Review: BB King rules

Geoff Carter

Monday, March 29, 1999 | 3:53 a.m.

"I'm happy to be here," said BB King, two songs into his Friday, March 26 show at the House of Blues, the second show of a two-night stand. "In fact, at age 73, I'm glad to be anyplace."

Calling it a two-night stand may be slightly inappropriate. In actuality, it was a two-night sit. The legendary bluesman showed his age early on, by taking a seat after the first number - but that was the only time his age was apparent. The septuagenarian blues legend rocks a house harder sitting down than many of today's pouty woulda-coulda-shoulda guitar "heroes" can standing straight up. Even Eric Sardinas, the enthusiastic, hot-dogging guitarist that opened the show, was no match for the true King.

Like his contemporary James Brown, King has a 19-year-old's energy inside, pushing to find expression in whatever way it can: a sustained howl, a fierce guitar lick. "Bad Case of Love" damn near burned the House down, with King whipping his band (a formally garbed group of virtuosos he referred to as his "young men") around the musical equivalent of hairpin turns.

So complete and total is his immersion in his craft, King manages to look like he's coasting. You have to compare him to other players in your head to realize that what he does is akin to advanced number theory. If some 19-year-old kid managed to develop King's mastery - and control, folks, that's where the decades of experience pays off - we'd make him president, no questions asked.

Of course, if the sold-out crowd at the House of Blues were put to the vote, King would be in the high seat tomorrow. It always does my heart good to see the well-heeled unconsciously getting their groove on. A stately blonde in her late thirties swayed and stomped her way through "The Thrill is Gone," periodically stepping on her feather boa (yes, indeed) with her six-inch pumps (yes again). Another man danced with his wife in a manner they probably hadn't done since the night of their honeymoon. Between songs, he shouted out a request for "When Love Comes To Town."

King shook his head, grinning, and rebuffed him: "Love is already here! You got it - hold on to it!"

The man knows. When you've got that kind of love - for your craft, for your audience and for yourself - who needs to stand up to prove its strength?