B.B. King Heckled At Performance.

[Feral Feline]

As much as I like the blues, BB and try to respect my elders...

I don't think anyone's untouchable. If he's being a dirty ol' man and not giving the entertainment aspect his all, then yeah, that bites and people deserve to get what they paid for not some half-arsed ramble. I don't think anybody here has argued to the contrary of that. The whole situation sucks, the horse is dead, I'm done flogging...

Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do.

 

[electracoyote]

As much as I like the blues, BB and try to respect my elders...

I don't think anyone's untouchable. If he's being a dirty ol' man and not giving the entertainment aspect his all, then yeah, that bites and people deserve to get what they paid for not some half-arsed ramble. I don't think anybody here has argued to the contrary of that. The whole situation sucks, the horse is dead, I'm done flogging...

Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do.

Your point is well taken. You have tread lightly and done no harm.

FWIW, I did not heckle or walk out on B.B. here in Denver, and the audience was overall pretty restrained, though the disappointment and confusion was palpable. And most audience members at Red Rocks just want to walk around, drink a beer, and talk on their cell phones as much as watch the band. As an entertainer myself who knows the stage and its ups and downs all too well, I'm the type who doesn't say anything if I can't say anything nice, like mama taught me, and I will often clap encouragement for struggling or younger/newer performers having a bad night.

However, any typical audience member who chooses to boo or heckle a performer who is obviously not even trying and should know better, usually has my sympathy.

 

[mellowinman]

B.B. King was born in 1925. His first performance was in 1943. He is one of the few people inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame who started out playing during WWII. He is a living legend, and he never quit. He will soon be either retired or dead, so every time you see him could be the last.

You people who are arguing for heckling this guy are missing out on some very important perspective.

Untouchable? This guy's grammy for "the Thrill is Gone" was in 1970, some FORTY FOUR YEARS AGO.

His legacy is, indeed untouchable. Again, if you go to see a performer who is almost NINETY, and you expect fireworks, you know NOTHING about life.

I just visited my 86 year old mother in a home. Most everybody there wears diapers, and needs assistance using the bathroom. Many of them can't recognize their loved ones. Many of them are afraid, confused, and will soon be dead.

Get some perspective. B.B. King changed blues; rock and roll; r&b and stayed out on the road for the entire fifties, sixties, seventies, eighties, nineties, and this century. Elvis is long dead. There are only two living Beatles.

PERSPECTIVE, people.

 

[pacojas]

great post, mellow!

 

[Jim Campbell]

B.B. King was born in 1925. His first performance was in 1943. He is one of the few people inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame who started out playing during WWII. He is a living legend, and he never quit. He will soon be either retired or dead, so every time you see him could be the last.

You people who are arguing for heckling this guy are missing out on some very important perspective.

Untouchable? This guy's grammy for "the Thrill is Gone" was in 1970, some FORTY FOUR YEARS AGO.

His legacy is, indeed untouchable. Again, if you go to see a performer who is almost NINETY, and you expect fireworks, you know NOTHING about life.

I just visited my 86 year old mother in a home. Most everybody there wears diapers, and needs assistance using the bathroom. Many of them can't recognize their loved ones. Many of them are afraid, confused, and will soon be dead.

Get some perspective. B.B. King changed blues; rock and roll; r&b and stayed out on the road for the entire fifties, sixties, seventies, eighties, nineties, and this century. Elvis is long dead. There are only two living Beatles.

PERSPECTIVE, people.

perhaps you place too much credence in the legend....i doubt if his impact was all that significant....much of that legend he created himself ...just because he is still alive means he is above criticism???..... i agree the heckling was bad form....i enjoyed the shows i saw.....but this kind of thing is just greed....and if he desires to avoid heckling he should find another avenue for performance than the big ticket oldies circuit....

 

[ArtechnikA]

You people who are arguing for heckling this guy...

I didn't see -anybody- here arguing for heckling.

And I wouldn't ever tell anyone they shouldn't go see him, if it's something they really want to do. Could be the last time and all...

But for the record, as I've said, IMO, he's being billed as a blues performer into big, expensive venues, but other than the 'I was there' factor, not delivering on the performance side of the deal.

