
roll shows ever witnessed in our country and, for many reasons, were by far the
best performances from Bob in Argentina.
Hat’s off
for Mr. Dylan.
Not one of
us attending these shows (including my new Italian friend Roberto, who came to
South America just to see Bob playing live overseas) are to be the same after
this unforgettable demonstration of music, poetry, commitment and art, at its
highest expression.
Marcelo Olguín
(Buenos Aires, Argentina)
SETLISTS
Agosto 26,
2012
Leopard-Skin
Pill-Box Hat
It Ain't
Me, Babe
Things Have
Changed
Tangled Up
In Blue
Beyond Here
Lies Nothin'
Trying To
Get To Heaven
High Water
(For Charley Patton)
Spirit On
The Water
The Levee's
Gonna Break
A Hard
Rain's A-Gonna Fall
Highway 61
Revisited
Love Sick
Thunder On
The Mountain
Ballad Of A
Thin Man
Like A
Rolling Stone
All Along
The Watchtower
Blowin' In
The Wind
Agosto 27, 2012
Leopard-Skin
Pill-Box Hat
Girl From
The North Country
Beyond Here
Lies Nothin'
Tangled Up
In Blue
Honest With
Me
Desolation
Row
Cry A While
Make You
Feel My Love
The Levee's
Gonna Break
Love Sick
Highway 61
Revisited
Simple
Twist Of Fate
Thunder On
The Mountain
Ballad Of A
Thin Man
Like A
Rolling Stone
All Along
The Watchtower
Blowin' In
The Wind
Agosto
28, 2012
Leopard-Skin
Pill-Box Hat
To Ramona
Beyond Here
Lies Nothin'
Tangled Up
In Blue
Summer Days
Not Dark
Yet
Jolene
Ballad Of
Hollis Brown
A Hard
Rain's A-Gonna Fall
The
Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll
Highway 61
Revisited
Forgetful
Heart
Thunder On
The Mountain
Ballad Of A
Thin Man
Like A
Rolling Stone
All Along The Watchtower
Blowin' In The Wind
Paul McCartney en Uruguay (Agosto 15, 2012)
Good old Paul brought all his tricks to a tiny place in South America
Paul McCartney
Centenario Stadium
(Montevideo, Uruguay)
April 15th, 2012
Uruguay is
one of the smallest countries in South America. Located between Argentina and
Brazil (countries from which it deeply depends from an economic standpoint),
the place has always been well recognized in this part of the world for the high
level of its people’s education and a remarkable interest for political issues,
football matches and arts in general… Considering those characteristics of the
country and Paul’s intention for this leg of the South American tour of playing
small countries never visited by him or the Beatles in the past (with the
exception of Brazil, where “unusual” musical cities such as Florianópolis and
Recife were chosen), Uruguay seemed like a perfect place to “let the ball begin
rolling” for the tour.
The show
was organized in the Centenario, the main football stadium in the capital city
(Montevideo) and most of the infrastructure had to be imported from Argentina,
Chile and Brazil (much larger rock and roll markets) considering Uruguay’s
inexperience in this class of high-level productions. 50,000 tickets were sold
out in terms of minutes and the consequent eBay black market led to transactions
at up to 10 times the face value of the tickets (mine included). A week before
the event the walls of the city were covered by very few posters announcing the
show (honestly it was almost unnecessary, from a marketing point of view) but
lots of the usual ad from Paul supporting the Vegetarian cause written in
Spanish.
Considering
that Uruguay has 3 million people population and is estimated that around 5,000
Argentineans and Brazilians arrived in Montevideo just to see the show, around 1.5%
of Uruguayan citizens had the chance of attending the concert. Furthermore, Montevideo
City’s local government decided to install a big screen in a park where more
than 10,000 people are estimated to have seen the last final hour of the show
(as agreed with Paul’s producers) and the only two Uruguayan provinces with
fiber optic telecommunication technology made the same agreement and opened up
football stadiums to allow local people to enjoy the last part of the event for
free.
After an
unexpected 30-minute waiting (the usual photographs and memorabilia from
different eras of Paul’s career shown in the screens on and on, increasing the
audience’s expectations), finally, at 9pm, Paul came into the stage with a blue
jacket to receive the loudest standing ovation ever witnessed in Uruguay.
