The Willie Weeks Band with Eric Clapton and Stevie Winwood

RHFusillo · #1 06-25-2009, 07:20 AM

...actually it wasn't. I saw Clapton and Winwood here in Houston last night. Their sidemen were Chris Stainton on keyboards, Abe Laboriel, Jr. on drums, and Willie Weeks on bass.

Weeks is pretty much a perfect sideman. He did nothing to call attention to himself (no Donny Hathaway Live moments), but locked in perfectly with Laboriel for all the shifting rhythmic grooves that the band played. But subtly, he seemed to give new spark to tunes I'd heard hundreds of times, like "After Midnight."

Weeks played a 57-style P bass most of the night, through an Aguilar amp (DB 750?) and an Aguilar 4x10 cabinet. He switched to an old, hollowbody Kay bass guitar for the acoustic set. I saw a couple of Avalon U5's on stage, but was not sure what they were used for -- perhaps the acoustic guitars.

Clapton and Winwood were excellent -- lots of Blind Faith, Traffic, and JJ Cale songs. They even played Winwood's Ramsey Lewis-style "Glad."

zachbass02 · #2 06-25-2009, 07:55 AM

wow....quite a lineup there.

JTE · #3 06-25-2009, 08:09 AM

COOL! I once talked about going to see "a Nathan East concert", but he had Clapton backing him up

One thing I love about Clapton is that he constantly reinvents his material. It's sometimes the same song, but each tour he does them differently. "Bell Bottom Blues" from the 2001 tour was a beautiful acoustic song. And he always lets his sidemen play the music instead of regurgitating the record.

John

RHFusillo · #4 06-25-2009, 08:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JTE

One thing I love about Clapton is that he constantly reinvents his material. It's sometimes the same song, but each tour he does them differently. "Bell Bottom Blues" from the 2001 tour was a beautiful acoustic song. And he always lets his sidemen play the music instead of regurgitating the record.

Another thing I like about Clapton is that he always hires the best sidemen. He's like Stan Getz used to be -- a musician with a big reputation who can save money by using younger musicians. But, like Getz, Clapton hires veteran players who can give him something to play off of. Last time I saw Clapton, he had Nathan East, Steve Gadd, David Sanctious, Billy Preston (!), and Andy Fairweather-Low.

dave64o · #5 06-25-2009, 08:23 AM

I went to that show in Philadelphia about two weeks ago and loved it. Winwood was amazing and seemed like he was pushing Clapton.

The only possible negatives to me were:
1) I was in the upper level and above the speaker columns so I didn't get the best sound
2) Willie Weeks was on the big screens a grand total of TWO times, and only because he was behind Clapton when Clapton was on the screen. EVERY other band member got their fair share of screen time.

Still a great show.

RHFusillo · #6 06-25-2009, 08:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dave64o

I went to that show in Philadelphia about two weeks ago and loved it. Winwood was amazing and seemed like he was pushing Clapton.

The only possible negatives to me were:
1) I was in the upper level and above the speaker columns so I didn't get the best sound
2) Willie Weeks was on the big screens a grand total of TWO times, and only because he was behind Clapton when Clapton was on the screen. EVERY other band member got their fair share of screen time.

Still a great show.

True about Willie not getting screen time. Fortunately, we were in the 9th row center, so I didn't have trouble seeing him. (There are not many other acts for whom I'd spend $170/seat.)

**Thor** · #7 06-25-2009, 09:27 AM

Did Stainton handle all the keyboard work for the night?

Or did Stevie play any keys?

Stainton is a great keyboard player, I have usually noticed
him on piano. He's backed a lot of great acts, Joe Cocker
notably over many years including the Grease Band, Mad Dogs
and Englishmen with Leon Russel, Joe Cocker's modern band
and more.

Nice to see he is getting the work.

ZonGuy · #8 06-25-2009, 10:26 AM

Thanks for the report, Bob. My big Q is whether thats Stevie's real hair or not?

As far as screen time for Willie Weeks, thats probably more time than Darryl Jones gets with the Stones. And now back to the regualrly scheduled thread.

RHFusillo · #9 06-25-2009, 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thor

Did Stainton handle all the keyboard work for the night?

Or did Stevie play any keys?

No, Stainton did not do all of the keyboard work. He sat on one side of the stage with a Hammond, a synthesizer, and an electric piano. Winwood was set up on the other side of the stage with a Hammond and a grand piano. He played keyboards more than guitar. When Winwood was playing organ, Stainton was usually playing piano, and vice versa.

It sure looked like Stevie's real hair. The real question is how a 61-year old man stays that youthful looking.

