In the summer of 1974, I had front row center tickets to see Eric Clapton at the Long Beach Auditorium. Needless to say I was excited and on the edge of my seat with anticipation of seeing Clapton in his first concert tour since his self imposed exile, which included rehab for heroine addiction. Even though I was not a fan of I shot the Sheriff, this was the tour to promote the soon to be released 461 Ocean Boulevard album and the “Sheriff” single that was already climbing the charts.

What quickly became apparent once Eric Clapton hit the stage, that playing guitar for now was just a sideline for Clapton. Fortunately he had brought along George Terry, a young and upcoming guitar player to cover all the riffs and leads. I found out later that it wasn’t that Clapton was not up to the task, but had decided that if he was going to continue to have a career, he was going to play guitar on his own terms, when and how he wanted. It was fairly disappointing for a 17 year-old boy to witness one of your legends not performing to your expectations. It was almost embarrassing, when Eric put on a cowboy hat and a giant silver star to sing, I shot the Sheriff. Basically Eric Clapton sang, played rhythm guitar and had fun all night.

Fast-forward nearly 33 years to Arco Arena in Sacramento. I was only slightly concerned in advance about Eric’s guitar performance. Clapton is a much different artist than he was in 1974 or before. He has been through a lot of changes, both professionally and personally. Haven’t we all. Last night at Arco Arena, Eric Clapton rocked like never before. He was incredible. Primarily there was an emphasis on Blues and Rock together. Which was fine when you have great songs to work with like Outside Woman Blues and Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out. Doyle Bramhall II, a young talented guitar player and vocalist in his own right, could not compare to 62 year-old Clapton. Even though Bramhall had some great moments it was all about Eric Clapton on guitar and vocals.

I was also struck about the fact, that even though it was obvious that Eric controlled the show, he dedicated time to spotlight his very capable band of musicians. When he did that, the spotlight was literally off of him and on members, Chris Stainton (keyboards), Tim Carmon (keyboards), Willie Weeks (bass) and of course Bramhall. Hard to find a legend like Clapton now-a-days who will step out of the light and to the back and allow others to help drive the energy of the show. Clapton showed that he is a seasoned, classy musician.

Of course there was some traditional Clapton tunes to keep everyone happy, like Layla and Cocaine, but it was the soulful blues and rock that showed that Eric Clapton could perform better at 62 than he did at 29. As for the 17 year-old kid, 33 years later, he was in heaven, or at least it felt like it, since I was sitting in the noise bleed section of Arco instead of the front row this time. I took pleasure in every second of the concert. Like Eric I’m a lot older and happier than I was back then. Also like Eric, I have a birthday next week, I’ll be 50 and truly enjoying every minute of this life I’ve created. Last night was a moment of that life I will treasure always.