Do you remember around a year ago when I wrote about the independent short film Bound with Love in which we sang and appeared? I ran across it in a search in a format I could post here on the blog. So here it is. Anytime you hear singing, it’s us and we get some screen time at about the 4:48 mark. Yes, it’s a bit belated in that it’s a Christmas short, but it’s still a nice piece to watch. I hope you enjoy it!
At least from the perspective of our busy time of year. Last Saturday, November 21st was our first Holiday gig. It was for the grand opening of the Elysian Hotel in accordance with the Magnificent Mile Lights Festival. We were one block over from the staging area for the parade on E. Walton and were singing outside from 1 – 4 pm. Here’s a picture of us that day:
L-R Jim, Jenny, Flora & Gary (click to enlarge)
The first gig out of the gate is always fun in a lot of ways. You get to see what you remember and what you don’t, and by this point of singing together for almost 15 years, there’s very little we don’t remember, except the occasional lyric (why did I forget that one anyway? Oh…Rudolph, that’s right).
It’s a busy time of year, but one I wouldn’t want to do without. I get to see old friends and catch up with them and enjoy the time of year and help people celebrate it. What more can you ask for?
Considering there was a thick fog Saturday morning, the weather was near perfect for the Buffalo Grove Days gig. It was a beautiful , warm day, but at one point of the show, Gary said I was “swarthy”. I think that’s code for “Get away from me, you’re all sweaty!”
We always have a great time when we perform, whether it’s singing, the chatter in between or playing with the audience (and this audience was a lot of fun).
But the best thing about the gig for me came in two parts. Even though it was the beer tent, it was early enough in the day that all ages were allowed to site in and around the area and as we were singing, the crowd grew. That’s always a good sign. And then I was watching as wel were singing and most of the crowd was singing along with us, which is really cool too. Okay, and I always enjoy a chance to use the music to mack on the ladies.
Jim mackin' on the ladies during a song
It was great to see some friends who came to the show, Steve, David and Ginny, Tim of The Legends and also meet some new friends like Rodney and get the chance to talk with Rich of the White Saddle Band, if only for a moment. There were even rumors that after the show ended Gary and Flora transformed into Austin Powers and Lucille Ball, but I don’t have any pic…
Gary as Austin Powers
Well, unfortunately no pictures of Flora as Lucy.
I’d like to thank Karen, the Entertainment Director for the Buffalo Grove Days and Ed, the guy who manned the Sound Board for us. We appreciate everything you did to make us feel right at home. There are a couple of other people who were working Buffalo Grove Days I’d like to thank, but I didn’t get their names, so I hope this will do. It was a wonderful time for us and the crowd had a good time with us.