Welcome to BluesRow

The temps climbed to a balmy 12 F today, almost time to shed the outerwear and break out the shorts. Actually, it just meant not worrying about dying of exposure on the streets at night. Because it was my last night, I wanted to make sure I packed in as much as I could. And I did, hitting 3 great clubs, hearing some great stuff, and meeing some incredibly cool people.

We started with dinner at Buddy Guy’s around 7. My two friends went for the aforementioned fish with whiskers, which they tell me was awesome. I’ll never know. I went for the Cajun meatloaf, collard greens and garlic mashed potatoes, all of which were tasty, though the loaf was not as spicy as I expected. During our meal we were entertained by someone playing acoustic guitar and harmonica with a driving delta feel. The harp sounded especially good, considering it was on a harmoica holder around the guy’s neck, so he coldn’t take advantage of any cupping or mike distortion. After his set, we heard his name: Harmonica Hinds! I’d heard about him but had no idea that’s who he was. We invited him to sit with us after the set and share a round, and while he doesn’t drink alcohol, he very graciously agreed to join us. What followed was a real lesson in the blues and life, as we peppered him with questions about his past and how he got to where is today. Hinds was born in Trinidad and spent time in Canada (I was excited to hear that he lived in Ottawa, which is near where we lived for 20 years). He told us of some of the greats that he played with and learned from: Little Walter, Big Walter, James Cotton, and others. He said that he learned a little bit from each one. But his philosophy is that you might take a particular technique from someone and incorporate it into our own your own playing. But what comes out is you, because what you play comes out of your own experiences in life. A great piece of advice to be yourself, not only in the blues but in life. He’s a well spoken, true gentleman who was a genuine pleasure to sit with and learn from.

The main act at Buddy’s that night was Byther Smith, an old school blues guy who plays in a suit and tie, looking like a preacherman with his grey suit and greying hair. Byther knocked out a set of old standards including some BB King stuff, but delivered in the Byther style. His keyboard player looked brand new, not only to Byther’s band, but to the blues. That took a bit of the shine off the performance.

After his set ended, we climbed in a cab and headed for B.L.U.E.S., the “world’s best blues bar”, according to Chicago Magazine. That’s what the sign said out front. And after 3 hours of non-stop raw blues in this packed and very “retro” bar, I’m inclined to give it my vote. It’s not faux retro, where everything is made to look aged and vintage. It really IS aged and vintage. There’s very little standing room, and the stage itself is tiny, with a plywood floor. It’s so small that the drummer has to enter from a small window/door at the back of the stage right next to the drum kit. The night’s entertainer was Peaches Statten, who we’d heard at Blue Chicago the last two nights. I continued to be impressed with her singing: she shifted easily from raw blues shouting to rock stylings to R&B a la Aretha.

But what really blew me away was the Chico Banks Band. Chico is the lead singer and guitarist. And I mean guitarist with a capital G. If you haven’t heard of him yet, my bet is you will soon. He’s a young Chicago cat, and he can burn it up. Obviously rock-influenced, he doesn’t stray too far from the blues, though traditionalists might quibble with the sheer number of notes. Technically, he’s a virtuoso whose solos were always fresh and surprising with impeccable tone. I’m a bit of a geargeek myself, so I noticed he was playing his Gibson 335 through an older small Mesa Boogie with 3 pedals: a Tube SCreamer, a Rat, and a wah (Dunlop, I think). He was backed by Pookey Styx on drums, who is a monster with outstanding tight beats and great dynamics. The band is rounded out by a great bass player, and a keyboards guy who played just the right amount. They’re on the summer blues festival circuit, and if you get a chance, you owe it to yourself to catch them. And Sammy Fender showed up and did a couple of numbers, too!

Then about midnight, we moved across the street to Kingston Mines, where we got in for free with our cover at B.L.U.E.S. The Mines is a larger establishment with 2 stages, and lots of seating at long tables and enough room down front to dance. The main stage was Linsey Alexander and his LABB (I think it’s the Lazy Ass Blues Band, which gets my vote for best band name on the trip!). Though Linsey was anything BUT lazy ass, working the crowd up close and personal with the help of his wireless guitar. He likes to get in your face and make damn sure you’re getting it. A great gravelly crooning blues voice and guitar chops to burn are his strengths. After he held forth for an hour, I went over to the next room, where Charlie Love and the Silky Smooth Band were setting up (honorable mention for next best name for a blues band). Charlie’s got a very R&B-influenced vocal style, but he also plays the Les Paul, trading solos with Doug on the Stratocaster (side gear note: Doug has the GREATEST Strat tone I have ever heard. Definitely silky smooth and jazzy, it had a fat tone with a bit of Strat quack to it. I told him afterwards what I thought, and he said it was all the amp: a Mesa Heartbreaker. I told him that really helps, but that kind of playing comes from the heart!).

Charlie invited all kinds of people to come up and play with him, including our tourguide and friend, Jim Phipps. Let’s see, they had 3 harp players sit in, 2 guitarists, 2 singers, and a bass player! Extremely generous, I thought. I bought their CD, which doesn’t even come in a cover, and it is very sweet. Look for a review of it later on BluesRow.com.

Then Linsey Alexander started the last set, during which he brought up Chico Banks, his bass player, a monster harp player named Russ Green, and several others. They jammed for an hour, including a roof-rattling version of the Stones’ “Miss You”, featuring Russ Green on vocals and harp. It just doesn’t get any better than this, folks. World-class musicians letting it rip all night, and I didn’t even notice what time it was till we spilled out into the street at 3:45 Monday morning. Wow.

I’ve got more to say to sum it all up, but I’ll save that for my next post.