“Hello Goodbye” was a triumphant opening for the show which was followed by “Junior’s
Farm” and “All my Loving” which got all the people up in their feet to which
Macca responded with a “Hola Montevideo! Buenas Noches Uruguayos!” (“Hello
Montevideo! Good Evening Uruguayans!”) in a very decent Spanish.
After the sound
became better and the band succeeded in warming the ambient (the night was
particularly cold) with versions of “Jet” and “Got to Get You Into My Life”,
Paul took off his coat and made a rendition of “The Night Before” explaining
that it was the first time he was playing that Beatles tune in South America.
The vibe was definitely fully created in the place and then Paul approached
Wings’ “Let Me Roll It” including the wonderful Hendrix’s “Foxy Lady” snippet. The
“Paperback Writer” version was fabulously played by the band with Paul (as he
told the crowd) using the original guitar with which the song was written and
played back in the 60s.
The
energetic “Back in USSR” was the first song played for the people seeing the
show outside the stadium, after which an extremely professional Paul said in Spanish
“The people from Maldonado and Rivera are watching us now on the telly…
Welcome!”. Then a very-rocky version of “I’ve Got a Feeling” showed both Macca and
his band at their very top form. Then Paul greeted again people inside and
outside the stadium, this time including the Argentine people who (as he was
informed by the production team) had come especially from Buenos Aires,
Argentina (including my friend and me… who slept very few hours that weekend
and took a three-hour ferry to cross the Río de la Plata river that separates
my city Buenos Aires and Montevideo).
After the
expected (and extremely moving) tributes to John (“Here Today” at whose end
Paul turned back to the screen opening his arms, as trying to emotionally
embrace his old buddy) and George (“Something”, as usual with the ukulele opening,
backed by wonderful shots of Harrison on screen) our hero even had a moment to
mention the Uruguayan football player Luis Suárez (an Uruguayan idol), who is
currently the main star figure of Liverpool, the British football team
(ironically the rival of Everton, the club supported by Paul since his
childhood).
There were
two peaks moments in the night.
The first
one was a highly inspired performance of “Yesterday” with thousands of cell
phones illuminating the stadium, converting the open-air venue in a kind a “sacred
ceremony” rather than a merely rock concert played by the #1 Rock and Roll star
alive in the planet.
The second
one (in my opinion the best) was “My Valentine” including the world premiere on
a live stage screen of the recently launched video featuring Johnny Depp and
Natalie Portman, a magical combination of a superb love song (dedicated by Paul
to his new wife Nancy) and an extremely touching artistic visual content, brilliantly
played by two of the cutest and most talented actors of their generation. “You
can see that video on Youtube right now… Yeah! We logged it man!” joked Paul
after the song.
The night
was perfect. The idea of playing never-before visited places was very
appropriate to please (at least forty years later) the love and devotion of
thousands of Beatles’ lovers who had never even dreamed of seeing Paul performing
live in their hometown. When we were getting out of the stadium with my good pal
Eduardo, everything was happiness, with smiles and tears all over the place,
coming from entire families, couples, friends and people from different
generations, exchanging that positive energy that one feels very profoundly, after
having passed through a deep emotional moment in life. As these four lads from
Liverpool taught the Universe, “In the end, the Love you take is equal to the
Love you make”.
Marcelo Olguín
(Buenos Aires, Argentina)
SETLIST
Hello,
Goodbye (The Beatles)
Junior’s
Farm (Wings)
All My
Loving (The Beatles)
Jet (Wings)
Got to Get
You into My Life (The Beatles)
Sing the
Changes (The Fireman)
The Night
Before (The Beatles)
Let Me Roll
It (Wings) (Comienzo de Foxy Lady)
Paperback
Writer (The Beatles)
The Long
and Winding Road (The Beatles)
Nineteen
Hundred and Eighty-Five (Wings)
My
Valentine
Maybe I’m
Amazed
I’m Looking
Through You (The Beatles)
Two of Us
(The Beatles)
Blackbird
(The Beatles)
Here Today
Dance
Tonight
Mrs.
