This intimate club on the Near North Side only gets better as the night wears on (it's open until 4am Sun-Fri, until 5am Sat). Although I've listed it under blues clubs, it's one of the most vibrant live-music spots in town; you'll hear jazz trios, folk singers, and R&B vocalists playing the quirky, compact, and, yep, below-street-level room early in the evening. Things really heat up when co-owner Lonie Walker and her Big Bad Ass Company Band take the stage at 11pm on Friday and Saturday, playing a raucous blues-rock mix. Stick around until the wee hours, which is when the fun really begins -- musicians stop by after gigs at other clubs to improvise a final set. The kitchen serves Tex-Mex and other chow late.

Copyright: Excerpted from Frommer's Chicago 2009, (c) 2008, Wiley Publishing, Inc.

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