Review by Jennifer Lariviere

B.B. KING @ PLACE DES ARTS, APRIL 2, 2005

The blues legend himself (along with his lovely guitar Lucille) graced us with their presence at a sold out show April 2 at Place Des Arts, Salle Wilfred Pelletier. At first I was not so sure about the venue, I mean blues is trulyment to be enjoyed and experienced in a small smoky bar, but I was blown away by the intense sound quality of the show. The sound was so pristine and clear, that you actually felt as though you were on stage next to the King himself.

After a heartfelt introduction by Deborah Camren, long time friend and production manager, who said, to truly experience BB King is to know him, is to love him, the show began. The trumpet, the drums, the bass, rhythm guitar, all began to come together in perfect harmony creating music that would seduce anyone into loving rhythm and blues. And then, he arrived front and center bowing to the audience, theliving legend himself at 79 years of age, BB King. He strapped on Lucille and played an incredible show for almost 2 hours.

The show was very personal and intimate even in such a vast space. BB got the audience to sing along, to shout back to him and really made the crowd like a part of the whole show. This was more then a usual concert, this was a performance. With BB telling personal stories making us laugh one minute and then almost crying the next, the moments in betweens songs was just as enjoyable as the tunes themselves. Telling us stories of his personal life, and life on the road created a bond u like any before experienced at a concert. One of BB’s mottos in life is that all women, all of them, are beautiful absolutely beautiful creatures. This credo segued into a little rendition of You Are My Sunshine, which made me laugh and smile. BB also played great hits like, When Love Comes To Town Ain’t That Just Like A Woman among plenty of others.

After the show was over, I had the pleasure of hanging out and meeting the King on his tour bus. After meeting most of the band, I was guided along creepy hallways and staircases until I hit the garage. I stepped onto the bus, and there he was, with a huge warm smile on his face, come and sit here next to me darling he said, as I was slightly awestruck. I asked him where Lucille was, with hopes of maybe laying hands on her, but he told me she was under the bus sleeping, so I couldn’t touch her. We chatted for a few minutes about his music, and I giddily pointed out that he had a Playstation 2 sitting there; he plays it on the road. We spoke a little about his busy tour life, and I told him that it was a fantastic performance, and he treated me as though we were life long friends, or family members. I got a great pic with the King, he gave me a gorgeous autographed pic as well, and I got off the bus for the next fan to have some time with BB. With 35 albums under his belt and playing almost 200 shows per year, oh yeah, and 13-time Grammy winner, BB King will forever remain the King of Blues. Check out his web site www.bbking.com for tour info, discography, and some great history.

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