True blues in Chicago

GO CITYBREAK:A trip to the famous Chess Records followed by a tour of the Windy City's top live music clubs was a fantastic way to feel the vibe of a place which has given its name to a brand of the blues, writes GARY QUINN

THE STORY OF the Chicago blues is the story of migration. In the early decades of the 20th century, the city attracted hundreds of thousands of African-Americans who uprooted themselves from the south in search of work and a better life. They brought along a musical tradition that was itself shaped by the city and created what we now know as the Chicago blues.

The sheer numbers of people arriving brought massive amounts of talent and perhaps because of the hardship they faced the African-American story in song from that era strikes straight to the heart. I’m a huge fan and the chance to hear it on the streets of Chicago is a fantastic way to capture this incredible city.

It was migration that first brought me to the Windy City too, but with less success. Twenty years ago, with no qualifications, no visa, little experience and even less money, I decided that America was for me. America wasn’t so sure.

Touring the cities of the east coast on an Amtrak pass, I didn’t find my break and it was on the streets of Chicago that the realisation hit me that I had run out of money. I had spent the previous night sleeping in a fleapit room with 12 strangers – the cheapest bed I could find – and had wandered from bar to bar listening to music while knowing that if I bought as much as a beer I’d probably not be able to make it back to New York to change my flight home.

Waiting for my train out of town, I wandered around downtown, entranced by the luxury hotels. The limos pulled up and well-heeled guests would pour out into the embrace of five-star hospitality. I wasn’t jealous – I knew my predicament was my fault – but I did want a slice of that life.

Suddenly, 20 years have passed and I’m back, sitting in the lobby of the Ritz Carlton hotel, sipping a cold beer as I look out on the city. It’s a fantastic space, gilt-edged and elegant – everything I had imagined it should be. And there’s more: I’m being upgraded to a lake-view suite. Lake Michigan, the greatest of the Great Lakes, stretches to the horizon outside my window and Navy Pier and the towers that reach out to it feel alive as they form the skyline of this gilded city.

This luxury is too much for a man alone, but I know how lucky I am. This building and all those around it were built by the same migrants whose music I had come to find, and few of them would ever have spent a night within it.

My re-entry to Chicago society is a fantasy with a 24-hour lifespan. Soon enough I’ll be on a plane home again. In the meantime, I’m in search of the blues – and it’s all happening outside this room.

The elevator carries me the 23 floors to the street and onto Michigan Avenue – the Magnificent Mile. This is prime shopping territory – every brand is there – but I won’t be diverted. I’ve downloaded the Buddy Guy Chicago blues walking tour and, as I stroll along the sidewalk, I’m following this great blues master as he reveals the city as he lives it.

Buddy Guy is a blues guitarist and singer, renowned for his role in the development of this great music. On my iPod he’s recounting what he calls the complicated formula of the Chicago blues: urban congestion, boogie woogie and electric instruments. I’m lost to the city as I hear how these three elements combined, fusing the power of the harmonica with the microphone and creating a new level of drama. He’s talking about gospel music now, a passion-filled offspring of blues, and he tells me to look up, at the buildings, the crossings and the architecture. His tales are bringing the city to life, but in a movie-reel manner, the characters that join him on stage making the story their own.

Now he’s directing me to Chess Records. It’s a terrific starting point since it was here that many great blues, rhythm and blues, gospel and early rock and roll musicians first recorded their hits: Muddy Waters, Aretha Franklin, Chuck Berry – even the Rolling Stones worked their magic on South Michigan. I take a bus here but it’s easy to find a straight-line route, parallel to the lake. It’s on a strip known as Motor Row, once a car showroom hub.

The Chess Records building is a museum now, run by the Blues Heaven Foundation. It’s not big but it has an incredible hold on the imagination. Its rooms tell the story of the records that were made there, but also how that great sound was distributed from this building across the US and around the world. It’s like being at the source of a river: you can’t see how this small stream can grow into a huge waterfall but somehow you know it does.

Motor Row is quiet, somehow on the edge. There’s talk of developing the area more, to champion further the magic that started here. Many of the buildings along the row are listed, their ornate architecture reflecting a different time. Let’s hope the city planners make it happen soon because, quiet as it is in the evening sun, it still has magic, leaving me hungry for live music. I don’t have too far to go because Buddy Guy has his own place a short bus ride away.

The doorman at Buddy Guy’s Legends corrects me when, checking that I’m in the right place, I mention that I’ve heard it’s one of the best blues bars in town. “The world,” he replies. “It’s the best in the world. Take a seat. It’s going to get busy.”

