Following my wildly successful three days in the Valley of the Sun (Phoenix) and three days of the blues at The Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis, I was able to achieve my next three day blues experience in the "Home of the Blues," Chicago, Illinois. Thanks to the benefit of having to conduct business in the Chicago area in April, I had three evenings to unwind at three local blues venues; Rosa's Lounge on the West Side, Pete Miller's Steakhouse in Evanston and Andy's in downtown Chicago. What follows is sort of a "blues travelogue" of my trip to Chicago.
Day One - April 7, 2004 (Wed.)
After my arrival at Midway Airport on Chicago's South Side, I hopped on the train and headed downtown to my hotel. After settling in and getting a bite to eat, I caught a cab to the West Side of Chicago for my visit to Rosa's Lounge to see Vance Kelly and the Backstreet Blues Band.
As I got out of my cab in front of the legendary Rosa's, I was greeted at the doorway by none other than Vance Kelly himself. After a brief introduction, Vance and I sat down at the bar for nearly an hour, discussing the life of a bluesman in Chicago. I had seen Vance once before at the now gone Checkerboard Lounge, but this was my first chance to talk to him at length.
During our time together, Vance fascinated me with stories of his blues past, particularly his relationship with the recently departed blues great, A.C. Reed. Kelly indicated that Reed had a great influence on his career, teaching him a lot about the blues life, including the care and nurturing of band transportation. During the conversation about Reed, Vance told me that A.C.'s funeral was the first he had ever actually attended because he preferred to remember his departed friends as they were in life, not after they were gone. With his history of staying outside of the funeral home during services, Vance said that he surprised a number of people with his attendance, along with his willingness to address the mourners during the service.
Another thing that Vance mentioned to me in our conversation was that he had just finished recording his new CD to be released sometime this year. He was very proud of his upcoming release, telling me that he thought it was his best recording ever.
During our conversation, I received an added surprise when another blues guitar great, Jody Williams, entered Rosa's and sat down with us, joining in the conversation about working in the blues and dealing with the various issues and vices that confront blues musicians on a daily basis. Williams was particularly interesting when he indicated that he did not drink or do drugs now or ever, preferring to enjoy full control of his faculties when he was performing and making it easier to deal with his counterparts who did not practice such high levels of self control. Vance chimed in as well, echoing many of the thoughts presented by Williams about the negative effects of alcohol and drugs on the ability to perform.
When Vance left the bar and climbed onto the stage with his band, it was clear that I was going to hear some great music. The band opened with a fine instrumental version of "The World Is A Ghetto," followed by a set that included originals like "Mistaken Identity" and great covers of songs like Bobby Bland's "Members Only"; B. B. King's "The Thrill Is Gone"; "Going To New York"; "The Blues is Alright"; and "Shadetree Mechanic". During the set, Vance Kelly again proved himself to be an excellent guitarist, talented singer and one fo the better kept secrets of Chicago blues.
Vance Kelly and the Backstreet Blues Band's great mix of blues and soul, combined with some very interesting conversation provided a great opener for my Chicago blues experience. To find out who is playing at Rosa's, visit their website at www.rosaslounge.com.
Day Two - April 8, 2004 (Thur.)
After a day of traveling around the Greater Chicago Area looking at property for a potential housing development in the metro, I ended my day at Pete Miller's Steakhouse in Evanston, Illinois for some good food and my first opportunity to see Dave Weld and the Imperial Flames. Although Pete Miller's in generally known as a restaurant and jazz club, Thursday nights are currently reserved for blues acts and Dave Weld was booked on Thursdays for the entire month.
I first heard Dave Weld on his Earwig Records release with Lil' Ed Williams entitled, Keep On Walking, however, this was my first opportunity to see the band perform live. I got an opportunity to talk briefly with Weld before the show and was also fortunate enough to meet another well know bluesman in the area, saxophonist Abb Locke, who has played with Chicago notables Otis Rush, Koko Taylor, Eddy Clearwater and the late Mighty Joe Young, among others. Weld mentioned that he thought that Lil' Ed might show up sometime during the evening. Unfortunately, I could not stay for more than one set since I was working in the morning and Ed made no appearance while I was there. I guess two night's in a row for unexpectedly meeting Chicago blues personalities was too ambitious!
Miller's is not your typical smoke-filled blues bar, but a white tablecloth and napkin fine dining establishment in downtown Evanston, near the campus of Northwestern University. The stage at Miller's is up front by the windows opening up to the street, with the bar and tables spread towards the back of the establishment. To support my feelings, Weld actually came up to me before and band started playing in told me that hoped I was not disappointed since the band would be playing what he referred to as "dinner music."
As the band opened with a jazzy instrumental, I knew that I was going to enjoy my time listening to The Imperial Flames, particularly Abb Locke's smooth sax and Weld's unique guitar. The jazzy feeling of the opener was notably different from my soul/blues experience with Vance Kelly the night before at Rosa's. In addition to Dave Weld on guitar and Abb Locke on saxophone, the band included bassist Herman Applewhite and Jeb Taylor on drums and sharing vocal duties.
