Steven Tyler's mystery illness forced Aerosmith to cancel the Breslin Center show, but 80-year-old B.B. King came through with a charismatic performance at the MSU Auditorium on Thursday.
King presided over his tuneful throne with the eagerness of a young prince trying to win over his maiden.
The legendary bluesman was forced to sit down during the concert due to diabetes and bad knees, but still evoked crowd participation, sang with a deep sense of passion, bopped around in his seat and flawlessly presided over his jiving band. He's still got the blues, baby.
And, of course, he plucked Lucille — his illustrious cherry- and ebony-finished Gibson guitar — with heartfelt mastery. Lucille is the blues version of the Mona Lisa and King treated her that well by giving her kisses during the show.
Before the show started, 28-year-old Charlotte resident Cory Myrie said it was a no-brainer to go see King.
"As soon as I heard about it, I bought tickets and tried to get as close as I could," Myrie said.
Fisheries and wildlife graduate student Jared Myers said he has always been a fan of the blues and seeing King was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
"Seeing a living legend that's 80 is something you don't get to see everyday. I just want to take it all in," Myers said.
The concert started pretty much right on time, with King's backing band playing two numbers to warm up, and then the swinging icon swaggered on stage to a standing ovation.
All of the band members wore tuxedos — quite a feat in itself since it was boiling hot inside the Auditorium — and played for two hours to the audience of nearly 3,200 enthusiastic hip-shakers, hand-clappers and amateur back-up singers.
In the middle of the show, King even prophesied what the papers would write about his performance.
"Oh, that B.B. King was pretty good, but he sure did talk a lot," King said.
And he did tell plenty of stories between the songs, but a bluesman who has been around for as long as King should be sharing his wisdom.
His tales revolved around the complicated issue of love between a man and a woman, and of course had a humorous edge to them.
East Lansing resident Sarah Infante, 28. expressed that King may have been a bit long-winded with his comments, but was allowed to be since he's 80. Nevertheless, Infante said there was nothing wrong with his musicianship.
"It's amazing that he has been able to maintain his skill for such an expansive period of time," she said.
To top off a wonderfully charming evening, King played his signature tune, "The Thrill is Gone," as the last number.
It was marvelous to witness a man still able to do what he loves — play the blues — so effectively, and so far along in his life. It was a truly magical event.
