B.B. King at the Perot Theater: Review

It was a packed house at the historic Perot Theater in Texarkana for the King of the Blues, B.B. King - presented by The Eagle.

I got to do the introductions at the beginning of the show, and it was cool standing on the stage of the Perot, it's just a great venue, and exciting knowing that we were about to see multiple Grammy winner, including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and Grammy Hall of Fame member... B. B. King.

The show started off at 7:30 with "The Governor's Blues Revue", featuring Jimmy Markham with his awesome harmonica skills and downhome blues style. They are out of Tulsa Oklahoma, and are opening a few of the Texas shows.

The King of the Blues, B.B. King took the stage just a little after 8:30, and the crowd was on their feet. (Which can be a little spooky in the balcony of the Perot).  He is a little slower getting around, but at 87 years of age, he can take all of the time he wants. Of course Mr. King ran thru all of the crowd favorites, but a highlight for me, as silly as it seems, was "You Are My Sunshine"... here's the audio Aaron recorded. (His wife demanded that we delete her laughing in the background... we didn't.)

Mr. King asked for the house lights to be turned up, so that he could see the crowd. He said he "wanted to see all of the pretty faces". He seemed to be in the mood for a sing-along getting the crowd involved, and giving quite a few giggles in the process.

There seemed to be a lot of back and forth between B.B. and the audience, really giving the show a more intimate and personal vibe, and was really a lot of fun. After finishing the show off with "When Love Comes to Town", he sat on the stage for a bit, signing autographs, and tossing guitar picks to those that wanted them. However, he couldn't stay too long because he does have a terrible fear of the flu, and who could blame him... again, he is 87-years-old, but doesn't show any signs of slowing down soon.

From Texarkana, the King of the Blues will be hitting The House of Blues in Houston on the 11th, House of Blues in Dallas on the 12th, to Austin on the 13th, Midland on the 15th, and then back into the Ark-La-Tex with a stop at the Caldwell Auditorium in Tyler, Tx. on the 17th. See more dates at BBKING.com.