Words by: Cassie Pence | Images by: Zach Mahone
B.B. King :: 12.29.09 :: Vilar Performing Arts Center :: Beaver Creek, CO
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A tall, handsome man dressed in a black, silky suit walks onto the Vilar Performing Arts Center stage carrying a black Gibson semi-hollow body guitar. What may have been the world’s classiest roadie gently sets the guitar in its stand and the crowd fades to a hush.
“There’s Lucille,” a man whispers, as if seeing the likes of Brad Pitt or a famous world leader.
One by one, the B.B. King Blues Band struts onstage, all clad in tuxedos, and another man in the audience whispers, “There he is.”
Although it was a man cradling a guitar, it wasn’t B.B. King. It was Charlie Dennis, a longtime player in the band.
And so it goes with a musical legend whose career spans about 60 years. Although we know B.B.’s music – and honestly are probably most familiar with the evolution of his music heard through rock ‘n’ roll greats like Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones and Stevie Ray Vaughan – most of us probably had never seen the King of the Blues with our own two eyes.
There’s no mistaking him when he does appear, sauntering to his center-stage chair with the help of two escorts. He slides into his seat, and without a word, picks up Lucille like he’s picking up his own baby girl, his own flesh and blood, and begins to play. The minute the first note strikes, a smile releases across B.B.’s entire face, not just on his lips but evident through his eyes and gumball-like cheeks. At 84-years-old, B.B. is one happy man to still be rockin’ the blues.
He opened with “I Need You So,” explaining to the audience that the song is about as old as he is, giving a roll of the eyes. He complained to the audience that he was just getting over the flu and his voice was not at the level he hoped, but it was still velvety and regal and his guitar cried and wooed as he bent the individual strings. B.B. doesn’t play chords or slides, but is best known for his single-note solos.
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With the big band-like backing of James Bolden on trumpet, Stanley Abernathy on trumpet, Melvin Jackson on sax, Walter King also on sax, Tony Coleman on drums, Ernest Vantrease on keyboards and Reggie Richards on bass, who B.B. joked was the youngster of the band at age 64, Blues Boy King jammed “Everyday I Have the Blues” and “When Loves Comes to Town” before saying goodbye to the swaying horn section and switching it up for a more intimate set.
Flanked by Dennis on guitar and Richards on bass, B.B. talked the blues in a quintessential “da-na-na-na-na” style, telling stories of getting old, taking Viagra, and how he’s never met a lady that wasn’t beautiful.
A lover – in fact, most of his songs revolve around relationships – B.B. did his best to help the audience get some action, too. We all sang a song for the women, “You Are My Sunshine,” and at the end of the tune, as the lights went bright, ladies were instructed to lean over and give their date a kiss. We all obliged.
It seemed that B.B. could roll on for hours, string-bending Lucille and singing the blues, but he ended with “The Thrill is Gone” – even though it’s obvious that the thrill hasn’t left this King of the Blues.
B.B. King tour dates available here.
Continue reading for more pics of B.B King in Colorado…
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