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Book: Blue Chicago:
The Search for Authenticity in Urban Blues Clubs
(University of Chicago Press, 2003)
Reviewed by Eric Steiner
Nice work if you can get it. Study at the University of Chicago to be a sociologist, do fieldwork at night in blues clubs like Kingston Mines, the Checkerboard Lounge, and B.L.U.E.S., B.L.U.E.S. Etc, and play the alto sax in some back alley sets at the Chicago Blues Festival, all in search of a Ph.D. and blues experience few blues fans will ever have.
University of Pennsylvania sociologist David Grazian's book tells an amazing story of how he immersed himself in the blues as a player, participant and keen observer to show what it's like working in Chicago blues clubs today.
Grazian sharpens his sociologist's pencil through late-night/early morning interviews, friendships with musicians and bar owners, all viewed through a decidedly academic lens.
While the Blue Chicago often interprets the blues from a more scholarly perspective, it is a moving first-person account of today's complex Chicago blues scene. From racial relations and hiring, to "set lists from hell," David revealed several surprises to me, including many musicians' responses to set list standards like "Sweet Home Chicago," "Every Day I Have the Blues," and "Mustang Sally." I happen to like those predictable touchstones of the blues, and I'd also add in "Dust My Broom," "Mannish Boy," or "Baby Please Don't Go," even if they don't break new blues ground on record or in the clubs. I think of them as songs of passage and links to influential post-war Chicago blues artists, but Grazian's (and noted blues authority Bill Dahl's, quoted in the "Black and Tan Fantasy" chapter) point about these "set lists from hell" in the eyes of many musicians is well-taken.
I could have done without his frequent references to traditional sociology and trips down academic lane, but I would do well to remember that he wasn't writing his doctoral dissertation for Cosmik Debris, Blues Revue or Living Blues. Dr. Grazian's audience was most likely his dissertation committee at the University of Chicago, and although he does load up on sociological observations from time to time, it's useful to note that he's continuing a tradition that University of Chicago sociologists began in the 1920's and 1930's when they explored society from the bottom up in speakeasies and nightclubs.
Academics aside, Grazian hits some pretty high notes throughout his book, including:
"... the blues club promised the excitement of real action: the music was loud and fast, the audience was always drunk, and the band was usually even drunker. At the club bartenders and bouncers didn't care about how many books you had read, only whether you were having fun and paying for another round. As I took in the tactile and sensual aura of the smoke-filled bar, B.L.U.E.S. felt like the authentic blues club of my dreams."
The blues are a far cry from the ivory towers of academe, and Blue Chicago is an engaging story of one fan's quest for a dream, an authentic blues experience.
George Plimpton passed away shortly after I finished reading Dr. Grazian's book, and I'd like to think that he'd be amused by David's journey and the people he met and the songs that he played along the way.
© 2003 - Eric Steiner