After the Crossroads Guitar Festival in Chicago last summer, the duo is reuniting again for these three nights at Madison Square Garden.
They opened Monday night's show without frills, without gimmicks, just a little smoke floating off the stage. The lights went down at 8:20 p.m. and out they walked. Their plan was to let the instruments do the talking.

Clapton actually played 14 songs before he addressed the crowd with anything more than a "Thank you."

"What should I say?" Clapton asked, sitting alone on stage during a rare break. "It's a great thrill to play with Steve and I've been looking forward to it for a long time."

It's impossible to avoid comparing the two heavyweights. Poor Winwood. It's not easy sharing the stage with a guitar god. With or without Clapton, his voice was scratchy during some songs ("Sleeping in the Ground") and screamy during others ("Well Alright"). The crowd stood behind Winwood -- let's give him credit, he nailed "Voodoo Chile" and offered a nice piano solo of "Georgia on My Mind" -- but the guess here is that a Clapton solo show might have made for a more enjoyable evening.

The concert reached its peaks when Clapton took center stage, Winwood played the piano and the two exploded into one of Clapton's rock songs. The audience roared for a long time after the pair got done with "After Midnight," a Clapton classic.

To be fair, it was a blues-heavy set, which benefited Clapton more than Winwood. To hear Clapton work those strings on "Can't Find My Way Home" and "I'm So Glad" was a real treat. The duo saved "Crossroads" for their encore.

01. Had To Cry Today
02. Low Down
03. Forever Man
04. Them Changes
05. Sleeping In The Ground
06. Presence Of The Lord
07. Glad / Well Alright
08. Double Trouble
09. Pearly Queen
10. Tell The Truth
11. No Face
12. After Midnight
13. Split Decision
14. Ramblin On My Mind (EC)
15. Georgia On My Mind (S.Winwood)
16. Little Wing
17. Voodoo Child
18. Can't Find My Way Home
19. Dear Mr Fantasy
20. Crossroads (Encore)

Mike Kerwickn / NorthJersey.com