Way back in February of last year, I journeyed east to Kansas City to see the Blood Brothers performing at the legendary Knuckleheads Saloon. That trip was part of the “Cover Them There to Bring Them Here” series I was doing to try to build local interest for touring acts that, at the time, weren’t scheduled to play in the Denver area. On back-to-back nights I attended/covered shows by Alastair Greene and the Blood Brothers.
(If you’re interested, you can revisit my review of the Blood Brothers Kansas City show via this link… Blood Brothers – Friday, February 10, 2023 – Knuckleheads Saloon, Kansas City, MO | Denver Entertainment Hub.)
Fast forward four months to June of 2023. The Albert Castiglia and Mike Zito collaboration act Blood Brothers played the Winter Park Blues From The Top Festival. Fast Forward yet another year, to this past Saturday night, where the Blood Brothers headlined the Greeley Blues Jam. Coincidence that after I covered them in Kansas City, they show up in Colorado two times within a year? I’ll let you decide.
A sighting of the Blood Brothers as a joint act in 2024 will be a relatively rare thing. In an interview I did with Albert Castiglia in January of this year (Artist Interview – Albert Castiglia | Denver Entertainment Hub) I learned that Mike and Albert have a very well-defined plan and map for how they’re going to balance their solo careers with their joint career. 2023 was the year in which they would focus on the Blood Brother collaboration. Toward that end, they released their first studio album in March, and followed up with a live album in November. That studio album went on to win the award for Best Blues Rock Album of the Year at the 45th Annual Blues Music Awards. (Mike Zito also won the award for Blues Rock Artist.)
2024 is scheduled as the year in which the pair will focus on their respective solo careers. In February, Zito released Life Is Hard, a very personal and emotional album in which he channels much of the pain of losing his wife, Laura, to cancer. Castiglia is scheduled to release Righteous Souls on July 19. That album features guest appearances from an extraordinary list of blues music luminaries, including Joe Bonamassa, Josh Smith, Danielle Nicole, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Popa Chubby, Ally Venable, Kevin Burt, Monster Mike Welch, Gary Hoey, Rick Estrin, Jimmy Carpenter, and Alabama Mike.
With two solo albums to focus on, there wasn’t going to be a lot of time for the Blood Brothers collaboration in 2024. Only a limited number of live performances have been scheduled. But luckily for us, the Greeley Blues Jam made the cut.
A “normal” Blood Brothers live set has an exceptionally long running time. The show I covered in Kansas City ran almost three hours, with no breaks. At a festival, it’s not possible to run a set that long. But Saturday night Zito and Castiglia pushed the limit, and presented an 11-song, hour and twenty-five-minute set to the crowd that had been waiting all day to see and hear them.
The set opened with three songs from that award winning Blood Brothers album… (in order) “Hey Sweet Mama,” “Tooth And Nail,” and “In My Soul.” Six of the eleven songs in the set came from that album (the other three were “A Thousand Heartaches,” “My Business,” and an extended version of “Hill Country Jam,” that included a funky bass solo from Doug Byrkit, and killer dueling drum solos from Matthew Johnson and Ephraim Lowell).
Four songs from the set came from Zito’s and Castiglia’s solo releases – two from each. Zito brought the house down with his mesmerizing version of “Forever My Love,” from his Life Is Hard album. The song is dedicated to his late wife, Laura. It’s an extraordinary piece of song writing, and Zito delivered it with an amazing amount of heart and soul, both vocally and in his playing.
From his forthcoming solo album, Castiglia performed “Get Down to the Nitty Gritty.” His second solo piece was one of his classics, “Let The Big Dog Eat,” from his 2016 Album Big Dog.
Zito’s second solo piece was “Gone To Texas,” from his 2013 album by the same name. This was the final song scheduled for the set, but when MC Chris Haug offered the band a few minutes to close things out, they launched into the song that has been a staple of Blood Brothers shows since the collaboration began, a cover of Neil Young’s “Rockin’ In The Free World.” Even though that set pushed them close to ten minutes past the scheduled ending time of 9:45, I didn’t get the sense that anyone was complaining.
The set done, the hour late, Zito and Castiglia made a beeline for the merch table, where they shook hands, signed autographs, and posed for pictures until the line was exhausted. I still find it fascinating, in a “I can’t believe how cool this is” way, that even though they are two of the biggest stars in the blues rock world today, Zito and Castiglia still make time for every single fan who wants to get a few minutes of their time. It says a lot about the character of both men that, in many ways, is perhaps even more impressive than their immense musical talents.
Story and photos by Rick Witt www.rickwittphotography.com
