4 replies to this topic

[Bismo]

G'day - My brother & I are planning a weekend pilgrimage to Chitown in mid-August... not so much to see Blues Brothers locations (though I'm sure we'll hit a few; we did that to some extent on an earlier trip there back in the 80's) as to hit some good blues clubs. Obviously there's Buddy Guy's Legends but I'd like to know what other lesser-known clubs might be recommended by any of the Chicagoans on this board. It looks like there's a few in the Rush Street / Ohio Ave area just north of the canal so we may look for a hotel in stumbling distance of a few of those if we can find an affordable one! Any thoughts appreciated, thanks and keep the Faith.

[Steam McQueen]

Hey Bismo,

Have a great time in Chicago.:D The first time I was in Chicago (1991) we asked around about blues bars and the answer kept coming back ... Kingston Mines!

There were two sections. Everyone would watch a band on one side while the other side was empty. Then after the set, everyone went over to the other side to watch the other band while the first side was empty. Back and forth. I'd never seen that before. What a night. Blues folk are the coolest.

Late in the evening, (early morning?) I wound up at a table with a Spike Lee look alike. I'm not sure how I got to his table, lotsa girls hanging around. The guy was friendly, we drank beers. I do remember asking the cab driver later if Spike Lee ever hung out there. He said absolutely. It might have been Spike. To this day I don't really know. It's a great club and the parts I remember ... I'll never forget!

http://www.kingstonmines.com/

http://www.bluesbrotherscentral.com/forum2/public/style_emoticons/default/icon_cool.gif

[Bismo]

Thanks, Steam! I've heard that place mentioned elsewhere as well (something about a 4am liquor license?) so we'll make a point of going there! I think there's another club right near there as well (B.L.U.E.S) so we'll look into finding out more about that one too. It looks like we can't get a reasonable hotel up in the Lincon Park area as th Cubs are home the weekend we're going so we'll be staying in town, couple blocks from Legends.

[JacobSteinAFM]

Lol, your story cracked me up Steam! I had a similar experience a few years ago on a cruise trip with my parents. We went to dinner on the ship, and there was a guy at the next table who looked exactly like Jay Leno. The resemblence was uncanny, right down to the enormous chin! Later my dad met him, only to find that it wasn't Jay at all. I still wish I had a picture taken with this fake Jay Leno.

Bismo, I recommend stopping by the House of Blues during your visit to Chicago. They have a lot of great BB memorbilia.

[Bismo]

Thanks, Jacob! We figure we'll hit the HoB for lunch or dinner while we're there, as though we'll keep an eye on the show schedule it doesn't seem like they often have actual blues performers there. Not to mention we're looking for more of a "club" experience as opposed to a concert hall, but we'll see who shows up!

So far we've got Buddy Guy's (we'll be staying about two blocks away), the Kingston Mines and B.L.U.E.S, and hopefully (if we can find our way down there) the Checkerboard Lounge. Also have a few others that are on the longer list but not sure if time will allow (Blue Chicago at Ohio and the Underground Wonder Bar). Also gotta grab a cheezeboirger at the Billy Goat Tavern of course!


Looks like we'll be there the weekend of 8/17-19.