Clapton is God

Last night, I went to see Eric Clapton in his first, and possibly his last (as this was his final official tour), appearance in mainland China. What made the night even better than it would have been was that I was a VIP of sorts. In no official setting, outside of my own head, do I exist as a VIP; I am reminded of this often, most recently when an old lady spit on my foot (though I blame myself for this, as I should have reacted in time to the sound of her gearing up to spit). Last night, however, I had the VIP treatment because I was lucky enough to be born into the same family as my brother, who promoted and organized the show, a bangup job on his part.

From this perspective I had the opportunity to wait backstage with my brother and follow Eric Clapton and his band onto the stage. We stood in the back hallway when the band came out of their dressing rooms. I scanned the group, about a dozen in number. At first, I guess assuming that Clapton would stand out in some way (either walking regally behind his band or surrounded by some sort of Golden (God) Glow), I didn't recognize him. Then as he walked not a few feet from me, I caught his eye in the latter stages of my double-take. He smiled at me and nodded. While this look was meant merely to convey an acknowledgement of my presence, in my buzzed state, I sensed that it transmitted a mutual appreciation and respect -- not for my VIP status, but because I like to think this was the case.

After he passed, we followed him through the backstage area, along the path set by taped arrows, and watched him play his first song from the wings of the stage. My apologies for the blur of the photo above, but it was dark and I was excited.

Question: If you shake hands with Eric Clapton, do you shake Slow Hand or do you shake hands slowly?