that would be truly sad to see...i've seen him a few times and always admired his work ethic...but hey,we all get old....and retire...
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B.B. King Heckled At Performance.
- Thread starter gjbassist
- Start date
Willie Nelson
I'm a Willie fan, and I truly mean it with all the respect I can muster but the show was disappointing. Maybe I just caught him on an off night but he couldn't maintain enough breath to sing and the high notes were gone. Still played decently but you could tell it's not what it once was. At his age and with the mileage he's put in.....well, I guess I shouldn't say anything.
The show is still Willie Nelson with a backing band. If Willie is off, the whole night is off. BB King on the other hand has a killer stand alone backing band. His backing band was worth the price of admission and you got the added bonus of hearing BB King tell stories and play a few licks (and nod out for a moment or two).
yeah,i've noticed willy go from a style of playing that was on the edge brilliant to just plain sloppy...i hate to say it and he has always had a special place with me but.....
Greg Rzab, who used to play with Buddy Guy, is indeed a killer bassist.
The last time I saw B.B. was 4 years ago at Bobby "Blue" Bland's 80th birthday bash. A lot of great musicians on the bill. Bobby Bland couldn't really perform though, but I was surprised to find B.B. in excellent voice. But that was 4 years ago, which is a loooong time when you get up in your 80s.
Saw BB in the 70s. He got a standing ovation at the first note. It went through to hearts. In a town where musicians usually didn't get too much respect. It was one of the best musical nights of my life. He was absolutely amazing. Chills down the spine amazing, literally!!
Saw him a couple years ago in Branson. I just wish I hadn't gone at all. He spent most of the concert telling stories about nothing. Then he played half songs. Mostly parts of great songs and then a few I didn't even recognize. What he did sounded fine. Nothing at all like the old BB. Everyone walked out feeling sorry for him. BB is still a great man. I love the emotion he once spoke with through his guitar and voice. I just don't think he should tour and leave so many people disappointed. Everyone is mumbling as they leave and it isn't flattering.
It is a shame we get old. BB has given us so much. He could do more with one note than any guitarist who has ever lived. My opinion. To hear him live back when he was young was beyond anything any recording could ever reproduce. His playing went right through you.
Saw him a couple years ago in Branson. I just wish I hadn't gone at all. He spent most of the concert telling stories about nothing. Then he played half songs. Mostly parts of great songs and then a few I didn't even recognize. What he did sounded fine. Nothing at all like the old BB. Everyone walked out feeling sorry for him. BB is still a great man. I love the emotion he once spoke with through his guitar and voice. I just don't think he should tour and leave so many people disappointed. Everyone is mumbling as they leave and it isn't flattering.
It is a shame we get old. BB has given us so much. He could do more with one note than any guitarist who has ever lived. My opinion. To hear him live back when he was young was beyond anything any recording could ever reproduce. His playing went right through you.
I saw him at a "dinner & show" place in New Orleans in the mid 1980's. Both BB and the band KILLED. I got to see him again in about the mid 1990's at Seaworld(?) in San Antonio and the drummer was all over the place but was not called on it(either directly or indirectly), it was like the entire band's timing was wrecked. After that, I never went to see him again.
bongomania
Commercial User
It was easily one of the best, most powerful concerts I have seen! In spite of the unfortunate reasons he had to tour, he has still got "it", and his performance -at age 80 something- was worth twice what I paid.
It's a shame, but people age and lose some of what they had--whether a little or a lot--unless we die young--it will happened to us as well.
Maybe if he still wants to tour it should be represented differently--it's not a concert, it's spoken word with a bit of guitar or something like that.
I am glad to say though that I've seen BB live twice, and they were great concerts--both in my personal top 5. But those were years ago.
Les Paul played until he was 94, not long before he died.
He didn't play as fancy and didn't play quite the same, mostly due to horrible arthritis, but he figured out a way to play and a way to entertain.
I've seen videos of those shows and I would have enjoyed them, and felt it was money well spent.
BB needs to re-tool things if he's going to keep playing live--and present it differently--it's not the same thing as a BB King concert from years ago.
It's an event.
Maybe if he still wants to tour it should be represented differently--it's not a concert, it's spoken word with a bit of guitar or something like that.
I am glad to say though that I've seen BB live twice, and they were great concerts--both in my personal top 5. But those were years ago.
Les Paul played until he was 94, not long before he died.
He didn't play as fancy and didn't play quite the same, mostly due to horrible arthritis, but he figured out a way to play and a way to entertain.
I've seen videos of those shows and I would have enjoyed them, and felt it was money well spent.
BB needs to re-tool things if he's going to keep playing live--and present it differently--it's not the same thing as a BB King concert from years ago.
It's an event.
BB King at PB Scott's in Blowing Rock was two times among the best performances I've ever seen in a bar. Early 80's it was.
We're all getting old.
We're all getting old.
Much as I like doing a gig I am not sure I'd want to do a world tour, staying in strange hotels and so on at my age, let alone at 75. I'd be setting up some really good cameras and sound equipment and doing a world tour via webcasts once a month or something!
one might feel a tad put off by a substandard show at today's prices,tho'....we all get old and retire,but no one pays us top dollar to talk about the work we used to do....
