Some people have been pleased, and some people have been tough to please on this tour. It seems like there are people who are turned off by Pilgrim. To those people, I say GET OVER IT! There's some excellent music on that album! I applaud Eric for taking a new direction.
With that being said, let's get to the show. He did the new stuff right off the bat, which I will admit sounded better in a live venue. My Father's Eyes sounded good, but nothing special as far as guitar. Then, in Pilgrim, he started to launch some riffs right after the crescendo which sounded great! One Chance is a funky number, I liked it. River of Tears has been my favorite number on the album and it was great to hear it live! Goin' Down Slow sounded good, but nothing special in my book. Then, She's Gone got the loudest reaction of the new stuff... it smoked live!
The acoustic set pleased the crowd a lot more. Now they were getting excited! Me, I could have done without Tears In Heaven and the acoustic Layla. Layla needs to be plugged in, I think! But Change the World really smoked! EC's emotions while playing this song were classic!
From there, it was Old Love. Now we're getting into my territory! Have You Ever Loved a Woman was an incredible piece! I Shot the Sheriff really sounded good with the strings, as did Crossroads and Wonderful Tonight (Katie Kissoon trading vocals with Eric's licks here was the highlight of the show). Tearing Us Apart didn't get much of a reaction from the crowd (someone sitting near me actually asked me what song it was when he saw me singing along), but it's an incredible live number! He ended the Boston show with Cocaine, which I think was the perfect choice! For the encore, Sunshine of Your Love may have been the best overall performance of the night. EC was incredible in this one! Would have liked to hear the drum solo that was part of past live shows, but it rocked nonetheless!
One interesting note... the local papers and some of the radio stations were talking about local protests over the song Sick and Tired! Some didn't like the song's references to shotguns and blowing his ex-girlfriend's head off. Some people wanted EC to remove the song from his set list. Well, he didn't play it tonight. My question is, has this been an issue in the first few shows of the tour? Will it be an issue in future shows? Because it sure was an issue in Boston! I wanted to hear it... the song to me is a tribute to the blues and not a promoter of violence against women! How many other blues songs have we all heard that had some of the same raw feelings and lyrics?
This was my 5th EC show, and it ranks right up there. I saw him twice in Journeyman, once in '92. and once in the blues show. Each time he had something new to bring to the table, and that is why I liked this show. The 20 piece string orchestra added to my experience this time. What can I say? He did it again!
Steve Skalish
April 15th, 1998 (the taxman cometh)
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