Vacaville Represents at Sac IBC
Northern California Blues Festival
Bodega Seafood, Art & Wine Festival - 8/23/08
B.B. is still the King of the Blues
What a joy it was to once again see blues master B.B. King up on stage dazzling the crowd at the Solano County fair outdoor arena on July 9th. When I heard BB was playing the fair I told the blues girl we just had to go, as this may be the last chance to see him play since he is eighty-two years old. I think that’s about the same thing I said about ten years ago when I saw him last. There is something reverent about seeing BB, one of the last of a generation of blues greats from the south, from a time when a lot of the blues songs were influenced by the perils of life, being poor, segregation, racism, broken relationships and the like.
BB has aged, for sure. No longer able to stand and play his trusty Gibson, “Lucille’, he comes out and sets in a chair in the front of the stage. A hand straps on “Lucille”, and BB is ready to go. Gone are the fast licks and long soulful melodies he is so famous for on the guitar. What is not gone is B.B.’s ability to please an audience with his gutsy vocals and his still obvious joy of still performing and making people smile.
BB has a very talented band and they carried the music through the show. His lead guitarist now plays most of the riffs and BB just occasionally throws in a lick or two. One might say it’s sad to watch age take away his ability to play his guitar and work the stage, but I didn’t find that to be the case. His performance routine has changed for sure, but it was nice. He now takes a lot of his time between each song telling stories about his past, about things that influenced him. One story was about how he was unable as a young man to drink from the same water fountain as the white people and that after awhile he began to believe that white water must taste better than colored water. He laughed and told of his disappointment when he at last got a taste and found it was the same water. Several times he talked about his love for women, all women, and scolded the men over the years that had mistreated or taken advantage of a women’s love.
When he did sing, his voice was as sweet as ever and if you closed your eyes you be convinced it BB at a much younger age. His gutsy, original vocal sound hasn’t left him yet. He didn’t sing many of the songs you would expect and that was kind of nice also. There were several were songs I don’t remember ever hearing but enjoyed greatly. I usually take a note pad to jot down songs and information but this night I was strictly a fan of the king. Of course he pulled it all out and played and sang a fantastic rendition of The Thrill Is Gone to close the show and we all sang along and howled with delight. With much respect and admiration, the audience sent BB off with a very long and enthusiastic standing ovation and BB stood and bowed and blew kisses.
By the way…as for issue of us wanting to see BB because it may be our last chance, BB settled it at one point by saying that he hears that a lot. He then asked the crowd if it might be okay if he came back around again next year. Yes, BB, I think that will be fine, you are the King, you know.
“Keep your eyes and ears open, the Blues are alive in northern California!”
Mr. December at Constable Jack's - 5/9/08
Cole Fonseca at the Torch Club - 3/28/08
Blues Blowout at Cache Creek - 2/1/08
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