Chicago

Saturday 5/23/2009 - Michigan Avenue, Public Art, Honeyboy Edwards at Buddy Guy's Legends

We decided to take it easy this morning and didn’t set an alarm. It's probably a good thing - we obviously needed the sleep as we woke up at 10:30 am! The room had a nice flat screen TV and I turned on the Discovery Channel while we were taking showers. It was a crossover show called “Deadliest Catch Cab”, where they had Sig, Edgar, and Norman Hanson (from the F/V Northwestern on “Deadliest Catch”) in the Cash Cab trying to win money for charity. It was a lot of fun to watch, especially seeing people’s reactions when Sig approached them for a street shout-out. After that, we watched half an hour of a first season episode of Deadliest Catch. By 12:30, we were all ready and headed out.

We walked down Michigan Avenue and then over to Giordano's for a lunch of our favorite stuffed pizza. There was a 45-60 minute wait. Patrons were waiting inside as well as out on the street. At 12:45, we put our name in for a table, and the woman told us to place our pizza order in about 15 minutes. So we wandered around for about 15 minutes and then returned to order a SMALL (we’ve made the mistake of getting a medium before and won’t do that again) sausage and pepperoni.

We still had half an hour until our earliest seating time, so we then wandered around some more, enjoying the lovely sunny weather and taking some photos. There were lovely planters full off tulips all along Michigan Ave. We bought a StreetWise magazine from a vendor on the sidewalk. We always like to support this publication, which benefits teh homeless. The vendor was very friendly, and he commented that he really liked Craig's Tilley hat.

We stopped to appreciate a very Middle Eastern looking building with domes and ornate Islamic architectural detail. The word "Medinah" was spelled out in mosaic across the facade. It turned out to be Medinah Temple, a Shriners temple built in 1912, designed by architects Heuhl and Schmid. It originally housed a 4200 seat amphitheatre where Shriners events (including their circus) were held. The building was restored in 2000 and now rather incongruously houses a Bloomingdale's.

We returned to Giordano’s at 1:30 on the dot (exactly 45 minutes after putting our name in). We waited for 15 minutes to hear our name called. Then we saw a family who had arrived with us at 12:45 being seated. Craig went in to check and it turned out we had just missed our name being called, but they still had a table open as long as we didn’t mind sitting near the hostess. It was no problem and we got settled at our table. Craig had iced tea and I had orange soda. OUr pizza arrived fresh and cheesy. We each ate our three allotted pieces, but neither of us could finish the crust on the last piece.

We waddled out of Giordano's with full bellies and walked off our lunch on Michigan Avenue. It was a beautiful sunny day, and it was too gorgeous to be inside. We heard the sound of blues guitar on the air and crossed to the other side of the street to see where it was coming from. There was a teenaged boy set up on the sidewalk with his amp, wailing away. He really seemed to be into it, which was impressive, given all of the distractions present on Michigan Ave! We tossed him a dollar and stood for a while watching him.

We enjoyed looking at the downtown architecture and some interesting public art in Pioneer Court (next to the Chicago Tribune Tower and across the street from the Wrigley Building). We were startled to find a 25-foot tall 3-dimensional representation of the couple in the “American Gothic” painting. This statue is entitled “God Bless America” and was created by J. Seward Johnson (heir to the Johnson & Johnson fortune), and it depicts the couple as larger than life, with a suitcase at their feet. The actual “American Gothic” painting is in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, several blocks south. It was very surreal to see this larger-than-life rural couple gazing at the big city skyline. Lots of people were getting their pictures taken with the statue, and one joker had his kids posing looking up the woman’s dress. We saw an old-timer all dressed up playing his trumpet on the sidewalk. We listened to him play a nice version of "Summertime", gave him a tip, and took a couple of photos.

Also in Pioneer Court was a statue of a moose made of chrome car bumpers by artist John Kearney. Several wedding parties appeared and we watched as they got their pictures taken next to the statues, overlooking the riverwalk, etc. It was certainly a beautiful day for a wedding.

We walked down by the new Trump International Hotel & Tower . Though we’re not fans of the man himself, it was a nice building, and was certainly easier on the eyes than the old Sun-Times building that it replaced. A guy on the street commented on Craig's Tilley hat, and called him Indiana Jones, which we found very amusing.

We were surprised to find that the entrance to the Jazz Record Mart was not where we remembered it to be. It turned out that they had moved downstairs in the same building 4 years ago. It was such a cool store – great selection of blues, an entire wall of 78 RPM records, books, etc. We bought a couple of CD’s and a deck of Bluesmen trading cards illustrated by R Crumb. We could have spent more time here as well, but it was getting late.

We headed back to the hotel to get changed for an evening at Buddy Guy’s Legends. We left our room shortly after 6 o’clock. The doorman got a cab for us. “Buddy Guy’s Legends, please” we said. The cabbie had no idea what we were talking about nor where it was. We had never been there before ourselves, and were not sure of the location. “Buddy Guy’s,” I repeated. “Legends.” Nothing. I shrugged in defeat and looked to the dapper, older, African American doorman for help. He was disgusted that the cabbie didn’t know where it was. "It's WORLD FAMOUS!" he said. "Buddy Guy’s Blues Legends! On 8th and Wabash!" This was enough for our cabbie to get us there. It was a relatively short ride which cost us $10.

When you enter, the bar is on the left and the stage is to your right. There are tables and chairs facing the stage, and further over are some pool tables. It is a big space and felt very comfortable. There was no cover for the acoustic set which was currently going on (Jimmy Johnson and Brother Leo). We picked out a table and sat down to enjoy the blues.

