Johnny B Goode.......

I saw a rock and roll legend

     First off, I want to say when I am 87 years old I hope I can do the Duck Walk, sing a rock song, and play a guitar just like a ringin' a bell.
     Chuck Berry was amazing.  The venue was great, the Loop District a fun place to party, the hamburger at Blueberry Hill was tasty.
     But time takes a toll on people.
     Chuck was hard to hear, and hard to understand.  His playing was a bit slow, and sometimes the band would have to wait for him to catch up.
     After doing School Days once, he did another song, then went back into School Days, evidently forgetting he had already done that one.
      Was it an outstanding rock and roll show?
      No.  But it was amazing, realizing this man had been there from the start of rock and roll and he was still rocking!  Not as fast, not as sure, but rocking anyway.
     Blueberry Hill is a treasure trove of rock and roll history.  The walls are lined with people who have visited the place in its 40 years.  The Duck Room, a room with a line of carved ducks running along the top, is in the basement.  The bare brick walls and exposed beams work together to create an intimate performing space.
     One veteran of shows there told us the room was once a lot shorter and you had to duck under headers and pipes to watch a show.  At some point, he wasn't sure when, the building was raised or the floor lowered....he wasn't sure.  Either one seemed a gigantic undertaking.
     Chuck Berry has performed there for years.  He does a monthly Wednesday night show and about 200-250 people attend.  There are maybe 75 chairs set out, and tickets are sold with the explanation that seating is limited, expect to stand.
     When the doors opened at 7, the line was already pretty long.  Luckily my buddy Dan and I were inside waiting, because it was damn hot outside.  Inside it was only darn hot.
     A local band named the Trip Daddys opened and did some rock, rock-a-billy, blues and sounded real good.  They had a bass player who had what looked like an aluminum cello.  He whacked the hell out of that during the whole show.
      We did not get mugged in St. Louis.  (Yes, that was a worry of mine.)
       The room did not have bed bugs.  (Yes, that was a worry of mine.)
       We rode the metro line without any problems.  (Yes, that was a worry of mine.)
        All in all, it was a good show.......
       At the end, Chuck sat down, grabbed the microphone and started reciting a poem.  He was  a little hard to hear, and understand.  He would speak into the mic, but then he would slowly move it away and you couldn't hear him.  At one point, a loud noise came from our part of the room.  Chuck looked up and made a joke about buying a chair since you broke that one.  But when he went back to his poem, he was pretty confused.  The audience helped him some, but the owner of the place was near us and he tapped Chuck's son and said, "We have to end this now."
      So they did.
     But that's not the picture I will have of Chuck Berry.  I see him in his red sequence jacket, wearing a white sailor hat, and doing the Duck Walk across the stage.  At that moment, he wasn't 87.  He was a rock and roll legend.  Live, and up close.