COPING VIA MIXTAPE: STEVE WINWOOD AND ERIC CLAPTON

Yeah, I really wanted to see one of the Steve Winwood / Eric Clapton shows at the Garden. But I just didn't have it in me to pay those insane prices (although since they sold out all three nights, I guess they charged what many considered to be a fair amount). The last day of the show a ticket was available behind the stage in the upper level. It was $75. If it was a benefit for Crossroads, maybe. Maybe. So, this calls for Volume 2 of Coping Via Mixtape, where I share a mixtape (actually an iPod mix) that I would have used to get psyched for the show, had I actually been going (and which I enjoyed listening to anyway).

By the way: A friend of mine hooked me up with a bootleg of the show. I'm normally not a bootlegger, but I really wanted to hear what the show was like. And the minute they release a live album of the shows, I'll happily fork over the dough.

So, anyway, my Winwood/Clapton mixtape:

Of course, lots of Blind Faith, which made up much of their set: "Had To Cry Today," "Well All Right," "Presence Of The Lord," "Sleeping In The Ground," and "Can't Find My Way Back Home."

Years before they played in Blind Faith, Clapton and Winwood recorded two tracks together as "Eric Clapton's Powerhouse." They recorded "Crossroads," so that version made the mix.

The Yardbirds: "Smokestack Lightning"

The Spencer Davis Group: "Dimples" and "I'm A Man"

Jimi Hendrix: "Voodoo Chile" (Winwood actually played Hammond on the original, and was performing it on his last tour - and they actually did play this. "Little Wing," which Clapton and Winwood played at The Rainbow Concert in the early '70s (Clapton's "comeback show, organized by Pete Townshend and which also featured Ronnie Wood). Amazingly, this song also made the MSG setlist.

Cream: "Rollin' And Tumblin'" and "Badge." Having reunited with Cream a few years ago, Clapton veered clear of the Cream songbook.

Traffic: "Pearly Queen," "Glad," "Freedom Rider," "Empty Pages," "Dear Mr. Fantasy" and "John Barleycorn." A bunch of these made the set.

Derek & The Dominoes: "I Looked Away," "Bell Bottom Blues" and "Tell The Truth."

Winwood: "Freedom Overspill," "Split Decision," "Back In The High Life," "Roll With It," his cover of Curtis Mayfield's "It's All Right," "Different Light," "Final Hour," his cover of Timmy Thomas' "Why Can't We Live Together," and his new single, which features Clapton, "Dirty City" (which he surprisingly didn't play).

I would have been happy with much of the setlist, so hopefully they will do it again... and this time, wait until after I win the lottery.

Clapton: "All Our Past Times," "Hello Old Friend," "Sign Language," his cover of Elton John's "Border Song," his cover of Leadbelly's "Alberta," his cover of Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right," his cover of Curtis Mayfield's "You Must Believe Me," his Hendrix covers "Stone Free" and "Burning Of The Midnight Lamp," his cover of Stevie Wonder's "I Ain't Gonna Stand For It," his cover of Robert Johnson's "Travelling Riverside Blues," and his recent collab with J.J. Cale, "When This War Is Over."