More Info →King Conquers the Opera House

Description: This image was taken for a story that ran in The Manawatu Evening Standard on 6th February 199.

"BB King, Palmerston North Opera House, January 10. Wednesday night, the last week in January, and Riley B. King made his first visit to Palmerston North. From all over the city, people of all ages, races and walks of life came to cram the Opera House and hear this legendary "king of the blues" in action, and the man was not about to send anyone away disappointed.

First up, his highly-disciplined seven-piece band -- under the direction of nephew Walter King -- got things cooking with a dynamic warm-up set, then B.B. King -- resplendent in ample cummerbund, bow tie and pink dinner jacket -- was warmly welcomed: immediately cutting loose with a raunchy update of the old Cab Calloway favourite Let the Good Times Roll. The invitation was enthusiastically accepted.

Shifting up the heat with the pulsing R&B rhythm of When All's Said and Done, King worked a tight path of mounting tension, climax and release, his guitar Lucille edging the band into top gear with stinging, plaintive sustains, interspersed with clusters of precisely placed staccato runs. The slow blues Ain't Nobody's Business was a change for trading lines with trumpeter James Bolden, the audience by now being drawn into the performance: whistling, stomping , replying to the vocal lines like some gospel crowd from the deep south.

A tongue-in-cheek Sweet Little Angel found the blues boy easing in with the nooks and crannies of gypsy king Django Reinhardt, moving on to wailing feed-back sustains with control most rock guitarists would kill for. Keyboardist James Toney laid down a sultry, Southside Chicago mood for the slow blues Chains of Love while King added a heavy dose of gospel with the vocals, often skirting the border between singing and pentecostal spoken word. Continuing the showcasing of talent within the band, bassist Michael Doster took the spotlight, moving like lightning over his five-string fretboard during an impressive solo.

The intensity of stomping and cheering increased accordingly. Pausing as master of ceremonies, King then introduced his band -- adding a few stories, poking fun at himself -- then eased into a plaintive Darling You Know That I Love You, his latest single Peace to the World and an upbeat version of the U2 collaboration When Love Comes to Town. the encore of When the Saints Go Marchin' In was pure gospel. Throughout his two hours on stage, King's set was pure energy, a reminder of the well where the creators of "rock" and all its hybrid forms first journeyed for inspiration.

Instrumentally, his guitar playing was sounding better that ever, his fluid, rich vibrato and bending of notes effortlessly shaping the lines to sound like the human voice. Vocally his famous falsetto notes were heard only rarely, but despite his age and obvious fatigue at the end of the show, King still had a rootsy, fire-in-the belly style which could not fail to impress.

Perhaps some of the crowd were unhappy about the absence of his classics Three O'clock Blues, How Blue Can You Get, My Own Fault and Sweet Sixteen, yet I got the feeling he was ready for more encores, only needing a little more encouragement to take the show to a real climax. But no matter. B.B. King at the Opera House was pure gut feeling. No posing, no riding on previous reputation, just playing -- and singing -- each song as it came, straight from the heart. Anyone left unimpressed should have stayed at home and watched telly.

[Photos by Dionne Ward]"