native_Houstonian Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 Ok, this is for all of you music afficianados and esp. for Editor, since he lives in Chi-town. Going to be in Chicago in a couple of weeks and want to go to a blues club....where should we go? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 Ok, this is for all of you music afficianados and esp. for Editor, since he lives in Chi-town. Going to be in Chicago in a couple of weeks and want to go to a blues club....where should we go?Do you know where you'll be staying?Off the top of my head, the best place to go is North Clark Street near the flagship McDonald's. There's two or three there. Blue Chicago is popular (736 North Clark) and close to most of the major tourist hotels. Of course, there's the House of Blues (329 North Dearborn) a few blocks away. This is good if you're staying at one of the business hotels.Serious people go to Buddy Guy's Legends (754 South Wabash) which is in a ever-so-slightly dodgier neighborhood, but still very close to a lot of the political hotels.A Google search turns up Kingston Mines (2548 North Halsted). I don't know anything about this place, but its web site claims it's been in business since 1968. The neighborhood is a gay area known as Boystown (technically it's "Lakeview") bordering on the lesbian neighborhood Andersonville. Again, I can't speak for the club but based on what I know about the area, you're likely to get a very safe, very white, very Disney-fied version of the blues. Ditto for Rosa's Lounge (3420 West Armitage, though some swear she has the real thing going). Or maybe I'm totally wrong. But it seems to me that if you want blues, you would want to go where it was born (South Side), not yuppyville.And on that theme, the further south you go, the blacker it gets (broadly speaking), so here are a couple of deep south side places you might want to try if you're feeling adventurous:The New Checkerboard Lounge (5201 South Harper Court) - Make a phone call to see if this one is still open. I thought it closed, but I could be wrong. This one is in the Kenwood/Hyde Park neighborhood. Hyde Park is aging University of Chicago hippes. Kenwood is black. This explains why Barack Obama came from this neighborhood. You have a good shot at hearing something authentic here. Public transportation is bus. You're probably better off taking a taxi. Make sure you write down the cab company phone number so you can call for one to take you back, though you might find one or two roaming around. Still, this is the one I hear recommended most. Keith Richards and Muddy Waters played together here. It doesn't get any better than that.If you're the sort of person who likes to listen to local radio, you'll be disappointed to know that the local Chicago Jazz station (WBEZ/Chicago 91.5FM - studios on Navy Pier) went all NPR talk recently. Suck. They don't get any donation money from me anymore.But hope is not lost. See if your radio can pick up WDCB/Glen Ellyn (90.9 FM). It's run by a suburban college and does a GREAT job of playing chicago blues and jazz. The signal's not always great in the city, but you might get lucky. Of the three places I've lived in Chicago I could pick it up in two.Good luck! Feel free to ask questions.If you want a little reading, here's what the University of Chicago has to say about Chicago Blues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
native_Houstonian Posted July 21, 2008 Author Share Posted July 21, 2008 Wow! Thanks for the wealth of information. We'll be staying with friends who live in Oak Park, but they are recent transplants there, and I don't think they are big blues fans, so I don't think they would have all the necessary info to pick the right place to go! I've been to Buddy Guy's Legends, which I really enjoyed. I'll check into that place on the South Side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 Wow! Thanks for the wealth of information. We'll be staying with friends who live in Oak Park, but they are recent transplants there, and I don't think they are big blues fans, so I don't think they would have all the necessary info to pick the right place to go! I've been to Buddy Guy's Legends, which I really enjoyed. I'll check into that place on the South Side.Ah, so you'll be driving in. Then I'd go with Blue Chicago. Easiest parking of the bunch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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