Buddy Guy was dressed, as usual, like a middle aged Jimi Hendrix in bright hippie colors as he extracted emotions from his polka dot Fender Stratocaster. After starting right with a crowd sing-a-long on “I Just Want To Make Love To You,” he slid into a nasty impassioned version of “Have You Ever Been Mistreated” that reeked of sweat and emotion. Acting as if the crowd didn’t like what he was doing but he was “going to do it anyway,” he did the definitive cover of Muddy Waters’ “Hoochie Coochie Man.” By this point, the table dwellers were punctuating vocal lines with “tell us about it, Buddy” and “that’s right” like they were in a Southern Baptist church. During the song “Tramp,” he took his guitar out into the crowd. He didn’t do it like a lot of performers who just dash through the front rows and back to safety. He walked just about to the lawn and well out of the reach of the spotlights. The bluesman would stop and spend time here and there, sharing the mic with the audience until he eventually wound up back on the stage about ten minutes later. For a bit of fun, he did perfect musical and vocal impressions of other performers. John Lee Hooker’s “Boom Boom Boom Boom” led into Cream’s “Strange Brew.” Then he pulled out Stevie Ray Vaughn’s “Cold Shot” to rapturous applause. Later in the set he did a bit of Hendrix’s “Voodoo Chile” before a complete (and stunning) version of Marvin Gaye’s “Trouble Man.” The crowd was most appreciative of “Damn Right I Got The Blues” and “Mustang Sally.” The clock forced him from the stage as the gathering darkness signaled that it was time for the King of the Blues himself.

B.B. King:

After a New Orleans flavored intro led by musical director James “Boogaloo” Bolden who doubled on the trumpet, B.B. King emerged from the shadows and took a seat as an assistant strapped his faithful guitar Lucille around his neck. He looked every bit of 75 years until he hit the first gut-wrenching note, then he woke up and slung “Let The Good Times Roll” out like a bullet. After the tune, he said “I know you sayin’ he done got too old to stand up and I say….you ‘bout right.” This led into a searing and meaningful “I’ll Survive.”

Nobody has ever mastered the single note guitar theory to the effective and efficient extreme that B.B. has. His sparse licks cold cocked the crowd every time their attention would start to drift. “Caledonia” took us all to where the bastard rock and roll child was conceived and “How Blue Can You Get” was as pure as a song can get. B.B.’s gut-bucket voice was intense and as painfully expressive as ever. One listen to his live version of “Rock Me, Baby” could convert any non-believer. By the time of “The Thrill Is Gone,” the chill factor was pretty constant. He took time to shake hands and give out gold guitar shaped trinkets and picks before his departure. He then approached the mic for his final goodnights stating, “If you had a good time, tell everybody. If you didn’t…tell me.” I didn’t see anyone looking to speak to him about that matter after the show.