Music

Little snippet of conversation overheard 10 minutes after the end of Tuesday night's Eric Clapton-Steve Winwood concert at American Airlines Center: "Gosh they were great," enthused one concertgoer, "but Winwood didn't do 'Arc of a Diver,' and Clapton didn't even get to 'Lay Down Sally' or 'Tears in Heaven.' "

MICHAEL AINSWORTH/DMN

Eric Clapton

That halfhearted gripe about what was not played actually highlighted so much of what made the Clapton-Winwood concert so satisfying: its sheer unpredictability.

Refusing to pander to an audience salivating for these 60-something rock icons to robotically crank out their innumerable hits, Clapton and Winwood fashioned a concert based on their undying adoration of traditional American soul and blues music, and how those often-obscure songs formed an aural bridge to their own famous catalog.

Winwood and Clapton, once members of early supergroup Blind Faith, clearly were basking in each other's reunified musical presence. An unadorned display of musicianship, the Clapton-Winwood concert had the two players on stage for more than two hours, with no opening act, no intermission and no politicking or any contrived banter between songs.

Why would they engage in any blather with so much inspiring material to tackle? Clapton delivered everything from the saucy shuffle of "After Midnight" to his now-patented unplugged "Layla" – all raspy yearning and woodsy acoustic guitar figures.

Winwood, with his pleading tenor, delivered the poignancy of Blind Faith's "Can't Find My Way Home" and the scruffy exuberance of such Traffic chestnuts as "Glad" and "Pearly Queen."

But this was a night where master-class musicianship trumped trips down memory lane. With overhead screens flashing close-ups of Clapton and Winwood, the cameras zeroed in on their hands.

Clapton's earlier ironic nickname of "Slow Hand" was on full display – and what a misnomer that is. On his air-guitarist's dream version of "Voodoo Chile," Clapton moved with dazzling fluidity, gliding over the fretboard while producing a fusillade of bent notes.

As for Winwood, in the evening's emotional zenith, the cameras tracked his hands spidering across his Hammond B-3 organ for his rendition of "Georgia on My Mind."