B.B. King
Congress has passed a proclamation making 2003 the Year of the Blues. In Easton, however, that is every year that B.B. King visits the State Theatre. King pegged the feeling of the hour-and-forty-five minute show with the first tune he sang, “Let The Good Times Roll”.
As is the custom in B.B. King shows, his band warmed up the crowd, this time with an extended instrumental that featured many solos, even one on flute. When King came on, he sat down, as he did during last year’s State Theatre appearance. He said, “At my age, my band said that I have the right to sit down if I wanna. And I wanna.”
King’s age of seventy-seven did not affect his playing or his voice. He alternated between grabbing the mike on one side of his chair and singing, and turning to the other side to play his guitar. His solos were short but expressive, with his trademark sustained notes and slides.
King paced himself by giving solo time to all of his eight backup musicians--time well spent. Band stalwarts like trumpeters James “Boogaloo” Bolden and Stanley Abernathy and sax players Melvin Jackson and Walter King (B.B.’s nephew) not only were allowed to do more than the usual backup riffs, but each even got to dance a little when introduced at the show’s end.
In the middle of the show the horns left the stage to King and his rhythm section, having his bass and second guitarist sit next to him. His booming voice was stronger at this point, as he belted out favorites like “Caledonia”, “How Blue Can You Get?”, and “Key to the Highway”. He also took time to give some less than serious, fatherly advice to the men in the audience about “Dr. V” (Viagra), urging them to use it if needed.
A man that can do no wrong can even play Christmas tunes a month after the season ends, and King did with an instrumental of “Auld Lang Syne” and a bluesy vocal of “Please Come Home For Christmas”. They were from his “A Christmas Celebration of Hope” (MCA 2001); nominated for this year’s Grammy Award for best Traditional Blues Album (“Auld Lang Syne” was also nominated as Best Pop Instrumental).
The nearly sold out audience of 1500 was composed of a wider range of ages than most State Theatre shows. A significant number of people were in their twenties. That’s a good sign for a music genre that tends towards middle-aged fans, guaranteeing that 2003 may be The Year of the Blues, but it won’t be The Last One.
--Dave Howell, 2/03
(This article first appeared in The Morning Call newspaper.)
As is the custom in B.B. King shows, his band warmed up the crowd, this time with an extended instrumental that featured many solos, even one on flute. When King came on, he sat down, as he did during last year’s State Theatre appearance. He said, “At my age, my band said that I have the right to sit down if I wanna. And I wanna.”
King’s age of seventy-seven did not affect his playing or his voice. He alternated between grabbing the mike on one side of his chair and singing, and turning to the other side to play his guitar. His solos were short but expressive, with his trademark sustained notes and slides.
King paced himself by giving solo time to all of his eight backup musicians--time well spent. Band stalwarts like trumpeters James “Boogaloo” Bolden and Stanley Abernathy and sax players Melvin Jackson and Walter King (B.B.’s nephew) not only were allowed to do more than the usual backup riffs, but each even got to dance a little when introduced at the show’s end.
In the middle of the show the horns left the stage to King and his rhythm section, having his bass and second guitarist sit next to him. His booming voice was stronger at this point, as he belted out favorites like “Caledonia”, “How Blue Can You Get?”, and “Key to the Highway”. He also took time to give some less than serious, fatherly advice to the men in the audience about “Dr. V” (Viagra), urging them to use it if needed.
A man that can do no wrong can even play Christmas tunes a month after the season ends, and King did with an instrumental of “Auld Lang Syne” and a bluesy vocal of “Please Come Home For Christmas”. They were from his “A Christmas Celebration of Hope” (MCA 2001); nominated for this year’s Grammy Award for best Traditional Blues Album (“Auld Lang Syne” was also nominated as Best Pop Instrumental).
The nearly sold out audience of 1500 was composed of a wider range of ages than most State Theatre shows. A significant number of people were in their twenties. That’s a good sign for a music genre that tends towards middle-aged fans, guaranteeing that 2003 may be The Year of the Blues, but it won’t be The Last One.
--Dave Howell, 2/03
(This article first appeared in The Morning Call newspaper.)