Vandebilt (Wings)
Eleanor
Rigby (The Beatles)
Something
(The Beatles)
Band on the
Run (Wings)
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da (The Beatles)
Back in the
U.S.S.R. (The Beatles)
I’ve Got a
Feeling (The Beatles)
A Day in
the Life (The Beatles) (including Give Peace a Chance)
Let It Be
(The Beatles)
Live and
Let Die (Wings)
Hey Jude
(The Beatles)
Encore:
Lady
Madonna (The Beatles)
Day Tripper
(The Beatles)
Get Back
(The Beatles)
Encore 2:
Yesterday
(The Beatles)
Helter
Skelter (The Beatles)
Golden
Slumbers (The Beatles)
Carry That
Weight (The Beatles)
The End
(The Beatles)
21 de noviembre de 2011
Nada que Perder...
"Recordar que voy a morir pronto es la herramienta más importante que he encontrado para ayudarme a tomar las grandes decisiones de mi vida. El miedo al ridículo o al fracaso se desvanece frente a la muerte. Recordar que vas a morir es la mejor forma de evitar la trampa de pensar que tienes algo que perder. Ya estás desnudo. ” (Steve Jobs)
20 de noviembre de 2011
All Things Must Pass (George Harrison)
Sunrise doesn't last all morning
A cloudburst doesn't last all day
Seems my love is up
And has left you with no warning
But it's not always going
To be this grey
All things must pass
All things must pass away
Sunset doesn't last all evening
A mind can blow those clouds away
After all this my love is up
And must be leaving
It has not always
Been this grey
All things must pass
All things must pass away
All things must pass
None of life's strings can last
So I must be on my way
And face another day
Now the darkness only stays at nighttime
In the morning it will fade away
Daylight is good
At arriving at the right time
It's not always
Going to be this grey
All things must pass
All things must pass away
All things must pass
All things must pass away
19 de noviembre de 2011
El Discurso de Stanford (Steve Jobs)
Universidad de Stanford (Palo Alto, California, Estados Unidos)
Junio 2005
Duelo de Looks (Ringo versus Nicola Di Bari)
Ringo Starr (Richard Starkey) versus Nicola Di Bari (Michele Scommegna)
Looks 2011
Peter Gabriel en Argentina (Noviembre 18, 2011)
Peter Gabriel & The New Blood Orchestra
GEBA Stadium
(Buenos Aires, Argentina)
November 18th, 2011
By Marcelo Olguín
A stunning classical journey conducted by Maestro Peter Gabriel
Friday Spring night in Buenos Aires.
This was to be the fourth Peter Gabriel’s visit to Argentina but this time it was going to be totally different.
Basically the same songs but with a classical treatment, with Peter and his voice totally exposed, without the support of his usual set of beats and drumming (a field in which he was always a kind of specialist and experimenter) and with the backing of a 46-piece orchestra.
I must admit that I was rather skeptical about the result of the translation of such a rhythm-oriented repertoire as Peter’s into a classically arranged body of music.
After the two-hour show I must confess that I was wrong and Gabriel did it right.
Once again he went out from his comfort zone and surprised a respectful Argentine audience showing himself as a rejuvenated live performer who took full advantage of his recognized onstage charisma and full-commanding voice to give new musical colors to familiar songs with the aid of a solid orchestral support and very clever visuals and lighting (a trademark of Peter's concerts over the years).
The inspired cover of David Bowie’s “Heroes” and the delicate version of “Wallflower” which started the show were touching enough to show everybody in the crowd that it was going to be a very special occasion.
The stadium may not have been the best venue in the city for this kind of show.
It has a railroad on one side and a train passed every 20 minutes (some train driver even rang his horn showing that we are Latin after all…) but Gabriel joked about it by saying that his own studio in Bath has a railroad very close so he had no problem as he is used to that.
Ironically for a concert with no drums, the highest moment of the night was the darkest and most threatening rendition possible of “Intruder” (the song that allowed Peter and his former colleague Collins to create the style of drumming which took over some of the best songs of the 80s) thanks to a masterful classical arrangement which reminded Bernard Herrmann’s soundtracks for Alfred Hitchcock films.
“San Jacinto” and “Secret World” were also peaks of the night while the extremely moving “Father, Son” was dedicated by our hero to his own father who’s turning 100 years next April (the homemade video of Gabriel and his old man was the ideal visual backing for such a wonderful song).
Maybe “Solsbury Hill” was a bit out of place amidst a carefully designed setlist but at least it was useful to get the attention of the newcomers: in an interview with the Argentine media Peter admitted that some old fans did not like this classical experience but at the same time young people was attracted by the new approach so, in a way, he lost something but gained something as well…. According to Gabriel the song was added as a kind of “bonus track” and the sound and visual treatments were peculiar, including a clever usage of ambient sound and a video camera used by Peter to focus the crowd.
