Who's Gonna Fill Those Shoes?

WOW, I don't even know where to begin.

My expectations for the BB King/Buddy Guy show last night were very high, which can be dangerous. Going in with high expectations can set you up for disappointment. This time, my expectations were nowhere near high enough.

Let me first say a little about the venue: The Ryman Auditorium. Even though I spent my first 15 years living in Nashville, I had never been inside the Ryman. Just being inside the place is an experience. When you look on the walls and see the autographed concert posters of all the people who have performed there, just in recent years it's an impressive list: Springsteen, Van Morrison, The Pretenders, etc. That's not to mention all the country music stars that roll through there on a regular basis.

A talk with one of the security guards gave me a little history of the place. It was built in 1892, and was originally a church. The concert seating is the original pews. They have been refinished, but otherwise completely original. That was pretty amazing to me. There are no bad seats anywhere in the place. It only holds around 2000, so even if you are at the back you are still pretty close. The acoustics are incredible. If you ever get a chance to see a show there I highly recommend it. Just a cool place to see a show.


Now about the show itself. One of the coolest things about this show to me was that it showcased two different styles of blues. Buddy Guy played more of the raw, gritty, what I would call Texas Blues. BB's style of blues is much more polished, but no less powerful. What gave BB's music that polish for me was his killer horn section, those guys were incredible. So, Buddy started the show off, and showed the energy and chops of someone half of his 72 years. He ripped through classic blues standards and some of his new stuff, and it was all mind-blowing. For me what was the most memorable part of his set was a cover of Muddy Waters' Hoochie Coochie Man. You can't beat that with a stick.


If I had only gotten to hear Buddy it would have been worth the price of admission without a doubt, but it just got better. BB King is blues. Nobody does it like him. Stevie Ray Vaughan once said something to the effect that he could play the baddest solo in the world, and BB could play one note and have him beat. BB's set was unique. He didn't just go through the songs like all the other concerts I've been to. He wove them into stories that he would tell about how things were when he was young, or how to treat your lady. It was like sitting in your living room listening to your grandaddy tell you stories...If your grandaddy was a legendary guitar player. BB may have lost a step in terms of vocal range, but his playing is still right on. When he hit the opening riff of The Thrill Is Gone I got chills. That was the highlight of the night for me.


Watching these two legends play was an unbelieveable experience. It was watching living history. These guys shaped blues music, and influenced, countless other artists from numerous other genres. Seeing them you realize how bubblegum, and vanilla most of today's music really is. I said most, not all. When I think of what the future of blues music (or music in general) will be when these guys are gone, I guess I have to ask the same question Buddy asked to start off the night.



Who's gonna fill those shoes?