"Blues To The Rescue" at the Milwaukee Public Library

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The Blues? - well that's just another name for the human condition; for the ineradicable dissatisfaction that is part and parcel of our finite existence.

The way I feel sometimes - I feel like drinking me some gasoline.

I'm tellin' you the way I feel sometimes - I feel just like drinking me some gasoline.

Strikin' me a match and blowin' my fool self up in steam.

Is there another mule kickin' in your stall? Then, my friend, you've got the Blues. Born under a bad sign? Yup, that's the Blues. Pining for sweet home Chicago? It doesn't require a spectrometer to determine what color you are.

What can a man do when the Blues keep following him around?

What can a poor man do when the Blues keep followin' him around?

Get him a half a pint of good liquor and sit there and drink him on down.

But "the Blues" names both the condition and the cure. This is one way of explaining the continuing appeal and popularity of the art form. "Blues to the Rescue," a new photography exhibition at the Milwaukee Public Library Central Branch (second floor) pays tribute to the curative properties of a twelve bar I-IV-V progression. 

Blues lovers have Leanne Parshalle to thank for these historical photos of renowned roots and blues musicians. After having attended her first blues concert at Milwaukee's Century Hall, Parshalle took to capturing documenting festivals and clubs in and around Southern California. 

"Blues to the Rescue" is on display until November 9.