To sum up, congratulations to the New Blood Orchestra (partially conformed by “porteños” musicians this time) and hats off for Mr. Gabriel and his classical journey in Buenos Aires.
The young boy who shocked fathers and school teachers in the exclusive environment of Charterhouse in the mid-60s offered a truly exciting live experience in Argentina and broke new ground again, something he’s been repeatedly doing for the last 30+ years…
Setlist
Heroes (Cover David Bowie)
Wallflower
Après Moi (Cover Regina Spektor)
Intruder
San Jacinto
Secret World
Father, Son
Signal to Noise
Downside Up
Digging in the Dirt
Mercy Street
The Rhythm of the Heat
Red Rain
Solsbury Hill (Excerpt of Hymn to Joy)
Biko
In Your Eyes
Don't Give Up
The Nest That Sailed the Sky
Ringo Starr en Argentina (Noviembre 7-8, 2011)
Ringo All-Starr Band
Luna Park Stadium
(Buenos Aires, Argentina)
November 7th, 2011
November 8th, 2011
By Marcelo Olguín
“Ole Ole Ole Oleee, Ringoo… Ringoo!!!” was the constant wild screaming from the Argentine fans who sold out twice the Luna Park, an 8,000-seat traditional venue in Buenos Aires.
Argentina is a particularly loyal “Beatle country” and, having received Paul last year playing two packed football stadiums; it wasn’t a surprise that the tickets for these shows sold out quickly several months before the event took place.
Sharp at 9.00pm the band came into the stage and introduced an incredibly slim and active Ringo for a triumphant opening of the 2-hour show with “It Don’t Come Easy” (a song that emotionally led me directly to the “Concert for Bangladesh” movie which was an instant hit in Argentina back in the early 70s).
This version of the All-Starr Band may have lacked of the so-called big stars from the past (Greg Lake, Jack Bruce, Peter Frampton, John Entwistle, to name a few) but his members (all of whom repeatedly revered Ringo and thanked him for letting them being there) clearly managed to shape a really compact band of musicians (joined in the South American leg of the tour by the multi-instrumentalist Mark Rivera).
A brilliant rendition of Carl Perkins’ “Honey Don't” was followed by the recent “Choose Love” (“something I do more and more every day” according to Ringo’s introduction).
Then it was the beginning of a (maybe too long) sequence of the All-Stars songs with “Hang On Sloopy” by former McCoys’ frontman Rick Derringer (whose guitar playing is still remarkable), “Free Ride” by the incredible (and energetic) Edgar Winter and “Talking in Your Sleep” by what facial surgery left of Wally Palmar.
One of the peak moments of the night was “I Wanna Be Your Man” dedicated by Ringo to “all the ladies in the audience and maybe some men” and followed by “Dream Weaver” by Gary Wright (who got a huge applause from the crowd when, in a rather good Spanish, mentioned the connection with a certain guy named George Harrison) and a wonderful version of the 80s Mr.Mister hit “Kyrie” sung by a low-profile talented artist like Richard Page.
Then Ringo left the drums and took the lead mic for “The Other Side Of Liverpool” and “Yellow Submarine” (“If you don’t like this song you’re in the wrong venue” said the most famous drummer in the world) which got a standing ovation from the crowd.
More versions of older hits from the members of the band were mixed with “Back Off Boogaloo” and “Boys” (“a song by the group I used to play with… Rory & The Hurricanes who liked it… and the other band liked it too” joked Ringo) which generated another heat moment of the night with the whole stadium cheering and singing at the top of its range.
Needless to say, the party was complete with the last three numbers “Photograph”, “Act Naturally” and a stunning performance of “With a Little Help from My Friends” which was linked by the (false) encore “Give Peace a Chance”, a pleasant surprise.
