Little Richard Tickets

I listened to Little Richard on the radio back in the 50s. He was a pioneer of rock and roll and I still have a half dozen of his 45s. It was a treat to finally see a live performance and to hear that his voice was as strong as ever even though time has weaken his body. His twelve member band was terrific and were worth the price of admission even if Little Richard had not taken the stage But with the voice and direction of Little Richard coupled with the talent of the band, the evening exceeded my high expectations. The stage was small, almost too small for a band this size--and this was a band that needed to move with the rhythm to make music--but somehow the group managed to be a joy to hear and a joy to watch. Little Ricard interacted well with the audince and played several songs by request.

Little Richard still rocks, bum leg (hip) and all! He has the hottest band and horn section anywhere. Even Paul Shaefer was in the house! There must be a reason these guys stayed with him this long. The energy is addicting and you can easily see how all the rock bands that matter got their influence from Richard. God bless you Little Richard. Get that leg fixed and come on out and rock us some more!

Little Richard is a true entertainer. To see him perform in so much pain, knowing that he did not want to let down his fans. Others would have canceled. Loved the entire performance.

It was an amazing performance by one of the founding icons of modern music. To see Little Richard at the Birchmere was an unbelievable experience and to witness an historical event. Great musicians in his big band: two drummers, tow keyboard players, guitar, horn section. Little Richard not only is a great musician but also a tremendous entertainer, funny and a wealth of music history. Too add that he played in pain, hip problem, and that he nevertheless at the end was so gracious and generous to meet with the fans and distribute a free book, is just another example of his caring for his music, faith and fans. If you have the chance, go see Little Richard on tour, I will for sure

Little Richard is the original spectacular performer. I'm 55 and have never seen him perform live. The setting in the Birchmere is tailor-made for a Little Richard performance. He rocks, he rolls, he includes the audience, his blues will make you cry and stomp your feet -- his gospel will make you jump out of your seat and shout "Amen" to the Lord above. Although a lot of us hipsters can only move so fast to dance, several patrons swayed in their seats to the music and furiously clapped at his performance. Too bad we all couldn't get up and dance in the aisles. He is the consummate professional entertainer and left nothing out of his bag of tricks that we are used to seeing him present on television and other venues. The ever present "Shut up" was there as was his "I'm so beautiful" routines. And beautiful he is. The audience consisted mainly of 50+ hipsters, but we were made to feel 18 again because his music brought a thrill to our soul, a tap to our feet and a welcome warmth to our hearts. You couldn't possibly sit down or not clap to the music once his fingers touched the piano keys. It's good to experience a real entertainer with a full band rock the house like no other. I enjoyed being in the presence of a living legend, understanding all the words to the songs, interacting with him (on my own personal level), being in the audience and experiencing a show like no other. I wish the younger generation could see how a great performer can enthrall the audience merely with his presence. He's still beautiful. He's still Little Richard at 70+, even with a bad hip. Nobody can ever replace him. He's wonderful and I would certainly like to see him perform at the Birchmere again and again. Exquisite show.

I was surprised that he was still able to hit the high notes.

At nearly 76 years of age, Little Richard is wobbly. He was rolled onto the Birchmere Stage in Alexandria, VA in a wheelchair, anticipating hip replacement surgery. At first, I thought it was a gimmick, and that he was going to explode from the device, stand, and begin pounding the piano. But instead, he was carefully lifted and transferred to the piano bench, where he still managed a rollicking opening set. Then he explained his infirmity, which we both share, and I accepted it, still a bit disappointed that a member of rock 'n' roll's progenitor class should be so human as to suffer pain. His voice was hoarse, but it didn't matter. What Richard Penniman lacked in vocal range he more than made up for in sass alternating with endearments. A humorous "shuddup" was this southern boy's frequent admonition to the crowd and his band, which both clearly loved him. At this point in his career, the music matters less than his presence. Elvis had the bad manners to die at 42. Little Richard, Chuck Berry, and Jerry Lee Lewis are still around and offer a good time if you are willing to accept some decrepitude. For those in my early boomer generation, black and white, the journey to The Birchmere to see Little Richard was a pilgrimage well worth the effort.

He can still play a mean piano, and of course he's still BEAUTIFUL!!!

Eventhough Little Richard is in his seventies, his rock and roll still has enthusiaism. His songs and his style have forever changed the music we listen to today. His performance was lively and the music sounded great.

Little Richard put on a great show even though he was in a wheelchair. It seems he has not lost a beat.

Little Richard still has it in him. Great voice, fabulous piano playing and super wonderful band. It was good to hear his famous music live. He should take his own advice to "shut up" more and play more songs. But it was still a great perfomance by a legend of rock and roll.