I had the pleasure of seeing BB King back in October of 2013 and have seen him several times over my lifetime. I will say the October 2013 show was my least favorite. I will never heckle or degrade what he has done and give him the utmost respect. However, I do feel that it is time to park the tour bus and limit the amount of shows he performs. The show in October was not as bad as the one the writer of that article talks about, but there was a lot more talk and not as many songs as previous shows. The talk really wasn't flowing either. It was more rambling and random topics. His band was solid, but they even lacked that trademark enthusiasm that they once had. I think he tours because he has done it for so long and would not know what to do with himself if he wasn't on the road. It is all he has known for 50+ years. But, to be honest there are several others in this same category....Buddy Guy comes to mind. Seen him play live last summer and he spent the entire show playing an out of tune (really out of tune) guitar the whole show and the prices do not justify the nostalgia these days.
Yeah, I hate to hear that about Buddy Guy. I've seen him 3 times, and he was awesome each time. Granted though, it's probably been 10 years since I saw him last...
Bassist4Eris
Frat-Pack Sympathizer
geez, not buddy guy too....say it ain't so joe.....joe....
It ain't so. Not the time I saw him last summer. He was smokin' hot, and could still even do those trademark screamy vocals. Actually, the concert was part of a jazz fest, which was headlined by Tony Bennett. There's a guy completely undiminished by time. Still an absolute master performer, and still able to hit the high notes.
As for BB, he's coming to town in a couple of weeks, and I was going to get tickets. Now I'm not so sure...
Time marches on and performers age. Some age more gracefully than others, and in time the musical abilities of some of these iconic performers diminish. It's a natural part of life. I get the sense that some critics and writers don't necessarily take this into account when they review a performance. And the tone of music criticism seems to have become more harsh and sensational as various music media outlets try to survive.
I got to see B.B.King at the 2010 Crossroads Festival. He really didn't play his own set, per se. Rather, he sat in a semi-circle with select players and led them through about 20 - 30 minutes. He was joined by Eric Clapton, Jimmy Vaughn, Robert Cray and Cray's band. B.B. sang, told stories and talked with the crowd. He traded solos with everyone else on stage, but his playing was clearly not up to the level of Clapton or Cray. I think B.B. recognizes his status as this elder statesman, and the audience is genuinely happy to see him. But he is clearly NOT the B.B. King of 20 or more years ago. Still, the crowd loved him that night.
Contrast that performance with another that I'd seen earlier in the day. That was Johnny Winter playing a half dozen songs with some serious backing players that included Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks of the Allman Brothers and Cesar Rojas and David Hidalgo of Los Lobos. All of those guys can play! But that set was very awkward. In that instance Johnny Winter's playing was abyssmal. I had never seen him perform, but I honestly found it to be rather sad. Johnny Winter is a legendary player, but his performance was so poor that it wasn't included in any of the live recordings of that show. And the whole time he was playing, I felt genuine pity for him. But that turned to anger when it became clear that Johnny Winter was content to take all of the soloing time during "Red House", spurning all of the other guitarists on stage.
As for anyone telling these guys to call it a day? One would hope that these guys are self-aware enough to make that call. But then there are the other factors. What if they do retire? Will they lose the one thing in their lives that gives them purpose, which is performing? Are they comfortably set up for retirement? Do they have business committments that are forcing them to keep performing? I think that all of these are serious questions that have to be taken into account by anyone, critic or fan, who wants to tell a performer to hang it up.
I got to see B.B.King at the 2010 Crossroads Festival. He really didn't play his own set, per se. Rather, he sat in a semi-circle with select players and led them through about 20 - 30 minutes. He was joined by Eric Clapton, Jimmy Vaughn, Robert Cray and Cray's band. B.B. sang, told stories and talked with the crowd. He traded solos with everyone else on stage, but his playing was clearly not up to the level of Clapton or Cray. I think B.B. recognizes his status as this elder statesman, and the audience is genuinely happy to see him. But he is clearly NOT the B.B. King of 20 or more years ago. Still, the crowd loved him that night.
Contrast that performance with another that I'd seen earlier in the day. That was Johnny Winter playing a half dozen songs with some serious backing players that included Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks of the Allman Brothers and Cesar Rojas and David Hidalgo of Los Lobos. All of those guys can play! But that set was very awkward. In that instance Johnny Winter's playing was abyssmal. I had never seen him perform, but I honestly found it to be rather sad. Johnny Winter is a legendary player, but his performance was so poor that it wasn't included in any of the live recordings of that show. And the whole time he was playing, I felt genuine pity for him. But that turned to anger when it became clear that Johnny Winter was content to take all of the soloing time during "Red House", spurning all of the other guitarists on stage.
As for anyone telling these guys to call it a day? One would hope that these guys are self-aware enough to make that call. But then there are the other factors. What if they do retire? Will they lose the one thing in their lives that gives them purpose, which is performing? Are they comfortably set up for retirement? Do they have business committments that are forcing them to keep performing? I think that all of these are serious questions that have to be taken into account by anyone, critic or fan, who wants to tell a performer to hang it up.
I know someone who saw Buddy Guy about a year ago--he said it was great.
And the guy who said this is a musician.
So maybe he's not done yet, but more likely to have an off night?
am i the only one who has never liked BB King?
over-rated compared to the other countless blues artists. Bobby Bluebland, Freddie King, and that Ice Pick dude (whathisname) just killed it. not to mention the true innovators like Howlin' Wolf and them!
he may have been the commercial "Blue's Legend", but in the hood, not so much!
over-rated compared to the other countless blues artists. Bobby Bluebland, Freddie King, and that Ice Pick dude (whathisname) just killed it. not to mention the true innovators like Howlin' Wolf and them!
he may have been the commercial "Blue's Legend", but in the hood, not so much!
