B.B. King: Live @ The Auditorium Theater 5/27/04

 B.B. King's come to to town many times before; let's face he's come to every town many times. Still it's always a big deal when the king of the blues rolls into town. At 78 King moves a bit slowly and has to sit down to play but he's still the ultimate showman.

 After a brief intermission following the opening band (the less said the better) King's eight-piece backing band took the stage. After playing 15 minutes or so of classy blues Mr. King appeared to rapturous applause donned in a regal smoking jacket, and took a seat with his guitar. Mortality is defiantly on B.B.'s mind these days opening by saying: ''I'm a diabetic, got bad knees, bad back and a bad head'' before seamlessly launching into the ballad "I'll Survive" a song originally cut back in 1960 and recently revived on 1998's fine "Blues on the Bayou." Over the next hour plus set King held forth with a mix of down-home anecdotes, stories, good natured ribbing of the audience and band which eventually gave way to focus more on the music.

 What King demonstrated during his masterfully paced show was an older tradition not far removed from black vaudeville with plenty of broad comedy, sexual innuendo and of course some first rate blues. King used his band as a comic foil, particularly trumpeter James Boldin who has played this duel role as a member of King's band for the past 25 years. The band, as you would expect, was excellent with a number of veterans including stellar guitarist Leon Warren (22 years with King) plus some youngbloods like King's youthful nephew on bass.

 King himself was in good form, still able to belt out the blues with authority and reeling off his trademark clear toned, ringing single string work. The set was mostly old staples like "Bad Case Of Love", "Early In The Morning", "Caldonia", "Rock Me" and "Key To The Highway." Highlights included an impassioned "How Blue Can You Get" that still packs a wallop with the familiar penultimate couplet: "Let you live in my penthouse/You said it was just a shack/I gave you seven children and now you wanna give 'em back." Other classics sounded just as good including fine versions of "Paying The Cost To Be The Boss", "Nobody Loves Me" and a fiery ''Please Accept My Love'' once again echoing his mortality (''If you should die before I do/I'll end my life to be with you'') and wrapping up with a funky rendition of his massive crossover smash ''The Thrill Is Gone."

 And that was it, no encore as the band played King off the stage. Not before King thanked the audience and spent a few minutes throwing guitar picks to an appreciative audience. The king may be getting old but he he's still got it.

 -Check out these B.B. King reviews:
Reflections
The Vintage Years