I gazed upward to see how those in the balcony would respond to the curtain closing on the single greatest display of human movement I’ve ever witnessed and I was pleasantly surprised to see them out of their seats and clapping wildly. Cincinnati has had a reputation for sitting out standing ovations but the showmanship of Frampton and the Cincinnati Ballet live deserved each percussive palm slap from the audience.
The simple stage was set for a live show and as the music unfurled so did the dancers moving their perfectly sculptured bodies in time to the guitar. The lighting was brilliant and seemed to drape over the shoulders of the male dancers and suddenly create dark shadows accentuating their every muscle and curve as they gyrated across the stage using unorthodox costume and movement to convey the contemporary influence of the company.
Photo Cred: Ispy Cincinnati
At the end of the first set Frampton’s guitar released a beautiful whine as the notes to ‘my guitar gently weeps’ swept through the theater. The pure expression of loss, love, hope, and change was displayed by the entire ensemble and left me with tears running down my cheeks and a hand pressed to my mouth as I tried to drink in every moment of that perfect musical connection.
Photo Cred: Cincinnati News
The rest of the night blurred by quickly with songs such as ‘hummingbird in a cage’, ‘lines on my face’, and ‘I love your way’. As the end came closer you could feel the anticipation building in the audience and as the dramatic cover of ‘Black Hole Sun’ ripped through the speakers it seemed to build to an electric climax eventually exploding in a 5 minute standing ovation.
Like any proper musician Frampton gave in to the demands of his fans and came back for an extensive encore that could have lasted all night. I never thought I’d see the women of Cincinnati grooving in the aisles but last night the Aronoff became a dance floor for the cities cultured crew and those too shy to dance used their cell phones lights and swayed along with the sound.
Looking upward and forward I’m so impressed by the Cincinnati Ballet’s commitment to pursue these dream projects and who knows, maybe one year we will see the likes of Eric Clapton!
Scarlett Goes Midwest 
Hey “Scarlette”:
A bit of a coincidence — just this morning, the morning of your post, I was driving on my way to Phil’s place (to tend to his cats while he is away in Florida). On the radio, came a segment about Frampton — starting with how he had just had his 63rd birthday earlier this week. It went on to tell about how he and one of his older classmates would bring their guitars to school. They would spend their lunch periods jamming, and playing Buddy Holly songs (said songs were only four or five years old at the time.) That older classmate was David Bowie.
Some interconnections: You mentioned George Harrison’s “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” as one of the songs that particularly made an impression that night. Frampton was a session guitarist on Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass” album. This is where Frampton was first exposed to the “talk box”, his signature guitar effect. You also mentioned Clapton in your closing — he was the actual, uncredited, lead guitarist on the original recording of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” for the Beatles “White” album.
Glad you enjoyed the performance (somehow, I managed to avoid being informed that the show was upcoming).
Wayne