Northern Lights Theater presents… BB King
Tonight was one of those few nights that as a fan of music you don’t want to end. This is how I felt as I left the venue to go home, but before we get to the end, let’s talk about the beginning.
Never having been to the Northern Lights Theater at the Potawatomi Bingo and Casino in Milwaukee, WI, I am always nervous as to where I will be when I am covering a show at a new venue. My nerves were put to ease as I was escorted to the second row, right in the middle of this beautiful venue. The theater was one of the nicest places I have seen and had a beautiful stage as they hosted BB King for three nights in a row.
I have been a fan of BB King since I was a young boy; listening to a local Chicago radio station at night as they played just blues for a few hours. At that age, I never knew what BB King looked like but had a picture in my head of this amazing musician who played his guitar in a very simple way, but made it talk like a human voice.
As I waited for him to come on, a wave of emotions came over me as I was now going to see the legend of blues right before me. Coming on a little after 8 pm, his band came on for little over 10 minutes as they took turns doing little solos before one of the horn players announced on stage BB King. With some help, King came on stage to take a seat and proceeded to throw out guitar picks to the fans that were right in front. As the band played, Mr. King talked to the audience, sharing stories and looking more lively then most men 20 years younger at the ripe age of 86.
He thanked the Lord above for his health and for allowing him to perform in front of all of us, and while there was no direction in regards to a setlist, but more King improvising on his hits and well known songs. While BB King’s Guitar skills are not the same as when I was a young boy, a few times tonight when he hits those notes on Lucille and made her speak in that beautiful sustained voice, he shook her all night with those bends and finger vibrato you could close your eyes and never know. When King sings, his voice is still pure and rich as aged-old southern bourbon, as he sang, Rock me Baby, Thrill is Gone and several times having just the band stay in a very tight pocket before Lucille came in to light up the venue.
BB King talked about still having those feelings a man gets when he sees a beautiful woman and when one of the waitress passed by he stopped the song to wave to her and let her know she caught his eye. The crowd participated as well as they called out as King talked or played and at times, felt I was in a southern church or hanging with the guys as they watch the ladies pass by with cat calls when we were young.
Tonight felt more like a celebration than a concert and the night ended way to soon, leaving you wanting to hear more from this legend who has seen more in his lifetime them most people will ever see. As this was my first time being at the Northern lights Theater, I hope it will not be my last, as I hope to not be my last time seeing the amazing Blues legend BB King.
You can catch BB King on tour as he has played over 15,000 shows in his career by going to his website at http://www.bbking.com/events
All photos and review by Peter Lizano
