B.B. KING & BUDDY GUY
RENO HILTON AMPHITHEATER
RENO , NEVADA
AUGUST 10, 2000
B.B. KING & BUDDY GUY
RENO HILTON AMPHITHEATER
RENO , NEVADA
AUGUST 10, 2000
B.B. King and Buddy Guy are out on the road together this year for a spectacular double entree of musical delight. B.B. King has recently released a compilation album of old and new material featuring collaborative efforts with Eric Clapton and Jimmie Vaughn. The title track "Riding with the King" is an absolutely fabulous song. I am certain that if Clapton had been willing to participate in this blues tour with B.B. King that we would all have been floating on up to blues heaven at these shows. The show is fantastic without Eric Clapton. But, after hearing the latest compilation release, you just want to see Clapton up there on stage riding with the king. B.B. King is an accomplished blues musician with over fifty albums to his credit. This new album has sent King to the top of Billboard's charts. Surprisingly, this is the first time in his fifty plus year career that B.B. King's music has reached the status of holding a number in the Billboard's Top Ten.A crowd of young and old mingled together at the Reno Hilton's outdoor amphitheater and danced their blues away on this warm August night. Buddy Guy opened his set with a jamming "Got My Mojo Working" that let the audience know right away that Buddy was a born to perform. The spotlight suited him quite well as he wailed out the blues on his Les Paul guitar. About the time Buddy got to playing Muddy Water's "Hoochie Coochie Man" the moon began to glow and a cool breeze slid through the crowd. Then, he did this little bit on what John Lee Hooker sounds like and what Buddy Guy sounds like and finished that off with a short version of Cream's "Strange Brew." This was all fine and dandy, but Buddy new it was time to get down to business. He closed out his set with barn burning blues and shredding guitar solos that gave release to the flood of his musical soul flowing out into the starry night.
Just looking up at the man and grooving to his guitar sound gives you the feeling that you are a part of the show. Very few live performers can look at a whole crowd of people and make each one of them feel like that the look was just for them; B.B. King has this unusual and extraordinary charismatic quality about him. The B.B King Blues Band opened the show with a jazzy little number that featured a solo by each of the horns. Then came a grandstand style introduction for B.B. King and he joined the band. He was playing his Gibson signature guitar obviously named "Lucille," this was evident from the beautifully inlaid letter work on the head of the guitar. B.B. rocked it out right into "A Bad Case of Love" and the crowd went completely nuts. The highlight of the show for me was the timeless love song "The Thrill is Gone." B. B. King won a grammy for Best Rhythm and Blues Vocal Performance singing this number in 1970. I believe this song to be one of the best blues tunes ever written. I also feel that it is one of those songs that has the amazing ability to stir emotions, which is what makes this composition so powerful. The show was terrific! Don't miss it when it comes to your neck of the woods. Thanks for reading and we'll see ya at the shows.
Nick Running
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