On May 17th, 2009, the last day of the Doheny Blues Festival was under way in Dana Point, California. Doheny State Beach was taken over by middle-aged music lovers and even some teens sprinkled in as well. The smell of weed, cigarettes, hot dogs and kettle corn, exemplified the juxtaposition of the rugged crowd and the county fair setting complete with merchant tents and endless food booths.
There were three stages scattered on the grounds. The Doheny Stage, the largest, held the concerts of the headliners, like Brian Setzer and B.B. King. Next, the Renaissance Stage, the mid-sized stage, was in the middle of the event, so it was the most accessible and held the majority of the shows. Last, was the Back Porch. Remember that this was mainly a blues event, The Back Porch was meant to portray just that, a back porch, a place for the lesser known bands to hang out and jam with their audience. It was a very intimate, the perfect spot for audience to familiarize themselves with various artists.
The reason for my late arrival at the festival was for the King. B.B. King was scheduled to conclude the festival with his legendary blues, performing on the Doheny Stage. The opening music started slow with only light trumpets and saxophones. Unknown Southern blues cats played their music as the audience impatiently waited for B.B. to make his entrance. Then the slower tune sped up and grew into a soulful number that crescendoed into a fast trumpet and drum beat, then B.B. made his way to the chair in the middle of the stage. Upon sitting, he joined right into the song, ripping a riff out of the guitar, perhaps “Lucille”.
B.B. then gave himself an introduction, beginning with “Thank you ladies and gents” and continues into a conversation with the audience. He talks of the BBQ food tents, his old age (83) versus the youth of the entire audience. Then he starts his first real song “Let the Good Times Roll”, an awesome opener for its ability to get the whole audience on their feet and dancing. This rendition of the song included a kick-ass bass solo, and ended with B.B. shredding out a solo of his own.
Next, B.B. continued with more words of wisdom. He talked about his title of “Legend” and what that meant, and love, backed by a quick, soft drum beat. He stresses how important it is to enjoy it while it lasts, then continued into a soft, soulful song about needing someone so bad you can’t stand it, someone that you miss when he or she leaves. This quintessential blues number captivated the audience. Looking around, all the couples swayed back and forth with the beat, completely in love with each other and with the B.B.’s music.
The next few songs follow a pattern of a fast song, then a slow song, then fast, and on and on. Each song is divided by B.B.’s words of wisdom, little stories or anecdotes and advice. Between his fourth and fifth song, he talks about old times with the Beatles, particularly Ringo. Between the ninth and tenth song, he speaks about his anger over the way today’s rap and hip-hop artists mention women in their music. Then he plays a blues version of “You Are My Sunshine” for all the women in the audience. At the end of the song, he counted to 4, and made all the women in the audience kiss their men.
Throughout the entire show, B.B. King gave his audience a taste of himself in every moment we watched him. Whether he was retelling a personal story about Viagra, giving us all advice on love and death, or ripping Lucille apart on stage, he was all soul and all blues. His last song, “The Thrill is Gone” sounded through the speakers. The dark arena hummed and swayed as the pulsing stage lights shined and the legendary B.B. King took his righteous last bow.
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