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THE CONCERT AT LIVERPOOL DOCKS WITH ERIC CLAPTON, A BENEFIT FOR UNICEF-TO END CHILD EXPLOITATION JULY
19, 2003 To go back to the photos, click here Dear JohnMayall.com readers and fans: I just came back from a whirlwind trip to England with my husband, John Mayall, and our family and friends. It was an historic event culminating in the concert at Liverpool Docks with Eric Clapton, Mick Taylor and others! I have to say, I've been with John now for 25 years, and I don't think I've seen him in this fine a form EVER! Not only was he in fine voice and musicality for the show, but his skills as a band leader and conductor were unsurpassed. He put together a blistering 2+1/2 hour set list that left those in the audience gratefully exhausted by the end of the night, when the plug was pulled because of curfew. In fact, the original set list included 20 numbers, but alas, "A Hard Road" was eliminated from the encore as the curfew had come and gone by 30 minutes! The Bluesbreakers rose to the occasion, with all of their musical strengths shining, especially Buddy Whittington. At one point during the concert, when Mayall pointed to Eric to take a solo, Eric graciously passed to Buddy, who humbly took over and then ripped one out before passing it back to Eric to take it home. After an introduction by emcee Mike McCartney (Mayall's Liverpudlian friend and brother of Paul), telling us about the benefit to end child exploitation with Unicef and the film that was being made to raise more money for the cause, it was time to get down to business. The set started at a high pitch with the Bluesbreakers doing two numbers on their own, which is how their usual set begins before they bring John out. "Grits Ain't Groceries" and "Jacksboro Highway" show off Buddy's excellent guitar and voice and the band's tight playing. It is true that, as a few of the reviews have mentioned, unfortunately, when Tom Canning moved from his Hammond to the electric piano for "Jacksboro", the piano was not on. This was the one glitch in what was otherwise a technically and musically flawless night. Otherwise, the sound was incredible. Tom quickly switched back to his Hammond, but the problem persisted even after they brought John on for "Southside Story". John eventually figured it out that his Kurtzweill 88 had to be re-booted, an inherent characteristic of the instrument and no fault of the crew, who handled the show so magnificently. And it was just in time for his piano solo! The audience stood and cheered as Buddy introduced John Mayall, and John and The Bluesbreakers made the excitement build as they treated us all to "Southside Story", "Kids Got The Blues" and the moody and dynamic "Dirty Water". Then it was time to start turning up the heat, as John brought out Mick Taylor for four numbers: "Somebody's Acting Like A Child", "Blues For The Lost Days" (how poignant!), plus brought out the horns for "Walking On Sunset" and "Oh Pretty Woman". Songs #1 and #3 were reminders of Mick's beautiful contributions to one of my favorite John Mayall albums, "Blues From Laurel Canyon" and also brought us up do date, showing how Mick has not lost that delicate and magic touch he has with the fingerboard. By this time, we were all feverish with excitement and that would have been enough for most shows. However, this trip was only halfway through. To everyone's surprise, the whole band left the stage and the lights came down a bit. John said he'd like to bring someone very special to the stage, with whom he had first played 38 years ago! And there was Eric Clapton, humble yet charismatic as ever. And what a treat it was as a duet with one of John's signature boogie woogie numbers, "No Big Hurry". And in no big hurry he was with this, as it gave us a chance to drink up this special moment and savor its joyful spirit. Eric's playing was sweet, understated and sensitive--complimenting the piano. Next, John brought out Chris Barber, the trombonist responsible for paving the way for bringing American Blues musicians like Muddy Waters and Big Bill Broonzy to England in the 50's, introducing a whole new genre to a generation of Britons who would then honor that music and make a history of their own with it. The unlikely combination of piano, guitar and trombone for "Please Mr. Lofton" worked and was just more excitement for us in the audience to witness such a unique instrumentation, which, one more time, shows us another side of John Mayall's talents as a showman. Chris Barber proved he's still got it! Alright, so then it was total freak out madness time, as the band all came back for "Hideaway" and "All Your Love" (that's where Eric passed it to Buddy). Oh my god, what a thrill it was to hear Eric playing these two numbers after all this time. I have heard both these numbers hundreds, maybe thousands, of times by countless blues bands. But to hear Eric playing, again, on them, was absolutely breathtaking. So then what do they do? A marathon, blistering take on "Have You Heard" (was this the longest most incredible version ever?), followed up by Eric singing "Hoochie Coochie Man" and "I'm Tore Down". Everybody's on their feet now. Eric leaves the stage. At this point, we're all on another planet. John and the band give us "It Ain't Right" with a chicka-chicka solo section on harmonica, bringing happy smiles to all our faces. Bringing Mick out again for "California", the evening begins to wrap up for a beautiful, jazzy cruise, with solos going to Mick, Tom Canning and Henry Lowther on trumpet. This is when our youngest son Sammy and I got to go check out the sound and video truck outside and got a sneak peak at what is going to be on this concert video/DVD set for release in November. I think I counted 10 cameras, and it was all beautiful. There was David Z (Mayall's producer for "Friends" and "Stories") hard at work, hunched over the sound board. Back down at the venue, the entire cast was assembling for "Talk To Your Daughter", the classic J.B. Lenoir song. Is this the first time Eric Clapton and Mick Taylor are on stage at the same time? Wow! As it says on the original set list, the encore was supposed to also include "A Hard Road", which had to be cut because of time constraints. "That hurt", said one of the band members afterward, but nothing could be done. However, the show ended on such a high note, no one noticed. The atmosphere before the show, backstage, was very exciting. John and I were there, Sammy in tow, with John's daughter Red. Buddy brought his charming wife Cathy. Keef Hartley, the former Bluesbreakers drummer, was in attendance. A film crew filming a BBC documentary on John, trying to capture the essence of this event. Mayall's best friend from art school, Ray Cummings, was there with his wife Janet. Lord Dick Newby, concert artistic producer Robin Millar, Unicef concert Producer Andrew Sheehan, Eagle Records Chairman Terry Shand, Exec Lindsey Brown, A&R man Mike Howell, The RT Hon Oliver Newton, and countless others. There were also two massage therapists giving neck rubs to any who wished! Eric Clapton was hanging out amongst all and the vibe was relaxed and exciting, as he so graciously agreed to pose and be photographed with all of us! We all got a chance to mingle and it was just a fun party that we all wished could go on and on. I just wanted to write my own take on what happened on this historic event in Liverpool. I can't wait 'til the video comes out, I hear, by November. But, earlier in the week some very exciting things happened as well.
I'm sending along some of my photos and a copy of John's hand-written set list for all at the website to enjoy! Hope you enjoy reading this and wish you all could have been there! Maggie Mayall
© 2003 Magnolia Blue |
