Review: Eric Clapton at Vector Arena

Eric Clapton gave the guitar geeks a few lessons at his Auckland concert last night. Photo / Kenny Rodger

The man they call "Slowhand" hit the stage in quiet fashion, wandering out under a spotlight and busting out a finger-loosening lick before a semi-enthusiastic "Good evening" led into the Derek and the Dominoes oldie Tell the Truth.

Eric Clapton is known for not being the chattiest of deities, and it was obvious from the get-go that this was all about the business - no small talk, it's time to play.

Stomping blues made up the early part of a setlist carbon-copied from his recent week-long gig at the Budokan in Tokyo.

The first real stormer was Hoochie Coochie Man, giving his dream-team band a chance to flex and giving a first taste of Doyle Bramhall's more-than-capable guitar work.

Next up, monster hit number one, I Shot the Sheriff, which showed how easily Clapton can build and turn a crowd, twisting the song from a mere whisper and back up as only a well-seasoned frontman can do.

After a tender render of Why Does Love Got to be So Bad, the electric Stratocaster was replaced with an acoustic guitar for the loping shuffle of Driftin', (with a clap-along that proved not all of the audience were musos), followed by the metronomic Travelling Alone.

Then Running on Faith was slipped into the mix, and the crowd sensed the chart-toppers were coming.

Guitar geeks got the gold that they were after in spades. The mix showed how much Vector's sound has improved; every rake, mute and pick stroke was perfectly audible.

Solo after effortless solo left players in the audience asking what the market price is for a soul down at those crossroads.

Little Queen of Spades gave the band another chance to really show their chops; ultra-experienced touring bassist Willie Weeks (the Stones, Roger Water and many more) was an utter standout.

The ultra-recognisable riff that pins down classic radio staple Wonderful Tonight was met with a unified scream from the near-packed arena. This was backed up with Layla, which in turn was hijacked by an utterly incendiary Cocaine.

One encore was all Auckland's worshippers were going to get - the Robert Johnson blues masterpiece Crossroads.

A couple more would have been nice, Mr Slowhand, considering the ticket prices went as high as a near-criminal $399.