For Richard Wayne Penniman, it was his Davies Hall debut tonight. For the home of the San Francisco Symphony, it was the first time in its 20-year history (already? good grief, the opening seems only yesterday...:(that the pianist mounted the piano. Oh sure, we had Cowell and Cage pieces, and pianists *inside* the instrument, but until tonight, nobody climbed up on top. Even at the closing concert of the Summer in the City Pops Series, that was somewhat of a novelty. More significantly, while a capacity audience went bonkers, what R. W. Penniman said while standing on the piano was this: "I am the beautiful little bitch from Macon, Georgia. Shut up!" It was "shut up!" this and "shut up!" that all evening long, clearly a term of endearment because the audience didn't seem to have enough of it. I wasn't particularly thrilled by that or any of Little Richard's other funky, groovy shticks, but oh my! how I loved the music, especially when the band took off on its own. It is a spectacular, virtuoso band, and it's a shame that the names are not printed in the program -- although Richard did acknowledge them repeatedly. The first drummer, lead guitarist, and all the brass are exciting, remarkable musicians. By and large, I missed Richard in the 'Fifties and 'Sixties, vaguely aware of "Tutti Frutti," "Lucille," "Keep A-Nockin'" and the others, not really responding until the 1985 film "Down and Out in Beverly Hills" and, with it, "Great Gosh A Mighty." Of the Richard of today ("I'll be 68 this year!"), behind all the cutesy, routine business, there is still a unique, commanding musician. At best, the concert got a couple of thousand people visit Davies for the first time; at worst, there will be some dents on the piano cover when Louis Lortie plays the Mozart C Major concerto as the regular Symphony season ("Fall in the City"?) returns. If you're a Little Richard fan, your best bet is Caesar's Palace, Aug. 8-13... with Chuck Berry! In tonight's only understatement, Richard predicted that "Johnny will be good" when we are in Las Vegas." [log in to unmask], SF Attachments to [log in to unmask]