The Blues

Chapter Five

Carlos: "Last night's show was amazing...so amazing that I recorded it and uploaded it to YouTube that same night. And, well...let's just say that the vid blew up over social way more than I thought it would."

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"If the name 'Blues Brothers' rings any bells to some of our adult viewers, then this next bit of news may come as a surprise," Robin Roberts of Good Morning America began the early broadcast on ABC. She continued the report over the YouTube video of El-J and Juliet's performance at the Kings and Queens Club. "In a video that has hit over ten million views, as of this morning, this new Blues Brothers band was seen onstage. According to the video's description, the young performers are El-J and Juliet Blues – the son and daughter of legendary Blues Brother, Elwood Blues – with Love Händel and the Three Caballeros rounding up as band members."

Good Morning America wasn't the only place where Carlos's video was featured. Several other morning shows replayed the viral footage. Music artists such as pianist-arranger Paul Shaffer, John Popper of the rock band Blues Traveler, and even Taylor Swift herself shared the video over Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. Millennials and zoomers who weren't born into the era of the Blues Brothers got their introduction through Juliet and El-J.

The widespread coverage continued into the evening, when Jimmy Kimmel made mention of the band in the opening monologue of his Live! talk show: "Have you guys seen the new Blues Brothers band? They're not even 'brothers' anymore – there's now a sister. It's like the 'Blues Family'. Ironically, 'Manson Family' was the original idea Marilyn Manson had for his band."

Many cited the performance as a sort of revival or comeback after several years of obscurity. Eventually, word of mouth got around about the Blues' live performance at East High School in Salt Lake City, Utah. This generated incredible buzz and a large crowd camping outside the school, as if it were an arena.

Needless to say, Mr. Mazzara was not at all pleased with this publicity.

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Mr. Mazzara: "It's a circus! It's ridiculous, and it's getting out of hand! And the one man who I blame for it is Mr. Bluth! Do I think that I made the right decision calling the police? Yes, of course. We need to diffuse this situation before it gets worse for the entire school."

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The day of the concert had finally arrived, just in time for the Blues and the Wildcats to make it over the Utah state line that morning. Only an hour from Salt Lake City, El-J glanced at the fuel gauge of their Ford Crown Victoria and realized, "We're almost outta gas." He pulled over to the nearest Kum & Go convenience store, prompting Panchito to follow in the Blues bus.

As everyone gathered by the Bluesmobile, Juliet made the impromptu arrangements: "You guys and gals go on ahead of us. We'll meet up with ya at the school, after we're fueled up on gas and snacks."

Miss Jenn didn't want to admit how disconcerted the plan made her feel. The show was just eight hours away, very little time for the Drama club to make some set preparations. El-J and Juliet had a few concepts for their performance that they ran by them – nothing too complicated but nonetheless required a lot of work, like costuming and pacing. Other than that, it was all El-J, Juliet, and their band.