So... I'm on this last minute 3-day vacation to Chicago with my wife. Hadn't been there in eleven years, thought it was 'bout time.
Last time I was on my best behavior...not by choice...but my body was pretty much shut down after a 3-day binge. And my kids were with us and they were fightin' and my wife was shoppin' and I was nursing of a powerful hangover.
I deserved to suffer
or so my wife says
And after 3 1/2 years of bein' clean and sober my mind has cleared up enough to appreciate her point-of-view.
Back then I was so clouded I never found the Navy Pier or the sandy beaches of Lake Michigan. I never made it to the Hard Rock Cafe and I never bought the kids a big bag of Garrett CarmelCrisp popcorn.
Well...this time around, I discovered all those joys and more. And 3 million Chicagoans can't be wrong. This is a cool place!
Before I left Saginaw, I called Paul Koch, Larry McCray's manager/agent. Asked about Buddy Guy's Legends Blues Club. Koch tells me that tonight is Guy's Birthday Bash and to call him back in 15 minutes.
I call him back in 15 minutes
He says he will get me in - no problem - but to call him back once I'm in Chicago
Sooo...I call him back once I'm in Chicago
He's not home...

Eventually I call over to Buddy Guy's club and a friendly voice tells me to come on down...there's plenty of room

Well...one thing leads to another and Lisa and me...well, we... never make it over to Buddy Guy's club. Instead, we find ourselves at the Grand Lux Cafe, seated in one of 500 tables that fill the expanse of this mammoth Chicago landmark (everything in Chicago is Texan mammoth... and big-city super-sized), and we have this wonderful dinner we can only half-consume. It's after 10pm (11pm Michigan time) and we both run outta steam

But the next day I'm prepared...

One of my favorite country-rockin-blues-ballin-outlaws, Jerry Jeff Walker, is in town and he's playing tonight at the House of Blues (HOB). Everybody has heard of the House Of Blues...
right?
right!
It was founded in Cambridge Massachusetts 1992 with a whole lotta fanfare and financial help from the likes of Dan Aykroyd, James Belushi, River Phoenix, Paul Shaffer and other celebrities. The mission was to provide a home that honored African-American cultural contributions to music and southern-Delta inspired folk art (mass-produced and distributed to each and every HOB). Since it's dramatic birth, the House Of Blues has placed more than a dozen restaurants across the United States (and one in Canada) and books amphitheatres and promotes summer tours and festivals.
Yep, the HOB has grown exponentially. It's a place where $30 Jerry Jeff Walker tickets cost $33.
And it's where they don't play no blues
'cept for Jerry Jeff's favorful country blues
I don't know what woulda happened had they known that this Jerry Jeff Walker cat played country AND blues...
yeeew
They labeled him as a roots rocker...well...close enough.

Now lemme tell you Walker is a troubadour - a real minstrel - who combines the best elements of traditional "American Music" - where the Delta meets Appalachia. It's just Jerry with his guitar and harmonica, layin' it out by the strength of his songs and his wonderful stories. Walker is now a "senior" country gentleman...slowed down...a bit long in tooth. But he still has more than a little piss & vinegar. He can curse ya with a smile and make ya laugh.
And those songs...
From the very first song he wrote, "Gypsy Songman", Walker was in complete control.
"Little Bird" is a poignant expression of lost love...
"I see my face"
"in a pane"
"is it tears?"
"or is it rain?"

One great song after another
He explores his influences on "I Feel Like Hank Williams Tonite". And he sings about makin' love on a Navajo Blanket and speaks of his passion and love for his wife on "Woman In Texas". "Pass It On" and "Pickup Truck Song" are stories, with a twist, from his childhood. And of course Walker performs rousing sing-a-long versions of Mr. Bojangles and "Up Against The Wall (Redneck Mothers)"

To the overflowing crowd of 500+ Jerry Jeff Walker was some kinda Austin Texas-hillbilly-alt country-renegade-GOD. They KNEW the lyrics to all of his songs and sang-a-long (whether he or I or anyone else liked it or not). And it seemed that EVERYBODY in the audience was from Texas - except for me, my wife, and Jerry Jeff. He's a Texas transplant from New York. But not to worry, this first degree storyteller handled his fans with studied aplomb. All in all, Walker performed one helluva set.
Great show
The HOB on the other hand is a real work of artful illusion. They don't do the blues but they bring in some big-time acts like Heart and Hanson and... well...Heart.
For this show they placed 5 rows of 20 small folding chairs (the smallest most uncomfortable folding chairs imaginable) in front of the stage. The first two rows are reserved for friends of HOB. This is encircled by a step-up railing and stools. Many people simply had to stand. But the kicker - the "opera suites" - were real coup 'de 'etat for the wealthier concertgoers. The "suites", built above and across each side of the stage, rent for $450 a crack. Must be about 12 of'em.
all but one was filled
There's some real scratch in town.
Yessirree!

Anyway, I never made it to Buddy Guy's or Kingston Mines but I did encounter perfect and complete E-V-I-L in the form of "The American Girl" doll company (more on that later). And I left Chicago tired but happy and satisfied. As we waited for our car Lisa and I agreed it was too short a trip (Tuesday afternoon to Friday morning)...so much to do in so little time. And in a perfect contradiction, we longed to stay yet we yearned for home.
I rushed into traffic just as the valet service pulled up across the street. I'm lumberin' and fumblin' with two big bags of Garrett popcorn and a box of Pringles under my arms... and I'm about to jump-in... when... I hear my wife shout out my name. I turn back to see Lisa wrestling with a jammed-pack 80lb suitcase.
OOPS
Afterward I was speeding outta town beepin' and squawkin' like some kinda deranged taxi driver when Lisa figured I was worthy - barely worthy - of help(or was it her sense of self preservation?) and navigated me out of a "missed exit and a wrong turn".
Whew
So here I am, a little ego-bruised... my manliness battered... yet I'm still able to tell ya all about it

But hey... I just loved that Jerry Jeff Walker show
for sure

Peace
Bo White
8/13/04