We will be visiting Chicago in September. Can anyone recommend some great but not too seedy blues bars? Thanks.

Buddy Guy's Legends
Blues Etc.
Blue Chicago
Kingston Mines
Checkerboard Lounge
Rosa's

Other side of that coin - can anyone recommend some seedy blues bars - you know, the ones where the old timers play? All of the ones recommended sound a bit "corporatized" - is that true?

If you want blues that is not "corporatized" you really need to go to Clarksdale, Miss. The Blues has been co-opted for years now, so a lot of what you get is "corporatized." That said, Chicago is still one of the best blues towns in the country. If what you mean by "seedy" is "authentic" and if what you mean by "authentic" is "African-American," I suggest the Checkerboard Lounge. It is in a historically black neighborhood on the South Side, on what has come to be known as "Muddy Waters Way." Please don't ask anything ridiculous like, "Is it safe to go there." If what you want is "real" blues, that's where you go in Chicago.

I also suggest Koko Taylor's Celebrity.

I've been to Blue Chicago and have spoken with friends who've been to Kingston Mines and Buddy Guy's - all of them are a bit on the "corpratized" side but not to the extreme that House of Blues is (or BB King Blues Club in NYC where I saw a show last night).I've been to the Checkerboard Lounge and highly recommend it. I can safely say that any establishment who fixes the rip on a vinyl covered bar stool by applying black duct tape is my kind of place {. The crowd was a mix of neighborhood folks, a few tourists and plenty of hard core blues fans on the night I was there. I'm not a hardcore blues fan and had never heard of the group who played that night (Syl Johnson and the New Chicago Playboys) but it was one of the better blues shows I've ever seen and the atmosphere was a great factor. It's friendly and the music is sure to be good. You'll probably find it easiest to take a cab there if you're staying downtown - have fun!