I had been driving for what felt like a hundred years. My buddy Treebeard and I had been trading off behind the wheel for three days. Our destination was finally in sight, but we had to make a long detour around the flooded wastelands of Iowa.

The detour took us further and further north until finally we saw the orange detour sign that pointed eastward. It had been a long day’s drive through the dark heart of nothing, and even after we knocked back strong coffee and found decent veggie burritos somewhere in Ohio, our day’s driving quota was far from met. I had many miles to go before I could collapse on another sketchy Motel 6 full-size. Somewhere near West Virginia we stopped for gas. I was tired, and I watched as yet another $60 was leeched from my bank card and into the bowels of the great blue beast we drove. It was the first time during the trip that I began to feel serious burnout. I just wanted to park on a roadside, sleep, and take my chances with whatever the morning brought.

“DUDE, LOOK!”

And there was Treebeard, walking — no, skipping – out of the minimart with a six-pack of beer held over his head. That’s how I discovered Magic Hat.

Treebeard was familiar with this magical elixir from his days in New England. Magic Hat comes from Vermont, and it is so very Vermont that the six-pack even came with a contest entry to win tickets to a stop on Mike Gordon’s summer tour. We loaded up on the stuff and headed into the darkness.

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Eric Clapton - guitar, vocals
Steve Winwood - Hammond organ, guitar, vocals
Chris Stainton - keyboards
Willie Weeks - bass
Ian Thomas - drums

I’m convinced that any great concert experience requires an interesting precursor — the company around you, the trip to the venue, the small details that elevate something to do on a Tuesday night into a memory. I’m equally convinced that while it might make a great experience, it might not make a great story. More often than not, one person’s good time is another person’s drab tale, even if the center of the trip is the reunion if the nucleus of famed supergroup Blind Faith, Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood. Then again, with such a draw, one might have to rethink all those presumptions, as there was nothing more dramatic on February 26th than the performances of two legendary players.

Opening with “Had To Cry Today,” Steve Winwood and Eric Clapton took the stage with guitars strapped on and loaded with confidence. The three-night MSG residency may have surprised fans when they heard it was going to happen, but the interplay between the two makes clear just what a natural fit they are. The other surprise is how the players were arranged: I originally expected Winwood to open the show, play some songs, then have Clapton come out for team-ups, then Clapton would hold forth for the rest. That all participants stayed onstage during the full show (excepting one solo turn each) was a treat. (more…)