Got the opening-night-of-a-new-club blues. (Photos by Denise Truscello. Additional photos by Scott Harrison | Retna)

About the only bluesman they didn’t have on stage was Anthony Michael Hall in Weird Science.

B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Booker T. & The MG’s guitarist Steve Cropper, Lee Ritenour, Robert Cray and Lee Roy Parnell were all on stage for a 45-minute jam session that opened with a 10-minute blast through King’s signature woman-done-me-wrong epic “The Thrill is Gone” at the grand opening of the B.B. King’s Blues Club Friday night at The Mirage.

King, rolling up the blue carpet in his Rascal scooter wearing a matching fedora and overcoat, didn’t have to do all the heavy lifting himself, either. Before taking the stage, his good friend Willie Nelson came out and dazzled with a raw version of “Always on My Mind.” (The opening itself was pushed back a day to accommodate Nelson’s schedule.) There were more than a few cowboys in the house from NFR, so we’re guessing The Red-Headed Stranger got tears to meet beers.

Buddy Guy followed with a blistering take of “Damn Right I’ve Got the Blues,” his voice at 73 still powerful and full of menace. Cray (who King said reminded him of Jimi Hendrix — but couldn’t remember Hendrix’s name, so he played the lick from “Purple Haze” to let people know who he met) did “Right Next Door (Because Of Me)” and Cropper squeezed in two songs he co-wrote — made famous by Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett, respectively — “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” and “In the Midnight Hour.” The former, of course, being one of the rare concert staples that can include a whistle-along.

On stage, King looked as excited as Elin Nordgren’s divorce lawyer. In between toasts and stories, he busted as much of a move as any 84-year-old is going to bust — which already makes him a better dancer than any white guy on an NBA championship parade float.

Also coming out for the opening were James Picken Jr. from Grey’s Anatomy, Matt Goss, NASCAR driver Taylor Barton, the guys from the Pawn Stars, Kissy Simmons of The Lion King, Shar Jackson, the Sin City Sinners, the girls from Fantasy and Ron White, who was playing a show that night at The Mirage — drinking wine instead of Scotch.

“Isn’t it a sad thing when a man has got to beg?” he asked. “My wife (Margo Reymundo) is a jazz singer who sings blues. I grew up listening to it. I kind of grew up on 6th Street in Austin listening to Stevie Ray Vaughn, but also Buddy Guy and Muddy Waters. I’ve got a little bit of a background in it.”

King is playing the Star of the Desert Arena Dec. 26 — so look for him to drop in to the club after that show. B.B. King: Huge fan of Boxing Day.

By Jason Scavone

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