**Thor** · #10 06-25-2009, 01:33 PM

He always looked real young. In the Spencer Davis band he looked like he was about 12

.

JTE · #11 06-25-2009, 02:14 PM

Heck, in SDG, I think he WAS 12!!

, or maybe 16.

jte

burk48237 · #12 06-25-2009, 04:19 PM

How was the live show in terms of stretching out and variety? I was disappointed with the live CD, especially after "One more car, One more driver" (which is killer). To me the CD sounded like a cover band just quoting the tunes, they didn't sound inspired and really added very little to the originals. Even Winwoods singing seemed a little tiered on the live CD. Clapton, I must admit has really become a pretty good singer compared to his early days. Winwood just doesn't seem to have the same soul as his early stuff. IMO, I'd love to hear your take.

RHFusillo · #13 06-25-2009, 05:01 PM

Well, they were mostly playing the hits. But they sounded like they were enjoying themselves, rather than merely mailing it in. And Winwood, especially, looked like he was really having fun. As for "inspired," I don't know how much inspiration there actually is in these big tour shows. There was inspiration in the original Blind Faith, Traffic, and Derek & the Dominoes sessions. I think that the best you can hope for in something like this is to hear some great players playing their songs and having a good time.

P.S. Maybe the best song of the night was Winwood doing a solo version of "Low Spark of High Heeled Boys." That sent shivers up my spine.

5StringBlues · #14 06-25-2009, 05:05 PM

RH,

McClendon said Clapton was on top of it playing wise.I'd like to get your take specifically just on Clapton's night.

RHFusillo · #15 06-25-2009, 08:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 5StringBlues

McClendon said Clapton was on top of it playing wise.I'd like to get your take specifically just on Clapton's night.

Clapton played his ass off. I've seen him play several times since 1974. He's always played brilliantly.

We saw a wider range from him than usual last night, because they were also doing Winwood's material. It was interesting to hear him play Traffic tunes like "Glad," or to channel Hendrix on "Voodoo Chile."

His tone was gorgeous. He played either the Strat through Fender tweed amps or the Martin all night. Hearing him play the opening riff of "Had to Cry Today" was another chills-up-your-spine moment.

Low Main · #16 06-25-2009, 08:43 PM

Quote:

Another thing I like about Clapton is that he always hires the best sidemen.

Indeed he does, and that is a skill that I wish more headliners would learn how to do well.

Clapton learned his bandleading from a master: John Mayall.

The difference being that Clapton is a world class musician, whereas Mayall's approach was to surround himself with great talent, knowing that he himself was not a top rank instrumentalist.

Mayall was not perfect at what he did; there were bad moments. But in general, he was a savvy, brilliant bandleader, and brought a lot of heavy players through his organization.

So Low Bass · #17 06-26-2009, 05:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RHFusillo

Weeks played a 57-style P bass most of the night, through an Aguilar amp (DB 750?) and an Aguilar 4x10 cabinet.

Actually, he plays a '58 PERIOD. Are you sure that the cab was a 4x10 and not a 4x12??

I'm a middle age guy that just got into this guy!! His thing with Vince Gill on Crossroads one (Dallas) blew me away until hearing him on Crossroads two (Chicago) and then the Winwood/msg thing. He has SO much bottom. I just learned that he plays Aguilar... 12's????

Can anyone give me more info on Aguilar?

(East and Weeks are two same vintage guys. East branched off into the modern thing, IMO.)

JimmyM · #18 06-26-2009, 06:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Low Main

Indeed he does, and that is a skill that I wish more headliners would learn how to do well.

God forbid that anyone take any focus away from Ashlee Simpson for even a second

BTW, I saw Winwood in 1988, and the one thing that ruined the show for me is that when there was a song with a guitar solo, Winwood played guitar. When there was a song with a keyboard solo, Winwood played keyboards. The band was featured only at the end when he did introductions. Otherwise it was All Winwood All The Time.

jerry · #19 06-26-2009, 09:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyM

BTW, I saw Winwood in 1988, and the one thing that ruined the show for me is that when there was a song with a guitar solo, Winwood played guitar. When there was a song with a keyboard solo, Winwood played keyboards. The band was featured only at the end when he did introductions. Otherwise it was All Winwood All The Time.

Kinda like Traffic, probably why Dave Mason got the boot.

JimmyM · #20 06-26-2009, 09:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jerry

Kinda like Traffic, probably why Dave Mason got the boot.

And I have no doubt that if Winwood could have played the sax and flute, Jim Capaldi would have gotten the boot, too