One of the great American treasures who is still currently touring is 87-year- old Blues legend B.B. King. Appearing at the Seneca Allegany Casino this past Saturday night, B.B. and his band played a short but energetic set. King’s band of 8 musicians included musical director James “Boogaloo” Bolden and his own nephew Melvin Jackson on saxophone. The evening started off with a warm up jam as the band got the stage ready for B.B. Another song and half later, the star of the night made his appearance before a warm and welcoming crowd. He threw out some picks to the people in the front row before he took his seat center stage. B.B. picked up “Lucille” (his well known Gibson guitar) and helped finish the third song of the night “Everyday I Have the Blues.” King was one of the very first musicians who came out to talk about his battle with diabetes. This disease has taken its toll as B.B. doesn’t move around as well and needed assistance to sit and get up from his chair. This didn’t take away from his guitar playing though, which B.B. showed with direct proficiency.
King was dressed in a blue/gold metallic suit and in a jovial mood. His demeanor, apart from his guitar playing, was also a highlight of the evening. Since B.B. doesn’t ambulate during his performance, he made sure he made a connection any which way he could. King made jokes with members of the audience the entire show. He dedicated “You Are my Sunshine’ to all the females in the audience. He smiled and waved to people in response to audience members throughout the set as well.
King’s facial expression after each note he plucks shows the intensity of his guitar playing. The set list may not have been long, but just to be in a room with a guitar legend of his magnitude and his charisma was well worth the price of admission in itself!
Set List:
Introduction Jam
I Need You So
Everyday, I have the Blues (John “Peter” Chatman cover)
You Are my Sunshine (Jimmie Davis cover)
The Thrill is Gone
When Loves Comes to Town (U2 cover)
How Blue Can You Get?
Guess Who?
When the Saints Go Marching In
We would like to thank Tony Astran from the Seneca Allegany Casino for allowing BackstageAxxess.com to review the show.
