It’s a mission from God. Its dark and I’m wearing sunglasses. It can only mean one thing. Chicago Blues Brothers are in Waterside Theatre, Aylesbury. If I was asked what Blues Brothers mean to me, I would answer that it means great music. Soul music that gives you a feel-good feeling and that is exactly what those Chicago Blues Brothers delivered. The audience were up for a party and were all ages from small children right up to beyond retirement age. The love of blues and soul music is shared across the generations. You knew we were in for a good time and in good company when the band opened with Soul Man followed by Hold On (I’m Coming).
The performers are fantastic at what they do; the band are some of the best musicians I have heard and boy could they play. The soul sisters could both belt out a tune and seamlessly covering legends such as Aretha Franklin and Martha Reeve. Those girls can sing! And of course, we couldn’t have the blues band without our resident Jake and Elwood. They were funny, engaging and really got the audience involved. They had every Blues Brother move down too and really delivered a great night.
This wasn’t just a Blues Brothers music night. It was billed as A night at the movies. There was a huge screen behind them that allowed us to be in an old blockbuster video store, renamed Bluesbuster video which gave us imagery of the songs as well as watching the band. They sung a range of movie classics but done as only Chicago Blues Brothers can. There was something for everyone including Footloose, Hot Stuff from The Full Monty, Time Warp, 9 to 5, a couple of songs from Back To The Future and Do You Love Me? from Dirty Dancing. The James Brown offering was Living In America which is a clever twist as it covers a movie and the Godfather of Soul in one hit.
But for you Blues Brothers’ purists – you are not forgotten. Not only was there a county AND western section covering Riders, Rawhide and Stand By Your Man, there was an Aretha section covering Think and Respect. Then there are the classics you couldn’t do a Blues Brothers show without, such as Shake A Tail Feather, Sweet Home Chicago, Everybody Needs Somebody, and Gimme Some Lovin. We had Minnie The Moocher, Flip Flop Fly and my personal favourite of the night and for which I will forever be grateful for, Looking For A Fox. I was up dancing to that before the rest of the audience could respond.
The energy in the room was electric and everyone was having a fantastic time, by the end of the night everyone was up dancing, singing and not wanting the show to end. If you are looking for a fantastic night out, this is the show for you.
Chicago Blues Brothers – coming to a palace hotel ballroom* near you soon.
*or equivalent venue.
Chicago Blues Brothers:
Jake Blues - Chris Hindle
Elwood Blues - Gareth Davey
Soul sisters - Stacey Lynn Crown and Megan Feltham
Lead Guitarist - John Elmsley
Bass - Steve Hall
Keys - Barry Dalman
Drums - Colin Lamont
Trumpet - Danny Ortiz Sax - Mike Reckless
Trombone - Sam Dye