 5/23/2025 - London, England - Our return trip to London, England started a day earlier, driving from Hilton to Lockport, to pickup brother Mike, then over the Queenston-Lewiston Bridge being playfully questioned by the most gorgeous female border guard I have ever encountered, then finally onto YYZ Toronto Pearson Airport to catch a red eye Air Canada flight direct to London Heathrow. Mike payed to upgrade our seats for more leg room for the 7 hour flight. We had a smooth flight that included complimentary drinks and new release movies the flight arrived late morning in London. We made it thru customs painlessly and caught the Tube to our favorite hotel in London the Park Plaza London Westminster Bridge. We arrived early for checkin and luckily our Big Ben view suite was ready. The suite was excellent and provided fantastic views of Big Ben and Parliament and included a full living room. We rested for a while and then headed to Picadilly Circus on the Tube for a nice steak dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe at Picadilly Circus. This trip was literally ten years to the day of our trip in 2015 to see Eric Clapton for his 70th Birthday now we are here to see his 80th Birthday celebration. We started our first full day with the great breakfast at the hotel, then we explored the Westminster area including Big Ben, Parliament and the London Eye. We walked the streets and headed to the newly renovated National Gallery and took in some amazing artwork from the likes of Van Gogh, Leonardo da Vinci, Micelangelo, Raphael, Monet and Renoir to name a few. We then hopped on the Tube and went to Abby Road Studios and made the same walk the Beatles made some 56 years earlier. We were back on the Tube heading from Westminster to South Kenningston to Royal Albert Hall to see Slowhand, Eric Clapton, perform. We stopped at Five Guys for a quick bite and walked to the Hall. We entered early and for this night we would be seated on opposite sides of the hall but both excellent seats. The show opened promptly at 7:30PM with Andy Fairweather Low and his band the Low Riders. He played an almost hour set of some originals and some covers including Tequila and the Theme From Peter Gunn. His set was well received by the quickly filled in crowd, I thought he was just okay. After a short intermission, EC and his band hit the stage and performed an excellent set. He opened the first electric set with White Room, then Key To The Highway and closed with Sunshine of Your Love. He opened the acoustic set with a surprise of Let It Grow which had not been performed since 78. His band included Nathan East on bass, Sonny Emory on drums, Chris Stainton and Tim Carmon on keys, Sharon White and Katie Kissoon on backup vocals and Doyle Bramhall II on guitar. He played Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out and closed the acoustic set with Tears In Heaven. He opened the second electric set with Tell The Truth and played one of my favorites Old Love. He closed the show with Cocaine and came out for the one encore of Before You Accuse Me. A great show at a fabulous venue and we get to do it again tomorrow!Slideshow |
