Live music photography
The most expensive show ever at Tipitina’s at $100/ticket and the place is packed. In a town of low-or-no cover charges (great for music lovers, potentially terrible for musicians, unless fans hit that tip bucket–<<hint>> <<hint>>), a $100 show is essentially a once-in-a-lifetime one, and no better way cash in that chance than to see B. B. King, still performing at nearly 90 years old. Was it good? Of course it was. Some of the fire has clearly faded and there’s a bit more reliance on the band to hold things together, but you could hardly expect otherwise. Just in case you’ve forgotten how much fire there was, check out, for example, B. B. King Live in Cook County Jail from 1971–one of the best blues recordings of all time, and one where B. B. King’s pleading voice raises every hair on my body every time I listen to it. The man’s dozen plus Grammy’s weren’t won on manufactured music like they typically are today (sorry, truth hurts). B. B. King did, and can, and will, musically rip you a new one.
B. B. King Live in Cook County Jail
Here are some shots from the show. Click through a photo to see the entire gallery:
B.B. King’s opening act was The Preservation Jazz Hall Band. If you’ve never seen Preservation, you might think “music for old farts”. Of course we have, and we don’t, and it isn’t. The Preservation Hall band stunned the unknowers in the crowd and tore Tipitina’s down, putting on one of the best shows we’ve ever seen at the club. They didn’t step up as an opening band–they owned the place, and the crowd, full of tourists, went crazy. Possibly your only chance to get When the Saints Go Marching in w/o a $20 tip, so if you missed it, sorry. You can still check out the photos for free, though:
Coming up at Tips in the near future: Maceo Parker, Trombone Shorty, and more. Check out the Tipitina’s calendar and ticket information on their website.