Concert

Well, as a big surprise, Kate had a two day trip planned for the two of us. I had no idea what we were doing or where we were going till the day of the event. I was simply told not to have anything planned. The day of...she announced that we were going to an Eric Clapton concert (pavilion seats) in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. So we go...set up camp when we first got there, and then explored some of the park (which is very large). We didn't do any hiking, but stopped by a vineyard called "Sarah's Vineyard" across from the concert grounds and did some wine tasting as well as grab a bite to eat before the concert (sarahsvineyardwinery.com). After we finished we went across the way to the concert grounds (the Blossom Music Center). The whole concert pavilion area was really cool looking, but we got no pics (as cameras were not allowed). We found out that the opener was a group called Robert Randolph and the family band. I didn't realize until he starting playing, but I knew exactly who he was. For those of you that don't, he was a major part in the Crossroads Concert of Eric Clapton's. He plays a sit down steel guitar and is absolutely awesome. Most people there appeared not to know him, as most of the seats were empty. He was fun to listen to (robertrandolph.net). Then Clapton came on and started getting the seats filled. At the beginning-middle, he played very little that I knew, but didn't make me care much. Every song was like a blues jam out session with long solos in the middle of them where he would just rock out on his guitars. He played several of his classics toward the end (i.e. Hoochie Coochie Man, Layla, Cocaine, Wonderful Tonight). We got the best of all of it. Then for his encore, both Clapton and Robert Randolph came out and played together, absolutely rocking out. It looked like they were trying to show each other up, both of them smiling like crazy while doing it. They both looked like they had a blast playing with each other. The audience,I thin, got the best of it though. It was a mini Crossroads Concert. We stayed for a long time after the concert waiting on the thousands to meander out and let traffic die down. Too many drunk people driving away for my likes. The concert was absolutely awesome.