I saw BB King in Cincinnati in the Taft theater, very cool, historic venue. I knew he was old and not nearly as energetic as he had been. But, he spent >50% of the 'concert' telling stories and talking to the crowd. Bet he didn't play 12 songs all night. He played those 12 well and his band was tight as hell, but he just didn't have the energy to do much more than tell stories and play a little guitar that night.
Close second was The Rat Pack in Memorial Coliseum in mid-80s. Dean Martin cancelled so it was just Sammy Davis, Jr. and Frank Sinatra. Sammy Davis was AWESOME and I don't even like that type of music. But, very engaging with the audience, sang and danced and really acted like he wanted to be there and perform. Thoroughly enjoyed seeing him. Sinatra was a complete disappointment. Yeah, he sang pretty well, but stood like a statue, said maybe 5 words to the audience, seemed like he was bored out of his mind and just putting in the time. Acted like he'd rather be almost anywhere than performing in front of several thousand fans who'd paid to see him. If it had been just him, I'd had walked out and/or asked for a refund because his 'performance' sucked.
Close second was The Rat Pack in Memorial Coliseum in mid-80s. Dean Martin cancelled so it was just Sammy Davis, Jr. and Frank Sinatra. Sammy Davis was AWESOME and I don't even like that type of music. But, very engaging with the audience, sang and danced and really acted like he wanted to be there and perform. Thoroughly enjoyed seeing him. Sinatra was a complete disappointment. Yeah, he sang pretty well, but stood like a statue, said maybe 5 words to the audience, seemed like he was bored out of his mind and just putting in the time. Acted like he'd rather be almost anywhere than performing in front of several thousand fans who'd paid to see him. If it had been just him, I'd had walked out and/or asked for a refund because his 'performance' sucked.