king of blues

See the King of Blues live in concert

This officially has been crossed off my list of things to do before I die.

Tonight at the Keswick Theatre in Glenside, I had the honor and privilege of seeing the legendary B.B. King live in concert. The man might be 82 years old, he might be unable to stand and walk for long periods of time, he might have diabetes, but he can still belt out the blues. His guitar sounds so sweet and pure, the notes drip off the strings like honey. His voice is so strong and powerful that it gives you chills when he really gets into the song. It's even more unbelievable when you realize that, by his own admission, he doesn't know how to play chords and he just improvises his way through everything.

He's quite a storyteller and half the concert is him rambling through long winded stories, making jokes and laughing at himself. His band backs him up beautifully and he often lets them take the lead. It doesn't matter. It's worth the price of admission to hear him talk, sing and play even for the few songs he actually fits in.

To see him play in the 1300 seat Keswick was even more incredible. There isn't a bad seat in the house and the acoustics and sound were tuned perfectly. It was a great show and I still can't believe that I was there.