B. B. King and John Mayall.

Padded seats, a mostly slightly earlier-born audience and blues classics were the circumstances of an extraordinary experience for visitors to the Prague Convention Center, July 12. The evening brought together on one stage two really big names of the world blues. As a special guest, the audience was treated to John Mayall and his revamped backing band, the Bluesbreakers.

This nearly 78-year-old British composer, lyricist, singer, pianist, guitarist and harmonica player brought to Prague the American blues trio R. Athas - guitar, G. Rzab - bass guitar and J. Davenport - drums. Mayall clearly benefited from the break he took at the turn of 2008 and 2009. The energy with which he sang, played on mouth organ and keyboards songs such as All your Love (1966), Parchman Farm (1966), Chicago Line (1988), Early in the Morning (2001), California (The Turning Point, 1969), Blues for the Lost Days (1997) or from his last album Tough (2009) The Sum of Something, could be envied by many younger people. In a black shirt, with beads around his neck and lyrics laid on the keys, John was not only a reminder of the old school of British blues, which his band included Eric Clapton and Mick Taylor, but also an acknowledgement of the enduring high quality of this true undead. Guitarist Ricky Athas's honest and effortlessly played solos made one almost forget the seemingly irreplaceable Buddy Whittington, who went solo in 2008. The dramatically mastered and compact fifty-minute set was an excellent start to the evening.

After a necessary pause, the four-piece brass section came on first, followed by a full rhythm section for the opening two instrumental pieces, which saw both the sound engineers and individual musicians looking for their own. The saxophonists and trumpet players in particular groped a bit in their solo parts. Then, in slow motion, dressed in a gold jacket, comes the heralded "King of the Blues" B. B. King. It was only with his arrival that the performance took on a firmer order, although there was a lot of talking and a lot of interaction with the audience. Right at the beginning, B. B. However, when after almost twenty-five minutes the introduction of the band unexpectedly turned into singing, it sent shivers down the spine and showed the power of this veteran. A very respectable vocal potential with considerable reserve allowed the opening I Need You So ( by Ivory Joe Hunter) to convince the audience that they were watching a true king of rhythm and blues. The sense of tone, accompanied by the typical vibrato, the poignant yet affectionate sound of a black Les Paul and the original Bluesman, a lovely piece for lovers of this music, was a nice follow-up. Difficulties arose when the strap on the B guitar stopped working. B. King and the technical staff was unavailable! In the end, the combos in the hands of the second guitarist saved the end of the show. After a paraphrase of Rock me Baby, B. B. King introduced the polka You are my Sunshine, which he gave a little loosely to the female part of the audience, who hummed the simple lyrics with vigour. Meeting the legend (recipient of six honorary doctorates from various American universities, Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame inductee in 1987 and many other accolades) always makes one wonder what it might have been like twenty or thirty years ago. The answer is easy - technically better, more imaginative and musically more valuable. Still, it was a great evening with a witty and enthusiastic host, Riley B. King and a perfect taste of the old days.