Someone asked me once if I’ve ever given negative feedback and I hadn’t until now. I think it’s important for all to know what they’re getting into when going to a concert at Bold Point Park in East Providence, Rhode Island.

It’s not easy to get to especially on a Friday night. No matter what angle you come into Providence you will be sitting in traffic doubling the length of time it takes to get to the park. It took 2 hours for what should’ve been a 50 minute drive, although we did have to stop on the way to locate and kill a spider that crawled up my arm.  Thank goodness Mike didn’t run off the road when I started screaming! Maybe the spider was a sign of the evening ahead.

VIP parking? Don’t fall for it! Don’t think because you received an email with an optional upgrade and the ability to pay in advance for VIP parking that you will be parking close to the venue. They designated a parking lot, true, yet it’s 1/2 mile away. The false advertising is what angered me.  I even called to inquire about it before I ordered the ticket. I paid in advance to secure what I thought was a close spot because of a bad knee.  If you go I would suggest on street parking.  It’s much closer and cheaper than the $20 online fee in advance and a $7+ surcharge costing $27+ to park in a mud pit a half a mile away.

I vented to the three parking attendants and finally parked the car then trucked through mud and puddles to the front gate. From there we waited in line smelling cigarettes, skunk (if you know what I mean) and people that should’ve showered. Finally through the metal detectors and inside the park it just got worse.

While the pre-show was going on we figured we better get something to eat. How bad could a cheeseburger and a hot dog be? While we waited for food I ran to the beverage tent to get Mike a bottle of water. As I exited the tent with Mike’s $4 bottle of water a woman stopped me, removed the cap off the bottle and sent me on my way. No caps allowed on beer AND water. Really?

Number 92! Number 92! Thank goodness our food was ready. Unfortunately the hockey puck cheeseburger was not edible! Yes, of course, I returned it! It was obvious the food had been precooked, barely warmed up when ordered then served on stale rolls. It was challenging to eat with an open bottle of water in one hand and food in the other.  It would have been helpful to have a few tables around so people didn’t have to use garbage cans to set their food down. That was a waste of $27.  

Now even more hungry after inhaling all the marijuana people were smoking in front of me, behind me, on my right side and on my left, the first musician ended and people came out of nowhere! Standing off to the side trying to mind my own business, a gentleman approached me and asked, “Do I have any food on my face?” No, I’m not kidding! He added to my airborne high just standing next to him.

One beer tent. Thousands of people. No brew for me tonight! I think we’ll just go find our seat. Thank goodness we spent just shy of $200 for tickets! We were away from the general crowd and had great seats! I was thankful we were only 11 rows from the stage. It helped to forget about all that was going on behind us. It was unfortunate for the gentleman that got hauled off on a stretcher before the show even started. After all it took to get here and get through the gate the poor guy missed the show! (I hope he’s okay!)

Kenny Wayne Shepard & The Kenny Wayne Shepard Band started off with 3 awesome tunes from their new album “The Traveler.” That got everyone warmed up! Kenny, what a cutie in that hat, purple jacket…and oh those jeans! Loved his jeans! I couldn’t get a good picture of them but it was fun trying!

The sun went down on the river as KWS and his band were signing the blues! I almost forgot the 3 previous hours! He is such an amazing guitarist, no question, one of my many favorites! The standing “O” was enough to bring them back on stage for an encore. I was a happy girl when they started playing “Blue on Black” then finished with a 10 minute version of Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo child.” Wow! That’s all I can say! (The videos are a little shaky at the beginning as I tried to find a angle for taping where I didn’t catch all the people stumbling by.)

This was my 3rd time seeing Kenny and it won’t be my last.  I’d love to be on one of his up coming blues cruises yet both are sold out and our budget won’t let us.

It took 30 minutes and a crew of approximately 24 to change sets while across the river a few fire works went off. We decided at that point we weren’t going to stay to the end of Buddy Guy.  There was no way we were going to fight that crowd when we left.

Buddy Guy, now 82, took that stage and commanded attention. It’s no wonder Rolling Stones ranked him #23rd of The Top 100 Greatest Guitarists of all times. He showed us his guitar tricks, shared some blues history and told stories while playing and singing the blues. He brought special attention to tunes by fellow blues legends such as BB King, Muddy Waters, Eric Clapton, John Lee Hooker, Stevie Ray Vaughn, just to name a few. His playful personality was such a delight! Lots of laughs and incredible blues! Truly a legend himself! (I wasn’t able to catch a video because at this point people ran up front and filled the  isles.)

Overall, we had a good time. I liked that we were outside on the first evening of summer. I liked the seats we had and I really loved Kenny Wayne Shepard and Buddy Guy! Would I spend $200 to go there again? Maybe…only for a certain few musicians. I would pay top dollar for seats up front (and not look behind me), pay the $40 to park across the street and eat before I go so we can stay away from the vendors. This was a lesson learned. Even though we had tickets to the front section with seats, this general admission venue is not for us (maybe if we were 20 again.) You’ve got some work to do Bold Point Park as this could be an awesome venue!

One last note…Kudos to the security staff at the gate!  They were very friendly, welcoming and addressed us as we came and wishing us a good night and safe ride home when we left.