2/13/2011 B.B. King, Ovations Showroom, Wild Horse Pass Casino, Chandler, AZ


 10 years ago today...

February 13, 2011 - Chandler, AZ

In one of the final appearances of  a 60+ year career, B.B. King took the stage at Ovations Live Showroom at the Wild Horse Pass Casino.

I called this an "appearance" because at age 85, the "King of the Blues" could not truly perform the way we knew, loved and respected. Later in 2011, Rolling Stone proclaimed BB King as the 6th greatest guitarist of all-time.  This night was a final tribute to King, but in a 90-minute show, BB was on stage for maybe 30 minutes and his fingers on his guitar Lucille for a small fraction of that time.

BB King was known for incessantly touring the world, routinely doing over 300 concerts annually.  I've seen him 11 times starting in 1983 and those early shows were tremendous, with a tight backing band with a horn section.  We saw BB at Sun Devil Stadium in 1988 with U2 in an unforgettable performance forever captured in the "Rattle & Hum" live concert film. 
 
This 2011 appearance made me sad.  The electrifying King was now a seated buddha, hardly touching the guitar, and mostly telling Viagra and old age jokes.  It felt like a money grab.  To that end, the BB King band continued to tour for a few years following BB's death in 2015 at age 89. 
Most all of my old BB King ticket stubs make me smile at the memory.  Not this one.

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