There was nothing disappointing about the set which included another instrumental, "Watermelon Man", along with such highlights as "Caress Me Baby", with Weld walking around the bar singing audibly without a microphone, playing the guitar; Abb Locke playing sax and providing the vocals (not at the same time, of course), on "Blues Blues Blues" from his solo recording, Big City Blues; "Got My Mojo Workin'" with lots of sax by Locke and some Muddy-style slide by Dave Weld; and the closing number for the set, "Let's Have Some Fun," with Weld traveling all around the venue, playing his heart out for the audience.
When the set was completed, i thanked Dave for a great set and took off to catch my train back to the hotel. Two evenings down and one more to go.
To find out more about Pete Miller's, visit their website at www.petemillers.com.
Day 3 - April 11, 2004 (Fri.)
I must be getting old because I was bone tired after two nights of blues and two days of driving around Chicago looking for land. When I returned to my hotel prior to heading out for the evening, I decided that I was not going to visit two or three different venues on Friday night (as ambitiously planned), but instead would opt for one place, as close to my hotel as possible. With that in mind, I headed out walking for Andy's Jazz Club, only a few blocks away from the hotel, to see piano great Erwin Helfer and the Chicago Boogie Ensemble.
Andy's is another Chicago restaurant/bar that is more noted for jazz and the fact that live music is played almost continuously when the place is open for business. Upon arriving at Andy's, I found a spot at the bar, stage right, and sat down to enjoy the music.
Erwin Helfer is a Chicago boogie piano player who learned his craft from the likes of Cripple Clarence Lofton, Memphis Slim, Speckled Red and Sunnyland Slim. I first heard Helfer perform live at the Chicago Blues Festival a few years ago, but this was my first time seeing him play with his own band which included saxman John Brumbach, John Whitfield on bass, Avreyal Ra on drums and vocals by Katherine Davis.
Helfer and company performed a nice mix of classic blues with a jazz flavor. The band's style was very smooth and very audience friendly, building a nice rapport with the crowd, particularly those closest to the stage. Many of the songs included some very cool saxophone by Brumbach, a tinkling of the ivories by Helfer and after an instrumental "warm-up of several songs, some jazzy vocals by Katherine Davis on classics like, "Ain't Mishbehavin'".
Since it was Friday night and I had decided not to travel the far reaches of the Chicago blues community that evening, I stayed for a couple of sets at Andy's, thoroughly enjoying the sounds of Erwin Helfer and the Chicago Boogie Ensemble. My visit included a rare (in my experience) 15 minute break by the band between sets and sets filled with amazing variety with songs ranging from my second version of "Watermelon Man" in two days to a medley of Chicago blues including a couple of Willie Dixon songs, "Built for Comfort" and "I'm Ready", combined with the Chicago blues standard, "Sweet Home Chicago". Katherine Davis had the audience on their feet "shakin' it" during "Sweet Home Chicago", combined with a "guest appearance" by a decidedly inebriated woman who climbed on to the stage to help out Ms. Davis during the song.
If you are interested in visiting the very popular Andy's, you can visit the website at www.andysjazzclub.com.
As I walked back to my hotel on Friday evening and off to the airport on Saturday morning to return to the Twin Cities, I was pretty happy with what I had accomplished at work during my stay in Chicago and very pleased with my selection of music for the three evenings; with a nice mix of sounds and some great Chicago blues talent. I heartily recommend a weekend trip to Chicago for any blues fan who wants to experience blues at the heart of the experience.
Buy these CDs NOW:
Your purchase through the Amazon.com links at the end of each review, or by simply clicking on this banner (below) to order this or many other products from Amazon, helps to support this website as well as the featured blues artist.
"This review is copyright © 2004 by Dave "Doc" Piltz , and Blues On Stage at: www.mnblues.com, all rights reserved. Copy, duplication or download prohibited without permission."
Copyright reuse notice: If you would like to reprint or use this review please include the above copyright notice, contained within the quotation marks, PLUS this statement: "Used with permission." Then send an email to Ray at: mnblues@aol.com indicating how you are using the review or the website page address it will be appearing on. Thanks!
Your purchase through the Amazon.com links at the end of each review, or by simply clicking on this banner (below) to order this or many other products from Amazon, helps to support this website as well as the featured blues artist.
Click on this banner to get you new low percent credit card:
THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT! You can help support this blues website by making a contribution (click on the banner below for details).
Or mail a donation to: Ray Stiles % Blues On Stage, PO Box 582983, Mpls, MN 55458. Thanks!
Web Hosting & Design:
CLICK HERE for Web Design SPECIAL, get your own website for just $75.
The most affordable web hosting and design services available. Click Here
to find out how you can host your current site at Blues On Stage, or how I can help you design your own website!
If you would like your CD reviewed, please send TWO (2) copies, along with promotional material to:
Blues On Stage
PO Box 582983
Minneapolis, MN 55458-2983
E-mail Ray Stiles @ mnblues@aol.com with any questions.