I was there a year ago and even factoring in the "reasonably lowered expectations" part, was pretty disappointed. I had hoped he could pull it together for part of an hour and really, other than 'Thrill is Gone', there was no performance. On that particular night, his backup band was spot-on, even if a bit rough in the first few minutes. None of them were young either... In the performance referenced in the OP, reportedly (I wasn't there) even the backup band was off their game.

So last year's show is not the BB King memory I'll keep. I prefer my memory of him from an earlier time.

I get that he may want to tour - maybe even needs to on a personal if not financial level (I have no knowledge of his motivations, nor their origins, nor his financial status.)

I do not get why he maintains the grueling schedule with one big city after another every few days for months at a time. Mostly I don't get why (perhaps other than ego) he needs to book $100 venues and a -lot- of backup band members.

Now I'm rambling. Maybe I should retire...

Point was - while there has been a discussion of whether or not he should continue touring and whether or not what's now passing for performance can possibly continue to have value for the paying public - nobody has come out in favor of heckling BB King...

 

[Gougedeye]

My band, JunkBelly, had the honor of opening for B.B. King when he came through our little neck of the woods in 2011. I got to shake his had and talk to him for 45 minutes or so after the show. He is a genuinely nice and gracious man! He stayed at least an hour after the show to sign autographs for fans. And his band is amazing and offered us many words of encouragement. That being said, He needs to slow down a bit, in my opinion. At that time he was 86 years old and played 200 shows a year! He was in much better form that night than in some I've seen and heard previously. On the other hand, I saw Buddy Guy last year and that old man tore it up! I was seriously blown away. But then again, he was only 76 years old. He put on an amazing performance!

 

[electracoyote]

PERSPECTIVE, people.

Most of us on this thread are not challenging his legacy or sizeable contribution to the blues or popular music in general. That is clearly self-evident.

Many of us do, however, think this is no excuse for just sitting there on stage like a conversation piece and not performing when you've been paid to perform.

When I saw him last summer, the few times he actually played and sang, he still sounded pretty good to me. He just chose not to. He'd rather make old man cliché puns, wave to people in the crowd, make lewd remarks to the girls, and sing "You Are My Sunshine." This is not an age thing, it's a lack of effort. If his heart is not in performing, he should stop touring and taking folks' money. And if people get upset at the bait-and-switch, they have a right to be.

This was not the Pope in a motorcade, where people point and say, "Oh look, there he is. How about that?" It was a singer guitarist who was supposed to be doing those two things.

Disappointed audiences can be a nightmare. Sometimes they do way more than just boo. If you're going to cheat an audience, beware the consequences. He should know better.

 

[petrus61]

I think this is more an issue of a money machine (whatever size the "Evening With B.B." is) rolling along and people getting paid at the expense of people naive enough to think an artist would be at the top of their game at his age. I wouldn't have paid to see him 10yrs ago...unless I knew was paying for "An evening with BB King talking and holding his guitar". Common sense and realistic expectations go a looooong way for a fool and his money.

 

[SanDiegoHarry]

Most of us on this thread are not challenging his legacy or sizeable contribution to the blues or popular music in general. That is clearly self-evident.

Many of us do, however, think this is no excuse for just sitting there on stage like a conversation piece and not performing when you've been paid to perform.

When I saw him last summer, the few times he actually played and sang, he still sounded pretty good to me. He just chose not to. He'd rather make old man cliché puns, wave to people in the crowd, make lewd remarks to the girls, and sing "You Are My Sunshine." This is not an age thing, it's a lack of effort. If his heart is not in performing, he should stop touring and taking folks' money. And if people get upset at the bait-and-switch, they have a right to be.

This was not the Pope in a motorcade, where people point and say, "Oh look, there he is. How about that?" It was a singer guitarist who was supposed to be doing those two things.

Disappointed audiences can be a nightmare. Sometimes they do way more than just boo. If you're going to cheat an audience, beware the consequences. He should know better.

I'd rather see BB King do this than what I saw the "moody blues" do over 10 years ago - fake playing their instruments while a backing band handled everything - including some of the vox. I walked out of that show!

