Stefan Hillesheim Band – Live at Rosa’s
Stella Blue Music – 2024
12 tracks; 56 minutes
With Live at Rosa’s Lounge (2024), German blues guitarist Stefan Hillesheim and his Chicago band deliver a high energy set paying homage to the historic blues city, proving to have dexterity across a range of blues styles. The album follows last year’s When I’m Gone (2023), HIllesheim’s first full LP, coming after 4 EPs periodically released starting in 2019.
For the live set at Rosa’s, the Stefan Hillesheim Band plays 11 Hillesheim original songs that display his considerable talents as a storyteller and lyricist. Opening up with “Sins of the Father”, Hillesheim croons about the “sins of the father, the shadow of the past… I’ve found a way to live now we’ve gone our separate ways.” Electric, meandering guitar solos linger, droning as Sumito “Ariyo” Ariyoshi adds splashes of keys in a track vaguely resembling Stevie Ray Vaughan.
The band played both an electric and an acoustic version of “Harlem Avenue Lounge”, a high energy, rollicking blues tune about shooting pool, drinking whisky, and the special environment of one of Chicago’s most beloved blues clubs. Muscle-clad guitar solos carried the electric version, while the acoustic version was stripped down and effective, with Hillesheim singing “come on inside, but leave your ego at the door.” The song, which Hillesheim dedicated to Kenny Zimmerman, the owner of the Harlem Avenue Lounge in Chicago who died in February, is ultimately about the blues and its fans.
On “Leaving You Behind”, bone-chilling guitar and piano kick it off, while HIllesheim sings, filled with sorrow, about a former lover he can’t seem to escape; “I spent a long time running but I can’t seem to leave you behind you… Couldn’t keep you satisfied. There’s no escape.” Ariyoshi’s piano works in tandem with solid guitarwork.
“Seduced by the Blues”, a groovy, gritty tune about Hillesheim falling in love with the blues, starts with a moody, stirring intro and Hillesheim singing about his bedroom poster of one of his heroes and greatest influences, Elmore James. Howling, wild guitar is unleashed, like the spirit of the blues – the playing is dexterous and completely carefree. The homage to the genre clearly bleeds through with passion and stands out as one of the best tracks on the live album.
One of the two acoustic songs from the performance, “Will You Remember Me”, is refreshingly simple, authentic, and vulnerable. Time seems to slow down as Hillesheim sings, “when that path splits, would you turn around? Will you remember me after I’m gone?” The solo performance by the German guitarist, to close out the show, holds a quiet, tender force; “I can’t get up. My heart weighs me down. I’m losing my grip.”
Darryl Wright delivers saucy, groovy bass lines on “Put Some Respect on My Name”, a song dedicated to all the hard-working bands who hadn’t quite made it, driving six hours through the snow. Hillesheim lashes out at image-based success in music, singing “If you listen with your eyes, you won’t hear a damn thing.”
With “You’re My Family”, Ariyoshi takes center stage, with an upbeat piano dominated intro, in a catchy, wholesome love song. The vocals pour out sweet and tender and the song vaguely reminiscent of the Allman brothers. Several layers of instruments create a tapestry of sound, while Hillesheim sings “I’ve come to see you’re my family.”
“Favorite Hiding Place” lacked lyrical substance and featured smoky vocals. “One Cloudy Day” departed from straight blues and lacked gumption and soul. “Dealing with the Pain” a mid tempo blues rock tune, seemed like the band was going for too much and the layers didn’t stack up right.
All that said, Live at Rosa’s Lounge (2024), captures a solid performance by a respected Chicago band, highlighting excellent songwriting ability and an impressive musical range.
