Review: Mike Zito 'Blues for the Southside'

Mike Zito

By Mike O’Cull

Blues/rock guitar king Mike Zito puts his house-rocking credentials on public display all over his new double live album Blues for the Southside. The set drops February 18th, 2022 on Zito’s own Gulf Coast Records and captures an amazing night of his blues done live in front of an appreciative crowd in Zito’s hometown of St. Louis, Missouri.

It all went down November 26, 2021 at a venue called the Old Rock House there and the microphones captured a blazing night of music that hits hard from the first downbeat. The set list leans on Zito’s original blues material and is filled out with choice covers by Tampa Red, Hendrix, SRV, and Chuck Berry. Special guests include guitar master Eric Gales and Gulf Coast label mates guitarists Tony Campanella and Dave Kalz. Zito is backed up on the gig by his current band of Matthew Johnson (vocals,drums), Lewis Stephens (piano, organ), and Doug Byrkit (vocals, bass). They’re a tight and responsive crew with all the horsepower needed to launch any stage into outer space.

Mike Zito is a top-tier guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter who has become a major presence in the roots music scene. He’s a multiple Blues Music Award winner, co-owner of Gulf Coast Records, and a respected producer who has made beautiful music with artists like Samantha Fish, Albert Castiglia, Ally Venable, Jeremiah Johnson, and Jimmy Carpenter. His sound and vision are defined by honesty, integrity, and mighty performances fueled by actual talent and the desire to use it. You can’t have a conversation about contemporary blues music without including him and his following gets larger every day.

Zito kicks off the show with the rowdy “Mississippi Nights,” a full-tilt boogie of the highest order. He and his band immediately lay into a stomping roadhouse groove, downshift, and punch it. Zito’s command of the blues/rock idiom is impressive and he overflows with ideas and energy. His vocals are shouted and urgent, pulling the crowd out of their worlds and into his to share this ecstatic moment. You can just tell that Zito is about to wear these people out in the best possible way.

“First Class Life” is a rocking redemption song with a Stones-meets-Zevon vibe tailor-made to get humans up and moving. Mike Zito slings a shipload of tasty slide guitar on it and sings the second-chance story lyrics with soul and grateful conviction. It’s only the second song of the night but Mike and the band sound fully souped up like they’ve been rocking a stadium for the last hour. At this point, you’re hooked and have a physical need to see where this record goes.

The one new song on the album is the instrumental title cut “Blues For The Southside.” It’s a lowdown, minor key number that Zito uses to put on a phrasing clinic for all the aspiring guitar players within earshot. He builds and presents the head, chorus, and solo like one of the guitar heroes of the Golden Age, focusing on tone and feel and avoiding all wankery and overindulgence. It’s a sweet track and should make friends quickly.

Zito also does fine work on the classic SRV-related slow blues “Texas Flood.” He plays the Texas-Stratocaster styles exceptionally well and again shows a gift for generating cool guitar lines. The biggest treat for guitar fans on the record, however, is Zito’s 12-minute cover of Jimi’s first version of “Voodoo Chile” featuring a guest spot from the supremely talented Eric Gales. The two players conspire to make this less-often-heard Hendrix song into the highlight of the show and give the people in attendance exactly what they came out for.

Listen to Mississippi Nights (Live)