It’s a big space with a wide stage, bars down two sides and maybe 30 tables in the centre of the room. These are the prime positions but I take a seat at the bar. I’m excited and there’s a buzz about. It’s filling up quickly. Two Dutch tourists sit beside me. A large group of office workers crowd behind me, talking business and Martinis. They’re in town for a convention. The Dutch tourists gulp when their food arrives – the food here is Cajun and it’s American portions. I order a Goose Island beer and ask for a menu. Steak and blue cheese. I’m impressed.

The atmosphere is great now, the band ripping through songs I’ve never heard to a rhythm I love. They talk, they laugh. I’m told that Buddy Guy might even be here. I look around – there isn’t even standing room and it’s only Wednesday night.

The walls are covered in memorabilia, cameras are flashing. There’s song but no dancing, except on the way to the restrooms where customers shuffle and glide up and down the corridors. On the edges it’s a nightclub vibe, but for the groups at the central tables with every seat being the best in the house, it’s a supper club with all the trappings. I could stay here all night. My credit card is behind the bar hiding my spend and people are happy to talk.

But I’ve heard of a place where dancing is obligatory: Blue Chicago is just a short cab ride away. I come out onto the street, smokers chatting, the neon flashing. It’s close to 1am and the city seems to be calming. I walk out onto Michigan and hail a taxi. My driver is from Kazakhstan and 25 years old. He’s doing an MBA here, drives a cab at night and speaks five languages: English, Kazakh, Russian, Turkish and Arabic. He knows Blue Chicago. It’s next to the Irish bar. Do I not want to go there instead? I’m on the street now fishing for dollar bills to pay him and can hear the music seeping out of Blue Chicago.

I meet Lorenzo at the door who ushers me in to a bar venue in full swing. People are dancing, whooping, jumping on the spot. The band are electric and I fall in love with the sound of Demetria Taylor ripping up the stage. This is the daughter of the late great Eddie Taylor and she updates his classic 1955 track Bad Boywith her own version, Bad Girl, the title of her solo album.

Even though I came to dance I can’t bring myself to take to the floor. I’m entranced, sitting at the bar, drinking whiskey alone while this incredible woman sings the blues. Almost everyone around me is a tourist and lots of them are from northern Europe: Norwegians, Swedes, Finns. They’re on the same circuit as me, trying to squeeze as many blues experiences into the shortest time.

During a break a Swedish couple tell me I have to go to Kingston Mines, Chicago’s oldest blues club. You can’t leave Chicago without seeing it, they say. It’s late but I’m tempted to give my Kazakh taxi driver a call and make a dash for Kingston Mines. But then Demetria Taylor is on stage, singing about broken hearts and cherry red wine. You can’t walk out on that, so I order another whiskey and settle in for the encore.

Later, when the gig ends she’s selling her album. I buy it and try to chat for a moment, impress her. Words fail me. She gives me a hug I wasn’t ready for and I end up banging my forehead off hers. Walking back to the hotel later I feel like a bit of a fool for that. But a fool that’s met, and heard, Demetria Taylor live in Chicago. I smile knowing I won’t be waiting another 20 years before I’m back.

- Gary Quinn was a guest of Great Lakes USA tourist office (greatlakesnorthamerica.co.uk)

Get there

Aer Lingus (aerlingus.com) and United Airlines (unitedairlines.com) fly from Dublin direct to Chicago.

Chicago where to...

Stay

Upmarket:Ritz Carlton, 160 East Pearson Street, at Water Tower Place. fourseasons.com, 00-1-312-266-1000. Doubles from around $350 (€255).

Mid-market: Chicagos Essex Inn, 800 South Michigan Avenue. 00-1-312-939-2800, essexinn.com. Doubles from around $177 (€131).

Value: Hilton Chicago downtown, 720 South Michigan Avenue. 00-1-312-922-4400, hilton.com. Doubles from around $132 (€96).

Go

Blues Heaven Foundation/Chess Records, 2120 S Michigan. 00-1-312-808-1286, bluesheaven.com.

Blue Chicago, 536 N. Clark. 00-1-312-661-0100, bluechicago.com.

Buddy Guy's Legends,700 S. Wabash. 00-1-312-427-1190, buddyguy.com.

Kingston Mines,Chicago's oldest blues club, 2548 North Halsted. 00-1-773-477-4646, kingstonmines.com.

B.L.U.E.S., 2519 N Halsted. 00-1-773-528-1012, chicagobluesbar.com.

Eat

Upmarket:Deca restaurant at Ritz Carlton, 160 East Pearson Street at Water Tower Place. 00-1-312-266-1000. Incredible food in beautiful surroundings. fourseasons.com.

Mid-market: The Farmhouse Tavern. 228 W Chicago Ave. 00-1-312-2804960. New and Irish owned. Local food and beers. farmhousechicago.com.

Value:Gino's East. 162 E Superior St. 001-312-266- 3337. Great pizza. ginoseast.com.