Blues and Beers

Rather than falling asleep early and spending Saturday with another episode of Downton Abbey, I took an amazing two-hour nap before venturing out to B.L.U.E.S. on Halsted, an awesome bar with live music seven days a week. My boyfriend and I found some corner stools around 8:30pm, and cozied up to our neighbors as the crowd grew over the next hour. 

At 9:30pm, the music started. We were fortunate to come on a night to catch the local Carlos Johnson & the Serious Blues Band, a group that has been playing together for forty years. They dedicated the show to Magic Slim, a Mississippi blues singer and guitarist who recently passed. I was mesmerized by their passion for the music; I've never witnessed a musician truly possessed by the strings of his guitar. 

I didn't realize why Johnson looked slightly off until I looked him up today: he was playing a right-handed instrument upside-down because he is left-handed. His funny anecdotes and jokes made the show even more enjoyable and close-knit. It almost felt like we were listening to the band play in their living room. Not having much experience with blues music myself, I left B.L.U.E.S not only excited to return soon, but ready to change up my Pandora stations and give Sara Bareilles and John Legend a well-deserved break.