Cameron McMenemy 7th Feb 2018
| | ReviewThe Blues Bros. give it their all in Concord
By Peter Finch
The Stanford Daily, Tuesday, July 22, 1980
Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi were not raised as rhythm and blues musicians. For this reason, they have come under some fire lately. Blues purists claim that the two actors are ripping off the public in their act as Jake and Elwood Blues, two Chicago bluesmen. There are much better, and perhaps more "real" blues musicians who should be getting the recognition, the purists say; not these two rich white boys. And they're probably right. The Blues Brothers are an act. They're not for real. Their band, probably the best one money could buy. is just that — bought. And their fans are mostly cleancut white kids who live in places like Piedmont and Atherton. not Chicago's back streets. But there comes a time in dealing with self-righteous purists and/or experts in any field when one must simply ask them to "shut the hell up." If there were ever a time to do so, this may be it. Aykroyd and Belushi have embraced their Blues Brothers act with such care and energy, it shines like a freshy-polished Cadillac. You have to sec them in person to believe it; TV, records and the movie just don't do the trick. The Blues Brothers were in town last weekend, playing two sold-out shows at the pleasant, open-air Concord Pavilion. And from their now famous opening to their exuberant rendition of "Soul Man." the show oozed entertainment. One might even go so far as to call it "family entertainment," though Belushi's language is not exactly guarded, and many of the songs contain rather lurid lyrics. Part of what makes the Blues Brothers live show so Fun (with a capital "F") is the fact that Aykroyd and Belushi are very talented showmen. The two dance like nothing you ever saw, combining some Charleston, some jitterbug and some whatever. In fact, one of the evening's biggest surprises came when a flickering strobe light was switched on in the middle of one of the Brothers' dances. Already dressed in '40s clothing, the two took on the look of Laurel and Hardy in a jerky old motion picture. But beyond the Brothers' mugging and the stage's Chicago gas station set (complete with regular gas listed at 27.9 cents). Belushi is not a bad singer and Aykroyd plays the harmonica with far better than average skill. Belushi got his chance to really show off his singing skill on a couple songs, most notably
"Shot Gun Blues," the bluesiest of the evening's tunes. Belushi's weakest moment was when he sang Randy Newman's 'Guilty." Instead of sounding genuinely blue, Belushi sounded more like his hilarious Joe Cocker imitation. But one weak song out of an entire evening's worth? Not bad for a comedian. Despite repeated attempts to divert some of the attention from themselves to their band, Aykroyd and Belushi stole the show. It's certainly understandable, though somewhat unfortunate. Buoyed by big names (well, they're all pretty big names) like
Tom Scott on saxophone, Tom Malone on trombone and Matt Murphy on guitar, the Blues Brothers Band really rocks. The band's precision on songs like "Green Onion," a classic instrumental by Booker T. and the MG's, entranced the audience. The show, which included 25 songs, including encores, was comprised mostly of material from the band's two albums. Briefcase Full of Blues and their movie soundtrack. Songs which they haven't recorded, like "Going to Miami," "Who's Making Love to Your Old Lady," and a modernized version of "There's a Riot Going On" (the warden has a laser gun, now), added extra class to an already strong show. So the purists may not like it, hut the Blues Brothers are extremely entertaining. And what the purists may not realize is that in their own way, Aykroyd and Belushi are introducing a great style of music to a group of people who might otherwise have spent their whole life listening to Sammy Hagar and Pat Travers. I guess Aykroyd put it best as he and the rest of the band took a final bow, "We're on a mission from God," he said, "and the mission is the music!"
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