Chicago's Own Jam Band Extraordinaire - Always Great

Free Valet. Doors 7pm. 210 Live offers snacks and great cocktails.Mr. Blotto started in 1991 as an off-night musical vehicle for members of other local acts around the Chicago area. In response to repeated fan requests for tapes of shows and the surprise popularity of a series of bootlegs, Mr. Blotto released its debut album entitled “Parking Karma” in August 1992. As the band’s popularity grew, they added another member to play keyboards, specifically the Hammond B-3 Organ. In July 1994, the band released their second album entitled “Bad Hair Day.” With local radio play, they began headlining larger clubs and theaters on consecutive nights. And with the introduction of tapers, the music spread to a larger audience around the nation. The band’s third album entitled “Ancient Face” was released in July 1998.“While relatively unknown outside of the Windy City, the blokes from Mr. Blotto have been playing rootsy good-times music for quite some time now. This release (a follow up to the band’s 1994 Bad Hair Day) features more recently recorded live versions of a heap of longstanding originals by these venerable Chicago jamsters. Let it be noted that Blotto can play your favorite Phish, Widepread Panic, Dead, Traffic covers with scads of soul and proficiency. But in addition to being able to rock the time-tested jukebox stuff, the Blotto kitchen serves up its own tasty fare, and that’s precisely what’s on the Bad Hair Day menu. From the groove-heavy shuffling of ‘Dirty Woman’ to the almost radio-friendly and hooky ‘Kiss Me in the Morning,’ the group evokes the gravelly vocal stylings of Widespread Panic, the bluesy southern guitar strains of the Allman Brothers, the clear as crystal licks of Captain Trips Garcia and mucho more, all the while bearing the unique stamp of pure clean Blotto. Add rollicking gospel-inflected numbers like ‘Rock Me in Your Arms’ and ‘Standing in the House,’ and you’ve got one hell of a well-rounded outfit more than capable of putting down the appropriate soundtrack for a fun night out.” – Nick Hutchinson, Associated Content