Roll Over Beethoven

#12 - See Chuck Berry at the Duck Room....Check!

This past Wednesday I had what I consider to be a true St. Louis experience. I saw the one and only Chuck Berry live at the famous Duck Room at Blueberry Hill. In a word, it was awesome. I hope that when I'm 84 years old that I can still move and get around as well as he does! Even though Chuck could definitely hold his own, it seemed that everyone playing with him onstage was looking out for his well-being...making sure he didn't trip and that he wasn't too tired. His son even played back-up guitar for him to cover when Chuck needed a break, and reminded him of the lyrics to the remaining part of "Johnny B. Goode" after he deviated a tad from the original song (to another song he had just played). That, or maybe it was a planned re-mix. :-)



Joining me on my #12 quest were my friends Diane and Katie, as well as Katie's mom, Diane. We were lucky to get there early enough to get seats, which if you've been to the Duck Room before you know is no small feat. (It's only less than 50% seating. Mostly standing room only.) We all had a blast!

Adorned in a green sequined shirt and captain's hat, Chuck sang some of his classics...."My Ding-A-Ling", "Johnny B. Goode", and "Roll Over Beethoven". I honestly hadn't realized just how many Chuck Berry songs I actually knew. I guess I should have had higher expectations for someone credited as being a pioneer of rock n' roll music. Well, consider me properly schooled on the matter. He really could play a guitar like ringing a bell. (Go Johnny Go!)

After playing for about an hour we were close enough to see him mouth the words, "gotta go"to his bandmates. One thing I've heard that definitely seems to hold true, when Chuck's done he's done. But just because he may have been too tired to keep performing, he wasn't too tired to sign autographs for his fans. We got a spot in line and were able to exchange pleasantries and thank him for a great show. I now have Mr. Berry's signature on my ticket stub next to my sharpie-ed #12 addition. A great souvenir for a great experience checked off my list.



Thank you, Chuck Berry!

Oops - almost forgot the timestamp: