Cold Shott and The Hurricane Horns bring the big band blues back to the Rhythm Room

Phoenix's long-running funk, soul and blues outfit plays the Indian School Road club on Nov. 7, $20 at the door.

Some bands you see. Cold Shott and The Hurricane Horns is a band you hear coming up the sidewalk on Indian School Road. A week from tonight, on Saturday, Nov. 7, the horn section and everyone in front of it are back at the Rhythm Room, with doors at 7 p.m. and music at 8.

It's the easy kind of night to plan: $20, tickets at the door, 21 and over, at 1019 E. Indian School Road. If you can't make it, the Rhythm Room has them back on Dec. 18.

The group has been part of Phoenix's R&B circuit for more than three decades. It started as a trio called the Cold Shot Blues Band; the band's own account says it began as a small blues trio in early 1990, and Phoenix New Times has dated it to 1990 and 1991 in different pieces. Either way, it was already marking its 20th year when New Times listed it in 2011.

The founder was the late Ted "Madman" Kowal. The Arizona Blues Hall of Fame credits Kowal and Tim Dustin with starting Cold Shot, the band that grew into Cold Shott and The Hurricane Horns. Since 2002 the musical direction has been in the hands of Tony Flores, per the band's own listing.

What it grew into is a big, bold blend of funk, soul and blues with real horns, the kind of band one New Times reviewer called the Arizona version of Roomful of Blues. That comparison tells you what to expect: a dance floor, a horn line that punches on the downbeats, and songs built for people who came to move.

More than thirty years in, still the loudest good time on Indian School Road.

The Rhythm Room is the right home for it. The band has turned up on the club's calendar for years. There's no new record attached to this date, and none is needed. This is a working Phoenix band doing the thing it has done for most of the city's modern blues history, in one of the rooms that kept that history going.

If you've lived here a while, you've probably caught them at least once. If you're new to town, this is a good place to start: a $20 bill, a Saturday night and a band that has been rehearsing this exact party since 1990. Bring your dancing shoes and get there by 8.

Sources: The Rhythm Room — Calendar (rhythmroom.com); Eventim — Cold Shott and The Hurricane Horns, 11/07/26 (Rhythm Room) (wl.eventim.us); Cold Shott and the Hurricane Horns — official site (coldshottandthehurricanehorns.com); Phoenix New Times — Cold Shott and the Hurricane Horns continue to evolve (phoenixnewtimes.com); Phoenix New Times (phoenixnewtimes.com); Arizona Blues Hall of Fame — Tim Dustin (azblueshof.com)