Bluesfest brings the blues on day two

Day two of Bluesfest 2011 is behind us and as the sun shines, and what remains of the mud-soaked grass dries and the festival found its groove with B.B. King's long-awaited Bluesfest appearance.

The day kicks off with a lurching set from C.W. Stoneking. B.B. King might have been the oldest performer of the day, but there's few artists that feel like reliving a bygone era quite like C.W. Stoneking. Followed up with an early set from Xavier Rudd, offering a  spirited performance that belies his bewildered appearance.

Bluesfest favourite Eric Bibb played to perhaps the biggest crowd yet of his performances over the years, offering  a selection of favourites and material from his new album Booker's Guitar, including Tell Riley, a fitting tribute to B.B. King. With Swedish guitarist Staffan Astner joining Bibb with mellow accompaniment, the performance offer a  flavour of music new to Bibb's Australian fans, somewhere between his laid-back solo demeanour and groove-laden band tours.

As crowds packed into Crossroads, it has become abundatly clear that Bluesfest's current liberal folding chair policy needs to change. Chairs spralwed throughout most of the tent, with their owners taking up the room of three standing people and generally offering a negative attitude to anyone that dares stand and block their view or trip over their chair. Ignoring the space issues, it's a wonder that workplace health and safety laws aren't a concern in this world of public liability. Any frequenter of gigs and festivals knows that equipment at shows can fail regularly -- and fires are a real danger -- and all we can hope that it won't take a spark in a spotlight to show just how unsafe it is to have people setting up folding chairs in a completely random fashion.

As night fell, the Blind Boys of Alabama made a return; always offering a superb show that is matched with unwavering audience support, it was the presence of Aaron Neville that made this a performance to remember. Unfortunately sound issues meant that this New Orleans legend of soul was relegated to backing vocals, despite a glimmer of his stunning falsetto rising through at points of his all-too-short appearance.

It was B.B. King that was undenibably one of the most awaited points of not just Bluesfest 2011, but of Bluesfest's history. You can't fault the musicianship present, just as you can't fault the legendary status B.B. King brings to the stage. At 85 years old, a B.B. King show is about paying respect and being in the presence of someone that is simply a king.  There's no one at Bluesfest that doesn't in one way or another owe something to B.B. King. With a voice that could sear a steak and with the crowd in the palm of his hand, you can almost overlook the missed notes and clunky solos.

A performance from Grace Jones offered Bluesfest's requisite eclectic factor, with pagentry and costumes to rival any present-day pop superstar, while Rodrigo Y Gabriela followed up B.B. King. Fishbone was the choice of the night, the innovators of funk and Bluesfest regulars playing their most intimate performance yet in the confines of Jambalaya.