Clapton has a new record out, Old Sock, featuring mostly comfort music of laid-back covers. Two of its tracks made it into Saturday's show -- the high-energy original "Gotta Get Over," and a lolling take on the traditional Leadbelly tune "Goodnight, Irene."
The middle acoustic section offered a couple of blues covers, wedding-ceremony standard "Wonderful Tonight," and a plaintive "Tears in Heaven" -- the last with a flash of country and reggae sounds that made the sometimes overexposed ballad sound fresh.
The show did drag with the inclusion of a four-song set of Robert Johnson songs, heavy on the slow blues. And while Clapton's admiration for the blues legend and his personal passion for the genre are well-known (this is a guy who quit the red-hot Yardbirds because their hit "For Your Love" was too pop-sounding), it was a bit patience-testing, despite the skill with which the material was played.
The main-set ender "Cocaine" returned some rock fury and brought the audience to its feet (and some air-guitar glory). Houston was the second stop on the tour and, quizzically, this tune was preceded by "Layla" in the concert's Phoenix predecessor/doppelganger.