Jimmy Johnson at Buddy Guy's Legends (20 second clip)

During a set break, we went over to Jimmy Johnson and bought one of his discs. He went to sign it for us and misspelled my name. When he realized it he got a panicked look, wondering if he had just wasted some of his product. But we told him it was no problem, just write a “T” over that “P” and it’ll be all set. He looked relieved. We also left a tip in his “ducat bucket” (since he was not one of the headliners, he was playing for tips).

I wandered around the place, looking at all of the blues memorabilia. There was a trophy case right inside the front door which displayed Buddy Guy’s Handy Awards and Grammys. We could see the evolution of the Handy statues over the years. The oldest look like the statue of W.C. Handy in Handy Park, Memphis. Then there were music notes (the type of statue they were giving out when we went to the Handy’s in 2001), and the most recent ones were the Blues Foundation logo. The guy at the register told me that the most recent ones just arrived 2 weeks ago.

Memorabilia from many blues players displayed on the walls. Highlights for us included a Stevie Ray Vaughan guitar, an autographed Clarence Gatemouth Brown guitar, an autographed picture of Johnny Clyde Copeland, and some tickets and backstage passes from when Eric Clapton played a date on his Nothing but the Blues Tour at Legends. (Wow!) There was a great mural above the pool tables: Mount Rushmore of the blues, featuring Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson, Little Walter, and Howlin' Wolf. Brilliant!

Jimmy Johnson performs "It Hurts Me Too" at Buddy Guy's Legends (20 second clip)

Jimmy then played his second set. He reminded us of our dear friend Frank when he said “We’re going to dedicate this to all of the beautiful ladies in the house – those that ain’t married or don’t have no boyfriend; we don’t want no trouble!” During Jimmy Johnson’s second set, we noticed Honeyboy arrive. He shuffled in and sat in a side section to the right of the stage. Jimmy did a great version of "It Hurts Me Too."

When the second set ended, we ordered food. Legends has a Southern soul food menu, and it was difficult to choose what to have because it all sounded so good. I ordered the Cajun meatloaf sandwich with sausage gravy and garlic mashed potatoes. It was heavenly! Craig got a catfish Po'Boy with fries. Craig had a Goose Island Honker’s Ale, and I couldn’t resist ordering a Sweet Tea (the name of one of Buddy Guy’s albums).

After we finished our food, employees came around and collected a $15 cover charge from anyone planning on staying. We paid and got our hands stamped. Then Devil in a Woodpile came onstage and did a wonderful old-timey blues set. They had a guitarist, an upright bass player, and a washboard percussionist who also played the clarinet. His voice reminded us of the lead singer from Squirrel Nut Zippers. They did a nice half hour set including Charley Patton's "Shake it and Break It", which was a definite highlight.

Devil in a Woodpile perform "Shake it and Break It" at Buddy Guy's Legends (20 second clip)

They were then joined by Honeyboy, who was wearing a Chicago baseball cap and a Gibson guitar shirt. We had seen him play at Regattabar in 2006. Now he is 93 years old (his 94th birthday is a month away) and still performs - amazing!! He was friends with Robert Johnson, and is one of the few original Delta bluesmen left.

He was excellent. Playing with the band seemed to energize him. He slapped his guitar and played with a Son House twang, and I was totally blown away when he played with the slide. We were mesmerized. After his nearly hour-long set, we got to say hello. We had brought our copy of his autobiography with us, and he signed it for us. He also kindly allowed me to take a photo. Craig had been holding down the fort at the table, but when I returned, he went over and spoke to Honeyboy and had him sign one of the CD’s we had bought at the Jazz Record Mart. While Craig was over there, a guy asked him if he was having a good time and fist-bumped him. That turned out to be Charlie Love, the next performer. We said a quick goodnight to Honeyboy and thanked him for a wonderful evening.

Then Charlie Love and his Silky Smooth Blues Band took the stage. He played Chicago blues and was a fun and entertaining showman. He sang and played guitar, and we really enjoyed ourselves. It was a lively set made up mostly of covers. He invited a young man named Alex up on stage to play guitar with him. Alex's amp was turned down very low and it was difficult to hear him. Charlie Love was really impressed by this kid's playing, and turned his amp up so that he could be heard. They played a couple of songs together.

In between his two sets, we bought his CD and had a nice chat with him. He was very friendly and told us that we should come to see him play at Kingston Mines the following night. He then played a second set. The material was a bit slower and he included some original compositions. A woman in the audience wanted to sing a song with the band, and Charlie Love indulged her. After her song, he took the mic again. Charlie Love stepped down off of the stage with his guitar and serenaded a young woman seated at one of the front tables. Soon he ditched the guitar and started to dance with her. He's a smooth operator. It was now late and the place was a lot emptier. He wound down his set and finished off the night by wandering the room playing his harp.

He ended at 2:00 and the club was closing. We caught a cab right out front. When I slid into the seat I noticed somebody's wallet. We gave it to the cabbie. Luckily he knew whose it was and planned to return it to him after dropping us off. We were back in our room before 2:30, and I wrote in the journal until 3:00.

Update 9/19/2009 -

We just found out that after 20 years in its current location, Legends is moving a block north. According to a Sun-Times article, the current building at 754 South Wabash has been donated to Columbia College. Buddy Guy has purchased a location at 700 South Wabash, which will have upstairs and downstairs stages, and will hold an additional 200 people. Buddy is determined to keep the blues alive in the South Loop area. Since the majority of his income comes from tours and recording, he does not rely on Legends to turn a huge profit. This means that he can afford to keep the club authentic and on the small, intimate side. Knowing this, we are glad that we were able to visit the original location. We are sure that we will visit the new location in the future as well.