B.B. King in concert was awesome

cshude · #1 November 6th, 2006

Well, this past Saturday I finally had my opportunity to see BB King live and in person. He was in Flint at the Whiting Auditorium, which is a great place for a concert like this- big enough to get good crowd energy, but small enough to feel that you're special to be there. I guess the crowd was roughly 4,000.

I went with my best friend (he plays bass) and we were only 20 rows from the stage. I was close enough to see exactly what everyone was playing, which was totally sweet.

The concert started with the BB King Blues Band doing a couple warm up numbers, taking their turns for solos and getting good and warmed up. Tell you what, the rhythm guitarist, Charlie (can't remember the last name) is no slouch, either. After they did their warmups, B.B. himself came on out to a standing ovation , looking like he's still in pretty good shape, considering the health issues he has been dealing with for the past several years. Once he got settled in his chair at center stage, they played a couple verses of "Why I Sing the Blues"- chills ran up and down my spine and I couldn't suppress delighted laughter when he started playing. The tone the man gets is absolutely unreal.

Following the opening, B.B. settled in for one of several "chats" with the audience, some relating stories of growing up on a cotton plantation, others regarding the health issues that come with age, and about music in general.

Most of the standards were touched on- Aint' That Just Like a Woman (followed by "You Are My Sunshine" to get back on the ladies' good side

), Before Love Came To Town, How Blue Can You Get, and a few others. The show wrapped up with The Thrill is Gone, and an extremely laid-back and mucho bluesy rendition of Key to the Highway.

Even though B.B. King is now 81, he still puts on a heck of a show- the voice is still incredibly powerful, the chops are strong and slick as ever, and it is obvious that the man still lives to put a smile on the audience's face. This definitely ranks way up there in my list of musical experiences.

The bad news, however, is that he no longer stays around after shows to do autographs, so I took my guitar along for nothing- but I tried. I even got chased away from the tour buses after I sauntered back behind the theater after the show. Oh, well. I tried.

All in all, a great night!

allthumbs · #2 November 6th, 2006

Great report. Thanks.

D-Dawn · #3 November 6th, 2006

Sounds like a good time!

coldethyl · #4 November 6th, 2006

I'm green with envy Chris!
Shame ya didn't get an autograph, but like you say, he is getting on a bit and maybe doing autographs exhausts him a bit too much.
At 81 yrs he's doing fairly well by the sounds of it, and it would be great for him to still be with us for many more years yet.

bluesguy · #5 November 7th, 2006

Great concert report. I guess I am really lucky that he signed the photograph I took of him years before.

cshude · #6 November 7th, 2006

Right after the show, I was able to talk to one of the band members for a moment while he was grabbing some of his stuff off the stage and he mentioned that they usually hustle BB on to the bus right after the show these days so that they can max the amount of rest time he can get. Can't blame them one bit.

Andy S · #7 November 7th, 2006

You are fortunate to see him now. I've heard the same thing about his health. One of the guys on Wholenote, last year, got to see him in a smaller venue and even got to go ON THE BUS!! He had some pics of BB and the bus and him & BB.

I have only seen video footage and THAT can be pretty awesome. I can only imagine what Live was like. My fear is that with his weight problems, & the diabetes, it is only a matter of time before he's gone.

I have a Duke Robillard CD where he is playing a track of blues and every few bars, he changes styles, playing in the style of those people that influenced him. At one point, he mentions one of the players (sorry, I forget who it was, but he is gone now) and mentions the guy told him to stay well since "there are only a few of us left", referring to some of the original blues greats. It'll be a sad day when BB goes, that's for sure.

I hate to sound morbid but, if anyone has a chance to see him in concert, do it now. I can imagine the touring will wear him down where he can't tour anymore. Then it will be too late.