Eric Clapton's appearance halfway through Carlos Santana's April 28 concert at the Budokan, the last date on his recent Japan tour, was unexpected but, in hindsight, not surprising.
Santana implied in his introduction that Clapton had been flown in especially for the gig by the promoter, Udo Artists. Udo's enthusiasm as the keeper of the Guitar God flame in Japan is legendary. I wouldn't be surprised if over the years the agency has made more money promoting Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page and Santana than it has all its other artists combined.
As the show began, Santana, dressed in black fedora, black shirt and trousers, and black slippers, presented the president and two of his executives with guitars that they will undoubtedly display in the window of their Aoyama office alongside axes previously owned/played/fondled by Messrs. Beck, Clapton and Page. (It seems to be something of a habit with Carlos. At a press conference two weeks ago he also gave a guitar to middle-aged former idol singer Goro Noguchi, who is launching another comeback with a Japanese language cover version of "Smooth.")