POP REVIEW : Coach House Show Proves B.B. Is Still King of Blues

The talk was that the “King of the Blues,” B.B. King, had run out of steam and, these days, was just going through the motions. Don’t you believe it.

The blues singer/guitarist’s well-received first set Sunday at the Coach House put rumors of his demise to rest. Despite the fact that King is one of the hardest-working acts in the business (one pop encyclopedia reports that he did 342 one-night stands in 1956 and hasn’t slowed down much since then), he came out fresh and exuberant, singing with the kind of strength and conviction that has kept him on top of the blues heap for almost three decades.

His second number, “Look at Me (I’ll Still Be Around),” seemed to acknowledge that longevity, and it was on this tune that King chose to take his longest guitar solo. Playing what at times sounded almost like a glorious fanfare, the guitarist balanced crisp, minimalist, mid-range phrases with some clipped chording and a tell-all, deep-throated low end that brought depth to the promise implied in the song’s title.

With only a few other exceptions, King’s guitar--which he calls Lucille--was reduced to her familiar role of foil in call-and-response patterns, a character who jibes King for the foibles he sings about, one who sets the record straight when what he says just isn’t so (“You know I love you, baby,” croons King. “Uh-huh, sure,” answers Lucille). The guitarist’s familiar crying tones served as prelude to the strong, rough-hewn vocal lines the singer used to close out a vocal phrase.

A crack seven-piece band directed by King’s nephew Walter King delivered tight ensemble work or loose interplay as required, and the singer spent a good amount of time during the hourlong set introducing the members and coaxing the crowd to applaud their different performances. There was even time for a few high jinks, with a chair brought out for the portly gentleman and King telling the crowd, “I’ll bet you thought you’d never live long enough to see B.B. King sit down.”

The guitarist combined a number of his well-known tunes, including “Nobody Loves Me but My Mama” and Roy Hawkins’ “The Thrill Is Gone,” into a long, mostly spoken tale of lovers’ woe that reduced the songs to novelties. This emphasis on stagemanship rather than music detracted from the overall performance, but there was enough playing--and singing--of R & B-framed blues to bring the crowd to its feet several times for long, clamorous ovations. King’s encore, a recent ballad titled “Bring Peace to the World,” may not have had much to do with the blues but was, considering the times, a fitting climax.

Leon Russell, who played piano on King’s popular 1970 album “Indianola Mississippi Seeds,” opened solo for the blues singer. Looking not much different than he did in his “Mad Dogs and Englishmen” days, Russell worked in some new songs--he’s pulling together an album to be produced by Bruce Hornsby--with the old standbys during a too-brief, half-hour set that he preluded with the refrain from “We Shall Overcome.”

Initially victimized by a bad mix that left his voice nearly inaudible for the first couple of tunes, Russell used a synthesizer to blend strings and other harmonic effects with his barrelhouse-professor keyboard style on tunes such as “A Song for You” and “Delta Lady.” His gravelly voice, always less strong in the higher range, seemed especially pinched, and he fairly gurgled trying to hit high notes. But the character it carried, despite the bad sonics, commanded attention.

B.B. King and Leon Russell play again tonight at 8 and 10:30 at the Coach House, 33157 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano. Tickets are $25. Information: (714) 496-8930.