BB King Last Night at the House of Blues Anaheim

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Written by Melissa Garcia

Saturday, 19 February 2011 00:03

The B.B King Blues Band had the Anaheim House of Blues stage packed Thursday night, but it was the smaller opener that shocked the fans.

I don’t know if you’ve know of them, but you should. “Parker Macy Blues” was the opener for the legendary B.B King. The singer and lead guitarist, Parker Macy, may be young, white and resemble Robert Plant, but make no mistake, his blues sound as authentic as any black man three times his age.

His lyrics were often comical; if you had a fast enough ear to catch them. He sang in his throaty voice about loving a ‘mustache’ girl who broke his heart, standing naked in the bathroom on LSD, and quote: “I think I’m a genius but no one else here does.” This four-piece band had all the right ingredients for success; the skills, sound and the element of surprise (who knew four white boys could play the blues so well?)

Before leaving the stage, Macy admitted to the audience that there is a king of pop, a king of rock and a king of blues and he rather open for the king of blues than either of the other two.

The tuxedo wearing band was suited for a long night. They started the show (all seven of them) with a 5 minute intro, where the rhythm guitarist, saxophonist (who wore an eye-patch!) and trumpeter took center stage before B.B King entered.

The moment B.B walked on stage an overwhelming feeling of joy and admiration took over the crowd. The King’s charismatic personality took the mic as he introduced the band, cracking jokes along the way. He started the set strong and somehow was able to entertain the crowd from his seat, without even touching his guitar.

Even at the age of 85, he doesn’t have the attitude of an old man. He was happy and genuinely looked like he was having a blast. The audience couldn’t help but smile as he sang, and chatted with the crowd. But a sense of how old he was really getting was apparent by the last 20 minutes of the show.
He took the time out to talk about a little bit of everything, while the band played a mellow jazz tune in the background. He talked about everything from working with Ray Charles on his first album, how to treat a lady and Viagra. He was absolutely charming, even when he jokingly admitted his use of Viagra.

The crowd was all smiles as he interacted with them connecting us with his personal stories, and how this might be his last tour due to that dreaded word, retirement. But after 15 minutes of this, the crowd was getting weary, and so were the band mates, but no one dared to say anything to him. Well, except the senior citizen next to me who yelled “Play the blues!” (I’m guessing his arthritis was starting to act up.)

Finally, he decided to start the last song of the night and just past the second verse he started telling the men what to do that night to set the mood with their lovers. I think wine and dressing the bedroom up ‘just how she likes it,’ was his advice. He didn’t stop there though; he kept on with his off the wall babble for another 5 minutes. Nevertheless, when he did play it was magical, I’ve never seen more enthusiasm and love for life than I did that night. B.B King was truly a delight to watch, even his 20 minute conversations with the crowd was a pleasure.

It’s painful to say, but I think it’s time for him to give his career a rest, before the realities of his age become more apparent.