Little Richard remains a fabulous performer at the age of 77! He relates to the audience and sings all of his hits. His piano playing is fantastic, and he never missed a note. Due to some recent health issues, Little Richard is brought onto the stage in a wheelchair and assisted to his piano stool which was surprising to many in the audience that evening. He is in need of hip replacement surgery. His grace, humor, and music made for a fabulous evening. BB King's is highly recommended. Good food, great venue for seeing your choice of performers, and the Irish coffee cannot be beat!

Little Richard was Little Richard. On the whole, I am glad I went (along w/ my son, who's only heard of Little Richard as a lengend). Paul Schaffer showed up, and that was an extra treat. Little Richard's performance wasn't the best, but considering his health - he said that he just had had a hip replacement - the 73-year old legend did his thing. My only complaint was against the sound quality; it was horrible. The sound engineer was totally incompetent - don't know whether he belongs to the Grille or to Little Richard - and didn't know how to control the sound. There were times when the horn section would be mute, just as the sax was rolling into its key solo scores. A big part of Little Richard's music, as we all know, is the sax. I felt like throwing my beer bottle at the punk who was manning the sound machine.

Little Richard was over an hour late coming on to the stage of BB Kings'. I took my parents there as a gift and it was not professional. When he did get on stage he hardly sang. He asked the audience if they we having a good time about 50 times. He started songs but never finished them. I understand he was in pain and waiting for a hip replacement, however if that was the problem then the show should have been cancelled. I did not time the show but it was not worth the money i paid for 4 people. I go to BB Kings often throughout the year for shows and wanted to surprose my parents for this, but not again.

As fabulous as ever. My high school friend and I danced for nearly the full 90 minutes; albeit in place towards the end when a Birchmere staffer decided we were blocking the aisle. We also danced on the stage. Other women made a line along the front of the stage and jiggled, Jean and I danced as we had in 1959. The horn section moved out of the way and gave us a nod. This was our second time dancing on stage with Little Richard, having done it previously to equal enthusiasm from the audience in 1996.

Exceeded my expectations by a mile! I've wanted to see Little Richard for decades and finally had the opportunity thanks to the Birchmere's booking. Seeing him in an intimate environment like that was a bonus. Incredible energy for a 70+ year old guy that recently suffered a heart attack and was preparing for hip surgery.

Little Richard put on a great show. He also was kind enough to sign posters for all that wanted such.

When you see Richard, you see a living legend! He can still sing & play!

Really quite a show. I didn't know much about his performances beyond some pretty spectacular two-and-a-half minute singles released between about 1955 and 1958 (though I had seen him in "The Girl Can't Help It" a hundred years ago), and I guess I expected the show to be mostly his tunes. Nope. It was about half music and half banter, much of the banter close to incomprehensible but oh, so cute. He can still do falsetto, though not nearly as much as on his records -- the high WOOOOOOs went on for just a second or two instead of ten, they had little or no vibrato, some of the WOOOOOOs weren't falsetto at all, and there weren't as many of them of either variety -- but it wasn't bad at all for a 76-year-old. I lost any ability to do falsetto in any kind of controlled way 15 years ago, and I used to be pretty good at it. As much makeup as Michael Jackson. Hair that just might not have been all his own, either. Eleven-piece backup band! Two guitars; bass; four horns (three saxes, one tiny, tiny trumpet), with choreographed dance moves; two drummers, with choreographed drumstick moves; two keyboards. Very tight, very swingy, very impressive. Came onstage by wheelchair. Two guys assisted him from wheelchair to piano bench and back (picked him up and put him back down, is what I mean by "assisted"). He either just had or is just about to have a hip replacement -- as I said, not everything he said was all that clear. One of his talking bits was about a hurtin' leg; when folks in the crowd hollered out "Long Tall Sally!" or "Good Golly, Miss Molly," neither of which he had done at that point, he'd tell them to shut up: "We're talkin' about a hurtin' leg, now," in a plaintive voice. On thing he did say clearly was that he hurt the least when he was onstage playing and singing, which I'm sure is entirely true. Overall, just a great, great act.

Little Richard and his band are awesome!!!!! My sister and our girlfriends had a great time dancing and just listening to his music. I have always wanted to see him in concert and he did not disappoint. He is a true showman and gave all of us a night of great "old school" music and fun. I was amazed that he could perform the way he did because he was in a wheelchair and was not feeling too great but you would never know it -- once his band started and he started playing the piano and singing everyone was out of their seats and many did not sit down under he hit the last note!!!!!! He even came out after his concert to sign autographs!!!!! What a class act!!!!!!