B.B. King and Buddy Guy paid Clearwater’s Ruth Eckerd Hall a visit this past Friday night and put on an epic performance for an audience of fans ranging in age from 9 to 90, all waiting in eager anticipation for the legendary blues artists to take the stage. [All photos by Fernando Garcia.]

Buddy Guy made his entrance in a shiny track suit, sneakers and leather Newsboy cap, and instantly began wailing on his electric guitar. His four-piece band backed him up on piano, drums, guitar and bass, moved side to side in unison as Guy moved and gyrated with every note played. He was extremely keyed into the crowd and their participation in and appreciation of the tunes. He was also an incredible showman, playing guitar backwards, on his shoulder, positioning it just right to hit notes with certain key body movements, and even plucked the strings with his teeth at one point.

The music was constant and fluid, like one big blues jam session. In the midst of all that crazy musicianship, he still took the time to tell a few stories, discuss a few songs and make a few jokes. He claimed blues musicians weren’t allowed to be profane until the invention of hip-hop. He also said there was no British invasion, "We had it all the time, we just didn’t know what we had.” He followed this claim with a tribute and comparison of Johnny Hooker and Cream.

Guy brought much soulful emotion to his vocals, and encouraged the audience sing to sing along to numbers like “I Just Wanna Make Love to You,” among many other. He segued smoothly from one song into the next, making it feel like one long number, seeming never really finishing any single song until he performed the title track of his last album, “Skin Deep,” seemingly one of the only songs he completed from start to finish.

Buddy Guy is a true bluesman and his set was amazing. He performed all his solos with incredible precision, demonstrated great control of his voice, closed everything out with a big finale, and got the crowed amped up and ready for more blues from co-headliner B.B King. [More pics + photo gallery after the jump.]

B.B. King’s stage crew worked like mad to ready the stage during intermission. When the lights went down, eight men strolled onto the stage in full tuxedos and took their places behind their instruments -- sax, alto sax, drums, keys, bass, guitar, and horns. After a long, instrumental introduction, B.B. King himself entered sporting, by far, the coolest tuxedo I have ever seen -- as silver as his hair with a red floral pattern, black trim, and matching vest and jacket.

Ruth Eckerd Hall was officially packed and loving every minute of it as B.B. King calmly and deliberately began a blues jam. He had a very laid-back stage presence, but the sort of dynamacism that drew all eyes to him. After his grand entrance guitar solo, he sang out in his deep, grisly and powerful voice.

B.B. King was a great storyteller; at 84, he has a great many stories to tell. Not only was it impressive that he’s still rocking out in his 80s, but he seemed to play with the same passion he did some 60 years ago. As he sat perched on his “throne,” he talked about his life, his diabetes, women, old age, and dished out a few random rants here and there. He spoke much more than he sang, but the entertainment level was at an all-time high. The crowd loved it all and the bluesy riffs kept a constant pace throughout and kept everyone grooving.

B.B. King seemed to enjoy listening to and admiring his bandmates playing as much he enjoyed performing with them. It was as though his fingers were a part of the guitar, the sounds and movements were so clean, clear and succinct, not a single note out of place. You couldn’t help but feel the music and even King commented that at his age, the music couldn’t help but turn him on. He played for nearly two hour and ended his set sans encore, but he passed out necklaces and picks at the end of the night instead.

The whole evening turned out feeling as intimate as a small-scale show, and patrons left wonderfully exhausted after more than three hours of fiery blues.

B.B. King mentioned that in his old age, he often thought about going to bed early, but he was afraid he would miss out on something. I think everyone at the show this past Friday night would agree -- no amount of sleep could be worth missing out on a performance like this one.

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