OAKLAND, Calif.--On Saturday night (8/11), Eric Clapton [ tickets ] embraced his varied background, pouring his genius into a colorful spectrum of musical styles.

He spent time moaning the blues and preaching the gospel. He painted the arena in a swirl of psychedelics with trippy, torturous songs from his Cream days. He was dark and dangerous with a stadium favorite like "Cocaine," only to be upbeat with his pop tunes.

Quite frankly, he was all over the place. But the reason that it all held together, and why it all sounded good, was the guitar. Big surprise. In concert, Clapton’s guitar work is so tasteful, tuneful and original, that it is nearly impossible not to like any song that he does. He could cover the Men Without Hats songbook on stage and make it sound profound.

An equally difficult task is to make some of his own more-recent, watered-down recordings sound intriguing in concert. While one half of his brain spent the ‘90s exploring traditional blues, the other half obviously was concentrating on the bank account. He got involved in soundtracks, wrote some vacuous mellow-rock hits, won some trophies and sold a lot of records.

Though his legacy is clearly tarnished by such lightweight, overwrought odes as "Change the World" and "My Father’s Eyes"--sap that Michael Bolton would be embarrassed to record--in concert, Clapton transformed both tracks into new and worthwhile creations. Strumming an acoustic guitar with authority, he was able to give some teeth to "Change the World," while he closed out "My Father’s Eyes" with a beautiful, shimmering guitar lead that won’t soon be forgotten.

As usual, his singing didn’t match his playing. However, at this point in his career, Clapton’s voice is much better suited for the likes of Willie Dixon’s "Hoochie Coochie Man" than it is for some of his ‘70s hits. And his impressive five-piece band--which included keyboardist Billy Preston--seemed most at home on the blues numbers.

But this crowd could only handle so much blues. When Clapton finally began to roll out the classics toward the end of the show, the well-lubed audience was ready to dance and sing. After a big hit of "Cocaine," Clapton slowed things down with his sweet, true "Wonderful Tonight." His guitar lead into that song remains one of the best ever recorded for any rock ballad. And then, of course, came "Layla."

Simply put, hearing Clapton play "Layla" live is an experience that every rock fan should have at least once.

The question is: how many more chances will we get to hear it?

Eric Clapton has announced that this current worldwide trek will be his last tour. He’s giving himself some wiggle room, saying that he’ll possibly do an occasional small theater show or two. (If you think scoring tickets for a sold-out arena show is tough, try scoring them for a one-off gig at a 1,000-seat venue.)

A lot of people simply refuse to believe the 56-year-old guitarist. In fact, many think this is either a brilliant marketing ploy or a bout with temporary insanity. How many boxers have we seen quit on top, only to put the gloves on and get back in the ring? What about Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan?

Can the Michael Jordan of electric guitar simply pack up and walk away from thrilling 20,000 screaming fans on a nightly basis? We shall see. The fans in Oakland, at least, are hoping the answer is no.