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Be-Bop Over To
The Magic Bag

THE 2ND ANNUAL DEEP FREEZE
BLUES FESTIVAL, a benefit for the Detroit
Blues Society, runs through Sunday at the
Magic Bag, on Woodward just north of Nine
Mile Road in Ferridale: General admission
tickets are $15.00 each night or a three-night
pass for $30. Tickets are available at Off The
Record in Royal Oak, Ticketmaster or at the
door. 18 & over. Call (810) 544-3030 anytime.

TONIGHT (doors Open at 7 p.m.)
• Big Daddy Kinsey & the Kinsey Report
• Robert Noll
• Mimi Harris & the Snakes
• Mudpuppy
• Madkat & Kane

SATURDAY (doors open at 7 p.m.)
• Lucky Peterson & the Sun Messengers
Rhythm Krew
• The Butler Twins
• Jonnie Bassett & the Blues Insurgents
• The Grandmaster Revue with Alberta
Adams
• Robert Jones

SUNDAY (doors open at 6 p.m.)
• Eddie Shaw & the Wolfgang
• Willie D. Warren & Jimmy McCarty
• The Blues Disciples with Thornetta Davis
• Johnny "Yardog" Jones & the Blues Suit
Band
• Uncle Jessie White & the 29th Street Blues
Band

turing blues on the weekend. Much
like the Library, but with pizza as the
house specialty. 1090 Rochester Road,
(810) 588-3471.
OLD WOODWARD GRILL,
Birmingham: This non-smoking bar
mixes blues with more pop-oriented
acts — and the ambience doesn't suf-
fer for the lack of smoke. 555 Wood-
ward, (810) 642-9400.
STAN'S DUGOUT, Auburn Hills:
Just down the road from the Palace
sits another blues-friendly sports bar.
Stan's has been doing it for awhile,
however, and bands consider the crowd
to be one of the area's most attentive.
3350 Auburn Road, (810) 852-6433.
MURDOCK'S, Rochester Hills:
This restaurant's Wednesday blues se-

ries usually attracts the
biggest names from the local
scene. Crooks Road north of M-59,
(810) 852-0550.
THE BEAR DEN, Berkley: A mod-
est neighborhood drinking establish-
ment that turns to raving looniness on
Sunday nights when the Howling Di-
ablos take their weekly residency. 2972
Coolidge Highway, (810) 545-2246.
BUDDY'S BAR-B-QUE, West
Bloomfield: Dubbing itself the "House
of Blue Lights Bar," Buddy's hosts a
hot Thursday jam session and regular
blues groups on the weekend; it re-
cently played hots to British blues stal-
wart Savoy Brown. 6676 Orchard Lake
Road, (810) 851-4250.
THE MAGIC BAG, Ferndale:
Blues sometimes pops up amidst the
wide variety of music and movies that
populate this theater's schedule. Wood-
ward just north of Nine Mile Road,
(810) 544-3030.
SISKO'S ON THE BOULE-
VARD, Taylor: It's not that far away,
and its commitment to the blues
makes this the genre's new head-
quarters in metro Detroit. What's
more, the food is equally fine, adding
Mexican to the traditional blues menu
of burgers and barbeque. 5855 Mon-
roe Blvd., (313) 278-5340.
MOBY DICK'S, Dearborn: The
area's other venerable blues spot, this
club keeps vintage instruments hang-
ing from the ceiling to remind you it's
no newcomer to the blues revival. A
fine spot to catch the area's best and
the most exciting up-and-comers. 5452
Schaefer Road, (313) 581-3650.
SOUP KITCHEN SALOON, De-
troit: This long-running Rivertown

restaurant is known mostly for its
comfortable listening room. That's a
drawback if you like to dance, but we
have a feeling you won't be disap-
pointed. The food is first-rate, too. One
block off of Jefferson, on the corner of
Franklin and Orleans Streets, (313)
259-1374.
RIVERTOWN SALOON, Detroit:
Most every notable local blues act
makes its way to this club's stage. 1977
Woodbridge, (313) 567-6020.
LOCO BAR AND GRILL, Detroit:
This Tex-Mex bistro goes blues on the
weekends. Friday's $1 drafts and free
buffet help you shed the work week be-
fore the music starts. 454 E. Lafayette;
(313) 965-3737.
NEW DETROITER BAR, Detroit:
Call it Bricktown blues — a little
tougher and more rocking, consis-
tently, than you'll find in some other
clubs. 655 Beaubien; (313) 963-3355.
THE MUSIC MENU, Detroit: The
tunes here usually come from the
Greektown restaurant's extensive CD
collection, but on Mondays it hosts a
"Jazzy Blues Jam" helmed by the Bill
Heid Trio. 511 Monroe; (3 13) 964-
6368.
THE MAGIC STICK, Detroit: Na-
tional and local blues are frequent vis-
itors to this joint, blending the wail
of harmonica and guitars with the clat-
ter of billiards and bowling balls. Its
sister hall, The Majestic, occasional-
ly hosts bigger blues names. 4140
Woodward; (313) 833-9700.
THE BLIND PIG, Ann Arbor: Na-
tional blues acts are a regular part of
the eclectic offerings from this sweaty
college town room. 208 First St.; (313)
996-8555.

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Watch for these best Detroit blues acts:

The Chisel Brothers with Thor-
netta Davis: The reigning champ of the
local blues community. The players
are terrific in their own right, but
singer Davis is a fearsome weapon that
keeps the Chisels on top.
Detroit Blues Band: Still work-
ing after the departure of guitarist
Jimmy McCarty, this long-running
outfit continues to mine a rich Chica-
go blues vein for its electrifying per-
formances.
Jeff Grand: It's hard not to find a
band that Afro-ed singer-guitarist
Grand is a part of these days. Check
out the Howling Diablos (see below),
the Grandmasters or any random jam
session to hear his fiery, Johnny Win-
ter-inspired fire.
Robert Knoll: He hasn't been
around since time began; it just seems
that way. The former Albert Collins

sideman remains the Motor City's
best perpetrator of old-school Chica-
go blues.
Mimi Harris & the Snakes: Still
riding high on the release of their de-
but album earlier this year, this troupe
draws from lots of different musics for
a distinctive sound. And besides her
vocal prowess, Harris is one of the lo-
cal blues scene's best rhythm gui-
tarists.
Mudpuppy featuring Paul Ran-
dolph: Randolph's bass solos are
worth the price of admission alone —
until you get an earful of Spoons
Brown's manic percussion playing. A
distinct Creole feel also sets this rel-
atively new group apart from the pack.
They'll release an album, Spoonful, in
February.
James Wailin': Another longtimer,
singer and harmonica player, Wailin'

fronts one of the area's hardest rock-
ing blues outfits. The Howling Diab-
los — consistently one of Detroit's best
blues groups, an achievement since its
lineup has been anything but consis-
tent over the years. Longtimers. But
Jeff Grand lives up to his surname on
guitar, and Martin Gross remains one
of the best frontmen in town.
Jim McCarty & Mystery Train:
The former Detroit Wheels/Rockets
guitarist has left the Detroit Blues
Band to concentrate on his new band's
tougher, hard-rocking approach. One
sign he means business: he's standing
up again when he plays.
Randy Volin & the Sonic Blues:
A former guitarist in The Look, Volin's
new trio rocks the house but with def-
inite roots in the blues. Check out its
just released debut album, Used Gui-
tars. ❑

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