On this DVD, King's crack band — which is more like a small orchestra, really — warms up the crowd, setting up the appearance of the main attraction in the form of the man himself, who comes out about three numbers into the show.
The set here is probably not all too different from the hundreds King plays each year — and has since approximately the dawn of time.
But the key here is the way the band nonetheless remains as tight as a drum. Not a single cue is missed — from the rhythm section all the way down to the razor-sharp horns. This is as tight as tight gets.
Seriously, whatever happened to this kind of shit? Because I for one want it back.
On this DVD, BB King's ever-amazing guitar playing remains the main event, commanding the attention it has so rightfully earned over the years and still deserves.
This is a fairly standard BB King concert, if there even is such a thing. But from "Rock Me Baby" to "Why I Sing The Blues" to Robert Cray's "Playing With my Friends" to the inevitable "The Thrill is Gone," the man quite simply is a walking textbook of blues 101.
Never mind the fact that on this particular performance, King shows himself to be such a consummate pro that it's easy to get the impression that he could do this stuff in his sleep. Hell, truth is he probably could.
The fact still remains that BB King is the King of the Blues, and on this great DVD he is also the king of Montreux, even if only for this one night. And for me at least, it was great to finally see the grand old man do his thing standing up.
This, my friends, is quite simply how it is done.
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