 

[Jim Campbell]

I'd rather see BB King do this than what I saw the "moody blues" do over 10 years ago - fake playing their instruments while a backing band handled everything - including some of the vox. I walked out of that show!

i agree....none of them should be passing off second rate stuff for big dollar tickets...

 

[Tre63]

I have never been to a B.B. show but I did go to see Dick Dale last year...unreal. I was blown away by how great he played and sounded. Tickets weren't much but his merch was expensive...I think his two sons played in the band with him....awesome show.

 

[electracoyote]

i agree....none of them should be passing off second rate stuff for big dollar tickets...

+1

What The Moody Blues are doing, or any entertainer for that matter, does not excuse this unfortunate occurence.

 

[StayLow]

Mostly I don't get why (perhaps other than ego) he needs to book $100 venues and a -lot- of backup band members..

Performers don't book the venue, and if they can't carry their weight then there'd better be a good/large backing band to help.

Performers demand a certain amount of money to perform, in addition to other things sometimes including clauses such as "theatres no smaller than xxxxx seats".

Promoters book the venue, based on whether they think they can fill it enough at enough per ticket to meet the performer's financial and other demands.

Bottom line, the paying audience dictates where (geographically and size of venue) a performer will play. If the promoter loses money due to not enough people showing up this tour, then next tour it'll be a much smaller venue or it'll be forced to skip that city.

Maybe next tour performer's management will find a different promoter that'll risk taking the hit at the same venue in which a different promoter lost money last tour, but you get the idea; venues are dictated by demand, as are ticket prices, not supply and definitely not by quality of the music or performance.

 

[Passinwind]

I have never been to a B.B. show but I did go to see Dick Dale last year...unreal. I was blown away by how great he played and sounded. Tickets weren't much but his merch was expensive...I think his two sons played in the band with him....awesome show.

Yep, he played out here in the last year or so too and I caught the last few songs after my own gig. We're talking a 300 person venue though, at ten or fifteen bucks a head.

 

[Jim Campbell]

Performers don't book the venue, and if they can't carry their weight then there'd better be a good/large backing band to help.

Performers demand a certain amount of money to perform, in addition to other things sometimes including clauses such as "theatres no smaller than xxxxx seats".

Promoters book the venue, based on whether they think they can fill it enough at enough per ticket to meet the performer's financial and other demands.

Bottom line, the paying audience dictates where (geographically and size of venue) a performer will play. If the promoter loses money due to not enough people showing up this tour, then next tour it'll be a much smaller venue or it'll be forced to skip that city.

Maybe next tour performer's management will find a different promoter that'll risk taking the hit at the same venue in which a different promoter lost money last tour, but you get the idea; venues are dictated by demand, as are ticket prices, not supply and definitely not by quality of the music or performance.

so those that already paid for the substandard fare are just supposed to be thrilled that they are saved someone else from a similar fate later?....i'd say that thrill is gone....

 

[StayLow]

so those that already paid for the substandard fare are just supposed to be thrilled that they are saved someone else from a similar fate later?....i'd say that thrill is gone....

I wrote nothing of the kind, and what I did write suggests nothing of the kind to any reasonable person with at least an elementary grasp of the English language and of reading comprehension.

 

[jay tay]

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....

If you want to see an all singing all dancing show, then don't go to see an 88 year old man, and then get upset when he ain't doing back flips!

I for one would relish the opportunity to see a living legend that changed the history of music! I would rather pay to watch BB King talk, than pay to watch a "show" from most of todays current pop bands!

 

[N. Kentucky Bass]

I saw BB perform at the outdoor amphitheater in Mountain View, CA in 1997 or 98. It was a major disappointment. Schlocky production, mediocre performance. I felt ripped off. Too bad as I was a huge BB fan of his work back in the day. Wouldn't pay $5 to see him now. At some point, as the inevitable forces of nature conspire to weaken us while growing older, it's time to retire and preserve good memories rather than reinforce bad ones.

 

[Jim Campbell]

If the promoter loses money due to not enough people showing up this tour, then next tour it'll be a much smaller venue or it'll be forced to skip that city.

I wrote nothing of the kind, and what I did write suggests nothing of the kind to any reasonable person with at least an elementary grasp of the English language and of reading comprehension.

yeah,ya kinda did....