My wife and I are going to visit Chicago the weekend of 12/19-12/21. I’m looking for a jazz or blues place the night of 12/20. I’ve looked up a couple of possible places on the web, but I wanted to get some ideas from my fellow Dopers as well.
The last time we were in Chicago was a few years ago. We went to Blue Chicago and another place not far from there (I don’t remember the name – it was a poorly-marked place and you got in from the alley or below street level.) The second place was very cool – kind of a smaller place; a slightly older crowd; people were there to enjoy the music and not to get out of hand; had the air of a speakeasy about it. That’s the kind of place I’m looking for. Anybody got any ideas?
Another vote for Kingston Mines; there’s blues every night until incredibly late, and the layout is perfect: basically, it’s two rooms that alternate sets (So Band One plays for an hour in Room A, then takes a break while Band Two plays for an hour in Room B), which means that if you stake out a table in one room you get an hour of great, rocking music, followed by an hour of hearing music from the next room while also being able to speak to the people you came with. A nice roadhousey feel to the whole thing, and a nicely varied crowd.
A fourth for the Green Mill. I love that place… Back in the old old days it was a restaurant/club that occupied most of the building that it’s in but now is only the small lounge section.
Al Capone was a big customer back then and his booth is still there (w/ a view of both doorways).
B.L.U.E.S. on Halsted, just across the street from Kingston Mines.
Get yourself to the Jazz Record Mart, 27 E. Illinois (312) 222-1467. Folks there will tell you everything currently happening. Killer place for jazz & blues CDs, vinyl, 78’s!
A couple of other great blues clubs: Lee’s Unleaded Blues, on the South Side (7401 S. Chicago Ave.) One of the last ghetto bars. You will be safe and welcome there.
Rosa’s, on the Mighty Mighty West Side, 3420 W. Armitage. Tell the owner Tony that Atomic Mama in Anchorage sent you
If you are still in Chicago that Sunday night check out the Green Mill Poetry Slam (starts at 7p…get there by 6:30p for a seat). I am no big fan of poetry myself but it really is a fun time and by no means dull (audience groaning is encouraged amongst other things).
If you make it to that find me as I will almost certainly be there (not a very big place). I’ll buy you a drink.
That sounds cool, but we’ve already made reservations for dinner at 7:00. We’ll probably be out looking for music a bit later. Thanks for the offer though. When I get there, I’ll shout “Whack-a-Mole!!” when I walk in and see what happens, though, just in case you’re still there.
Cool…goes from 7-10 in three 1-hour sections (each with a bit different format). Sometimes I stay for the whole thing…sometimes not as it is a school night. Give it a shot anyway…you never know. Will be there with my GF at the bar drinking red wine.
:smack::smack: You said Sunday, didn’t you? Crap. We’re actually going to be there Saturday. I just looked at their calendar and didn’t see the poetry slam on Saturday. That…and you said “school night”… and finally the light dawned. I didn’t read your first post clearly enough. Sorry. We’re driving back on Sunday. Maybe we’ll catch up another time. If I do happen to see anyone drinking red wine at the bar on Saturday, though, I will accost them.
For northside clubs, Biddy Mulligans was my favorite blues joint; is it still there?
Also, a real, really late-night (opens around 1 a.m.) hot spot used to be the Checkerboard Lounge on the southside, but I’ve not been to Chicago in a dozen years
