Written by Dave Clements

It was Monday morning in Houston, TX and I’d just gotten out of bed, grabbed a cup of coffee and sat down at my computer trying to decide if I woke up happy… or woke up sad.
My dilemma was in regard to an absolutely outstanding show I witnessed from beginning to end last night at Dosey Doe’s Big Barn in The Woodlands, TX.
Performing were four guys, two of which were from the UK, that call themselves ‘The Music of Cream’. The UK members are Kofi Baker and Will Johns and I will come back to them.

First let me remind our younger readers that Cream was a late sixties rock band that included Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce and Eric Clapton. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, almost 30 years ago and their music remains as good today as it did 50 years ago.
So back to my morning quandary – should I be thrilled that I witnessed one of the best shows ever or sad that I witnessed it with a very sparse audience that should have been significantly larger?

Even though it was the end of a long weekend, a Sunday night and also Easter Weekend I can’t get past the fact that these guys spent two full hours on stage and nailed the ‘Best Of’ Cream (playing songs from Cream’s studio album Disraeli Gears released in 1967), and then Eric Clapton’s most classic songs. It’s just so unfortunate that Houston’s Classic Rock music lovers were not out supporting them in sufficient numbers!
They were so good that I’d bet way more than a nickel that if I had seen the real Cream band while I was still in college (sadly I did not) and closed my eyes last night rather than taking photos (see photo gallery) I would have been blown away by how similar the sound was from then until now.

These guys started with the first album cut Strange Brew then on to Sunshine and after they finished all the album’s songs, they nailed Clapton with several of his solo hits like Crossroads, of course Layla and ended the evening with Cocaine. I’m not sure what they could have added to the evening (short of bringing Clapton on stage!) to make it any more impressive or enjoyable. Thanks guys…. You nailed it and I wish you the best and that in some small way this review will help ticket sales as you continue your tour around America and beyond.

Now before closing let me share that The Music of Cream is NOT A COVER BAND nor in my mind A TRIBUTE BAND; it is a KEEP THE FAMILY LEGACY ALIVE band. Kofi Baker is the son of Ginger Baker, Cream’s iconic drummer and arguably one of the best rock drummers of all time, and Kofi besides getting the BAKER name got the ‘great drummer’ gene from his dad. If he had been on stage alone all night his drumming would have been well worth the price of admission. And as an aside his dad Ginger Baker played Dosey Doe several years before. Somehow I felt honored Sunday night to have photographed them both in my lifetime (and both will be in my next book Raising A Hand Volume Three).
When you add to the stage Will Johns on guitar and lead vocals you really have something special. Will is ‘family’ to rock music royalty…his uncles are Eric Clapton, the late Beatle, George Harrison, and Fleetwood Mac’s Mick Fleetwood. Not to mention his dad is the legendary recording engineer and producer Andy Johns who has worked side by side with The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, and Jimi Hendrix to name a few.
Thank you for letting me share my frustration and please, if you want to ‘keep live music alive’ support all the bands, solo artists, and music venues that still exist… or one day we might wake up and they’ll be in our rearview mirror, gone.
Until next time. dwc