Buddy Guy out duels B.B. King, leaves fans wanting more

Buddy Guy out duels B.B. King, leaves fans wanting more
By Leah Reidenbach
lreidenbach@valenciavoice.com

ORLANDO, Fla. — Buddy Guy, 72, stole the show at the B.B. King and Buddy Guy concert Friday, Feb. 6 at the UCF Arena. These two musicians are used to playing in a more intimate setting like the House of Blues, but they did have much trouble getting a good crowd in this venue.

Even for Guy’s age he was still packed with energy and kept the crowd on their toes, literally. During one of his songs he walked into the audience playing his guitar as fans crowded around him. He even let some of them strum his guitar while he took control
of the notes and chords.

Most of the crowd came to see the wellknown blues player B.B. King, 83, but Guy gained a lot of the crowd’s affection. During intermission people were buzzing about what a fantastic musician Guy is.

However, King’s age started to show at the concert. He was wheeled onto the stage in a wheelchair from behind the wings of the stage. His band played for about 20 minutes before King walked to his seat on stage at about 10:15 p.m.

King who is well known for his storytelling, talked a lot between songs. He mostly told stories about his old age, love and “Dr.Viagra”. He seemed to talk too much during this concert and his stories stretched out for too long, but he and his band made up for it by playing some of the best blues anyone has ever heard.

Although King spent more time talking than playing he still awed the audience with his talent during “The Thrill is Gone,” “Key to The Highway,” and off his new album, “See That My Grave is Kept Clean.”

King and Guy’s performances were nothing short of great but the only disappointment shared by the fans was that King and Guy never played together during the show.

Fortunately for the fans that did want to see this collaboration, B.B. King and Buddy Guy were seen the next day playing together with John Mayor and Keith Urban during the Grammys as a tribute to the late blues/rock legend Bo Diddley. Hopefully, they tuned in to see it. Courtesy of B.B. King.com