B.B. King gave a state-of-the-blues address to a packed house Friday at the Bangor Civic Center, where he showed up for a concert of more than 90 minutes of steamy music. With one hand on his hip, the other snapping in the air and Lucille, his beloved guitar, strapped across his shoulder, King declared that the blues are alive and, lordy, lordy, oh so well.

At 71, King is the granddaddy of the blues scene these days, and he can still shake his tail feathers — and did last night in front of an enthusiastic crowd. His songs still take your heart away and leave you with a soul-satisfying case of the blues. And it all comes back to his sweet, sweet honey of a guitar, Lucille. He had Lucille XVI with him last night, but the show had all the freshness and excitement of a first date.

Wearing a black-and-red sequined tuxedo jacket, and backed up by a classy and way-cool nine-piece band of smart musicians, King played his legendary licks during more than a dozen tunes. Lilting versions of “Ain’t Nobody’s Business,” “How Blue Can You Get,” and “Why I Sing the Blues” proved that King is still prospering when it comes to the music he started playing on Beale Street in Memphis.

He dedicated one of his old songs — “Darlin’ You Know I Love You” — to the ladies in the audience and gave all the single women permission to walk the aisles looking for a man to kiss. “Gentleman, you don’t have anything to do with it,” he added. No one went roaming (but it’s likely that they felt nervous around overly vigilant security guards who kept the aisles cleared during a concert that in many other cities would have found most of the audience on its feet).

The message, of course, was that B.B. King can still let the good times roll. He’s 250 pounds of pure if-you’ve-ever-been-mistreated-then-you-know-what-I-mean blues. When he pointed to the audience and crooned, “I don’t even know your name but I love you just the same,” you knew he wasn’t fooling. Yessir, he’s the bluesman and a good man — understand.

It’s worth mentioning that acoustic guitarist Corey Harris was a crackling opening act with torch songs that surely burned a hole right into the stage floor.