Sept 5, 2009 - River East Arts Center

This one had us a bit worried. The River East Arts Center is a beautiful facility right on the River Walk in downtown Chicago, however the main room is filled with marble and glass, and there's two levels but no ceiling between them - so it's just a big open space. We were certain the sound would be bouncing all over the place.

The evening started at 4:30p as Chris and Vince arrived with the equipment. There is a combo for the cocktails and dinner. Dinner and dancing will be downstairs, cocktails will be upstairs and out on the patio overlooking the river. To accommodate the multiple locations for cocktails, Vince and Chris had to run a speaker up one level, down a short hallway and out a window. No sweat. Actually, a lot of sweat, but it was a humid day. We got the small group up and running just in time, and Bruce Gibson played a wicked sax.

The first dance was sung by the bride's good friend. She did a karaoke version of 'At Last', and she did a pretty good job for karaoke. The 18 of us just smiled and looked good while she sang.

Gina vs the Drum Book: I know this has been brought up before, but Gina has some sort of

aversion to putting her music back in order. Its like pulling teeth. Usually her Ma Lu-Lu does it, but

with Ma not makin' the scene, what's a girl to do? So here we are, breaking down at the end of the night, and I look over to see an obviously inebriated gentleman rifling thru a music folio. For a moment I think I am witnessing some sort of weird robbery, or a drunk's quest for a souvenir, but then it occurs to me: HE'S PUTTING MUSIC AWAY, NOT TAKING IT! And he's unsteady with a Heineken at his side. So I'm on it. "Really, Gina? Really?" She laughs and shrugs. GA! GK, it's really not that hard! If we play number 49 in the book, it needs to be put back between numbers 48 and 50. Seriously, c'mon! I've never seen a wedding guest called into action in that manner before. Look at the picture. You know he's thinking to himself, "How the hell did i get talked into this?". And look at the look on the waiter's face. He's thinking the exact same thing. All in all, though, it was a good gig in a good facility with a great staff.