So, I've always been a bit of a Blues Brothers fan-girl (although it was released quite a bit before my time). I have an undying love for the film, the music, the characters, the story. John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd have always been legends in my eyes.
When I saw that a Blues Brothers Christmas Special was going to be playing at the Arts Theatre in Leicester Square, I was dying to see what it was all about. Turns out it was going to be a tribute concert, in some respect, made specially for Christmas, featuring tons of classic Blues Brothers tunes. As my boyfriend's 20th birthday was coming up (he is also a major Blues Brothers nerd), I thought it would be a fun night out for him and I to enjoy. Enjoy, is an understatement of what we experienced.
This was more than just any 'tribute band' performance. The hour and a half that we spent down in the Arts Theatre (which is a small, underground theatre off Leicester Square, that regularly shows cool, more unusual shows and events) made us feel as if we had been transported back into 1980 to watch the real Blues Brothers Rhythm and Blues band perform in their prime.
The guys 'playing' Dan and John's characters Jake and Elwood Blues, were incredible. Their movements and characteristics were almost identical to those of the original characters, and their vocals were painfully fantastic. Whats more, the show didn't feel just like one long concert jam-packed with random numbers - it felt like you were travelling through the film, sitting at the Palace Hotel Ballroom listening to the very words of the film, only in Christmas spirit (Elwood opens the concert by speaking some of the most pivotal lines of the film, only in a more Christmassy form)
The best numbers, in my opinion, were "Rubber Biscuit" (done amazingly and hilariously by Elwood), "Soul Man" and "Respect", but that's just my opinion.
I highly recommend seeing this if possible - it closes on the 10th of January, but tickets on LoveTheatre.com are worth it!
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