MUSHY'S MOOCHINGS: B. B. KING ROCKS THE TENNESSEE THEATER

Sunday, March 30, 2008

B. B. KING ROCKS THE TENNESSEE THEATER

Ron and I met Don and Cindy, Cindy, and Leslie at the Downtown Grill & Brewery Saturday night for drinks and food prior to the B. B. King concert at the beautiful Tennessee Theater. Last night was the third annual fundraiser for the Historic Tennessee Theatre Foundation, and B. B. was the headliner who packed the house.
Prior to the concert starting, there was an auction of guitars and other exciting prizes, and one Gibson electric resembling “Lucille” went for $25,000! I was only out bid by about $24,990!
Back at the pre-concert warm up, the Cindy’s and Leslie gulped down “Blow Job” shooters, while Don and I did a cowboy shooter (normally 3-fingers of Wild Turkey)! We were amped for blues and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!
It was a great evening and a return to “doing the town” like Ron and are used to doing.
After the concert, we noticed the buses standing by a side door, which was on our way to the parking garage. However, we got tired of waiting for B. B. to come out, so after about 45 minutes, I took this shot of the license plate and we headed home.
B. B. King is 82 years old, so every time you see him you can’t help but think it might be the last time, so in a way, each concert is now part of history. He even joked on stage that he often sees banners advertising his concert as “B. B. King’s Last Concert!”
B. B.’s concert is really laid back, with stories from the past coming in between each tune. He is such a friendly personality that the stories draw you in just as much as his blues tunes. Any applause is followed by his trademark hands to heart gesture. He truly loves his fans!
He remembered living in Indianola, Mississippi, where he was born, and experiencing the prejudice of the Deep South. As he told it, “All small towns have a train track running through them and Indianola is no exception. They put us (pointing to himself) on one side, and the put you (pointing to the majority white audience) on the other side. I used to do my other job (moving his head as if watching girls walk by), which I did very well, sitting there across the tracks. Sometimes I would have me a beer, and then maybe I’d have me another one, and then I would get kind’a mischievous and want me a drink of water. Well, one of those fountains had a sign over it with the word ‘WHITE’ on it, and the other had ‘COLORED’ on it. So, I would run across those tracks and get me a drink from that ‘white’ fountain and run back across. You know, that ‘white’ water didn’t taste one bit better than that ‘colored’ water!
He ended up thanking everyone for making the world a “whole lot better than it was when” he was a kid! Ain’t it the truth!
The concert ended with his theme song “The Trill is Gone!” The house stood and moved with the wonderful sounds of the band and ‘Lucille’. My hands were bright red and stinging from ‘keeping time’ even after I got home. It was such a wonderful night and I hope and pray “The King of the Blues” sings the blues for many years to come!

15 comments:

Lin said...

I just HAD to get over here ASAP to hear how the BB concert went. Wow, should have known. Hope you get to see that incredible man many, many times more before he leaves us for good. I'll say it again "You dirty lucky dog bastard!" Awesome.

Buck said...

I'll echo Lin... Your Saturday nite was a whole helluva lot more entertaining than mine, that's fer sure.

Chris said...

I am sorry I missed out on that. I remember thinking he was old when he collaborated with U2 on their song "Before Love Came To Town" back in the early 90's!

Oh well, at least I'll be sure to catch the upcoming Sundown in The City concerts....they're free:)

fuzzbert_1999@yahoo.com said...

Yeah, Chris, that one was a little steep...as much as I paid for Roger Waters last year, but at least it went to a good cause.

Catmoves said...

Got out some old tapes (yes, tapes) while I was reading your post about BBK.
Only thing I missed was a $6.50 blow job.
Oh, well....

Scott from Oregon said...

I paid a hundred dollar bill to see Tom Waits play in a small quanset hut theatre once.

You pay the steep money for the best memories...

Glad you got to see the King.

Right Truth said...

Oh darn. I would have LOVED to be there. Love Blues and BB King. Sounds like you had a great time. I'm jealous.

Debbie Hamilton
Right Truth

PRH said...

BB is good stuff....great post, and Photos.

fuzzbert_1999@yahoo.com said...

Debbie,
He was in Nashville Friday night at the Ryman...you should have been there!

Jan said...

BB King is such a living legend. How lucky are you.

I was reminded of a time when a group of us junior high students went south from Indiana where we lived and were shocked to see segretated fountains. Naturally we had to try both drinking fountains to see if there was a difference. There wasn't.

FHB said...

Wow! Sounds like another wonderful night of great friends and great music. You guys sure know how to live, but I've said that before.

Casdok said...

Does sound a fab night!! Hope your heands have recovered!

Olga, the Traveling Bra said...

Blowjob shooters? I'd have to kill you if that was MY picture! HAHA!

I had the pleasure of seeing BB in concert a couple of years ago...he is DA KING! Love him!!!

Anonymous said...

Sweet!!!!! Loves me B.B.!!

Unknown said...

Blowjobs are pretty good, but I can't shoot them that way -- my mouth won't wrap around the top of the glass. Ted doesn't seem to mind, though;) Looks like a fun night!