In sum, the show was great. In fact it was a real celebration for an audience which was full of entire families. Thinking about it, thanks to Paul and Ringo now at least we can join together in some other occasions rather than Christmas, birthday parties and funerals…
Setlist
It Don't Come Easy (Ringo)
Honey Don't (Ringo)
Choose Love (Ringo)
Hang On Sloopy (Rick Derringer)
Free Ride (Edgar Winter)
Talking in Your Sleep (Wally Palmar)
I Wanna Be Your Man (Ringo)
Dream Weaver (Gary Wright)
Kyrie (Richard Page)
The Other Side Of Liverpool (Ringo)
Yellow Submarine (Ringo)
Frankenstein (Edgar Winter)
Back Off Boogaloo (Ringo)
What I Like About You (Wally Palmar)
Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo (Rick Derringer)
Boys (Ringo)
Love Is Alive (Gary Wright)
Broken Wings (Richard Page)
Photograph (Ringo)
Act Naturally (Ringo)
With a Little Help from My Friends/Give Peace a Chance (Ringo)
Eric Clapton en Argentina (Octubre 14, 2011)
Eric Clapton
River Plate Stadium
Buenos Aires (Argentina)
October 14th, 2011
By Marcelo Olguín
The world is in the middle of a severe economic turmoil but my country, Argentina, does not seem to have realized the situation, at least in terms of major rock concerts. This Friday Eric Clapton played the biggest football stadium in the country (following two dates of the “sacrilegious” Justin Bieber at the same venue on Wednesday and Thursday), tomorrow the singer Sade will make her debut in Buenos Aires, on Sunday hard rock veterans Deep Purple will hit a local stage again and on March 2012 Roger Waters is to play “The Wall” in River Plate over the course of… 9 nights (leaving far behind the 5-night record achieved by The Rolling Stones in 1995).
It was the third visit of Clapton to South America after his first arrival in 1990 (including a show that is remembered as one of the best rock concerts ever witnessed in Argentina) and a second coming in 2001 within the Reptile World Tour.
Without Gary Clark as a support act (he headed back home after the Brazilian leg of the tour) our hero showed up at 9.15pm with three numbers that effectively served to warm up the 45,000-seat sold out stadium: “Key to The Highway”, “Tell The Truth” and “Hoochie Coochie Man”.
“Ten years, too long…” said Eric before an inspired version of “Old Love” (great solo included) that was followed by “I Shot The Sheriff”, a pleasant surprise as I was waiting for “Tearing Us Apart” which had been played in the two previous dates in Brazil.
The acoustic set was one of the peak moments of the night with Clapton converting the stadium into a kind of intimate setting with wonderful renditions of “Driftin’” and “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out”.
For some reason the version of “Lay Down Sally” made me think about how much Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits would be indebted to Eric and thanks to Mr.Stainton (Hats off for good old Chris…) the performance of “When Somebody Thinks You’re Wonderful” made me forget that I was in a football stadium and feel that I was happily enjoying live music while drinking a beer in a small pub (putting aside the fact that no alcohol is allowed to be sold in most of the musical venues in Argentina).
Surprisingly “Layla” received a rather “cold” reception from the audience possibly due to (in my opinion, unfortunate) new arrangement (with all due respect to the great Steve Gadd, after the marvelous acoustic version offered by EC and Steve Winwood in London some months ago, this kind of “military march” looked a bit hard to approve).
The “older” part of the audience was pleased by an extraordinary rendition of Cream’s “Badge” while the couples had their moment with a touching version of “Wonderful Tonight” (an unexpected smash hit in Argentina in the late 70’s, when the military Government ironically was trying to impose John Travolta and disco music among young people in order to prevent them to develop their own political ideas).
Another high moment of the show was reached with “Before You Accuse Me” that was linked to a stunning performance of “Little Queen of Spades”. After that, “Cocaine” was greeted by a standing ovation from the audience and “Crossroads” was played as a triumphant encore.
An hour and forty minutes after the first chord was played Clapton left the stage waving his hand to the crowd and we all said goodbye to him as to a good friend that we love dearly but who rarely visits us. Bye Eric! It was very well worth the wait. See you soon… maybe in about… 10 years?
Setlist
1. Key To The Highway
2. Tell The Truth
3. Hoochie Coochie Man
4. Old Love
5. I Shot The Sheriff
6. Driftin’
7. Nobody Knows You When You’re Down And Out
8. Lay Down Sally
9. When Somebody Thinks You’re Wonderful
10. Layla
11. Badge
12. Wonderful Tonight
13. Before You Accuse Me
14. Little Queen Of Spades
15. Cocaine
16. Crossroads (Encore)
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